When you bid on a construction
project, you are subject to contract
formation law — the law of offer
and acceptance — which holds
contractual duties absolute. Short
of absolute impossibility, no hardship,
foreseen or unforeseen, will
free either party from the bargained-
for exchange of promises.
Until recently, this meant contractors
could not claim relief from bid
mistakes or price changes. This
effectively prevented a bidder from
finding a mistake simply to get out
of a poor bargain. However, a
cursory view of case law in this
area reveals that today's courts are
more willing to consider relief for
certain types of mistakes.
Current contract law defines a
mistake as "a belief not in accord
with the facts." Common mistakes
include