Restatement (2d) of Contracts Excerpts

In the U.S., the Restatements of the Law are a set of treatises on legal subjects that seek to inform judges and lawyers about general principles of common law, organized by topic area. There are published by the American Law Institute, an organization of judges, legal academics, and practitioners founded in 1923.

The (First) Restatement of Contracts was published in 1932; the (Second) (revised) Restatement of Contracts was published in 1979.

Although not "binding" in any formal legal sense, and although they have been criticized from multiple perspectives (too progressive, too conservative, too elite, causing law to grow stale and not evolve), the restatements are highly persuasive on most topics, and are often cited by courts as if they were "law." 

Some elements of the restatements deviate from the prior common law, although most do not; and some courts in some states have declined to follow elements of the restatements.  We will note a few as we cover contract law.