Cal. Civil Code § 1550 : Nature Of A Contract — California Civil Code — Obligations — Definition — Essential to existence of contract Date: 14 Sep 2016 TEXT PDF Current through the 2016 Legislative Session It is essential to the existence of a contract that there should be: 1.Parties capable of contracting; 2. Their consent; 3. A lawful object; and, 4. A sufficient cause or consideration. Ca. Civ. Code § 1550