First, Greer never said the words "I accept". He treated it as if Geoff proposed the $20k himself.
He
can't treat it as a straightforward acceptance from Geoff, because Geoff, for all his stupidity in partially agreeing,
explicitly did not agree to all the terms Russ proposed.
In return, Russ changed the deal even further. There is zero doubt he was changing the deal.
And he explicitly calls it a counteroffer, not a modification of an already-accepted deal.
Greer's entire theory of reliance and promissory estoppel hinges on the claim that Geoff accepted something and should be held to it. But, by basic standards of contract law, he didn't. Geoff used the word "accept" once in a lead in to a plainly obvious counter-offer and request for more information. Greer went along and responded with more counter-offers and information, until real lawyers got involved and it went badly for Greer.
Edit: forgot to mention, all of the above was in the settlement packet Greer sent via Fedex. He also sent an email in response to Geoff's first email. Not only does he
not accept Geoff's changed terms, he explicitly says "this remains an open negotiation".
