Assignment 5 *** Answers containing clever or funny comments may be awarded + 1 point each. *** Contracts 1. A valid contract has four required elements: agreement (offer and acceptance), consideration, capacity, and legality. Even when those four elements are present, there can be a valid defense to a contract's enforceability. For each of the following, answer whether there is an enforceable contract and explain either why or why not. Example: Betsy hires Frank to transport a shipment of cocaine for her. Answer: Not an enforceable contract. The element of legality is not satisfied because a contact to commit a crime is illegal. Example: Johnny offers to buy Keith's goat for $50. Keith says that he would sell the goat for $55. Answer: Not an enforceable contract because there has been no acceptance. Keith's answer is a counteroffer to Johnny's offer. Example: Tom accepts an oral offer to teach at CSU for Fall Semester 2020 through Fall Semester 2025. No enforceable contract. It is a contract that is required to be in writing because it cannot be performed in one year or less. Because the contract was only oral, it is not enforceable. a. Johnny's friend Randall owns a cattle ranch. One day Johnny asks Randall if he ever thought about selling the ranch, to which Randall replied that "as a matter of fact ! was planning on listing it sometime next year for around a million dollars." The next week, Johnny sends Randy a check for one million dollars and a note that says " accept your offer to sell the ranch." b. Johnny buys bread from Lisa to sell at his convenience store, though they do not have a written contract. Lisa makes deliveries each week, and the two have been operating under this oral arrangement for four years. Last week, Lisa stuck her head in the door and asked Johnny "the usual for next week?", to which Johnny nods his Nem No Spacing Heading 1 Heading 2 Tile Subtit in the door and asked Johnny "the usual for next week?", to which Johnny nods his head yes. C. Johnny offers to buy Keith's corvette for $50,000. Keith just rolls his eyes. Johnny later informs Keith that they have a contract because Keith's silence was an acceptance. d. Johnny hires a hitman to kill Carole Baskin. e. Johnny has a horse that is worth $25,000. When money gets tight, he offers to sell it to George for $18,000. George accepts, but when it comes time for George to pick up the horse, Johnny decides that $18,000 is not a fair price for the horse and backs out of the agreement. f. Johnny tells his employees that they will all get big bonuses at the end of the year if the convenience store has a good year and if Johnny thinks they deserve it. g. Johnny tells his employees that he will sell a watch to the first one who brings him a check for $500 dollars. Johnny meant to say "5600". Jean brings Johnny a check for $500 h. Johnny wants to sell her fancy Porsche. He hears from a friend that Alex is in the tarrid Darrenheme biman nila all the near Can Alaw h. Johnny wants to sell her fancy Porsche. He hears from a friend that Alex is in the market for a used Porsche, so he e-mails him an offer to sell the car for $400. Alex knows this is too good to be true and likely a typo but immediately e-mails his acceptance. i. Johnny sold Matt, a seventeen year old, a car. Matt makes all of the monthly payment before he turns 18 and then continues making payments for the next year. j. Max is 21. His Aunt Eve tells him that if he stays celibate until he is married, she will give him $10,000. Max gets married at age 25 and has remained celibate the entire time. k. Johnny offers to sell Jane a piece of property for $10,000, which is a fair price. Jane has the hots for Johnny, and two weeks later she drops off a note to Johnny that says, "OK, let's do it". 1. Johnny offers to sell Zach his car, and tells Zach that he will leave the offer open for a month. Before Zach can accept, Johnny totals the car in a fiery crash. m. Johnny and Fred orally agree that Johnny will pay Fred to provide lawn care to Johnny for the next fourteen months. n. Johnny and Fred orally agree that Johnny will pay Fred to provide lawn care to Johnny for as long as Johnny lives. 0. Johnny offers to sell Happy Jack Biscuits a dough cutting machine. The offer states: "this offer expires Friday at noon." Johnny calls Happy Jack on Thursday to inform Happy Jack that the machine has been sold to another purchaser. Happy Jack tells Johnny that they accept the offer and insist they have a contract because it is still before noon on Friday. p. Johnny sees Smith walking down the road and offers to take him home for $5. Smith agrees. There is no written agreement. 9. A group of students downtown Friday night flag down a cab. The cab stops, they Antin And the war on them whers hun RRR The him an der 4. A group of students downtown Friday night flag down a cab. The cab stops, they get in, and the driver asks them where they are going. They give him an address. When they arrive, they refuse to pay. r. Johnny promises to donate an empty building he owns to a school for autistic children. The school has outgrown is present location and is looking forward to occupying the building Johnny has promised to give them. After the school sells its present building, and before they can move in the new building, Johnny gets a fantastic offer for the building and sells it. The school sues, but Johnny contends there was no consideration given by the school, so there could be no enforceable K s. Johnny sends Lisa a written contract for the sale of a puppy and gives her until Friday to agree. Lisa mails a written acceptance that is postmarked on the Thursday before the deadline. Johnny receives the acceptance after the deadline. t. Johnny sells Lisa a washing machine and tells her that "this one's a real beaut" and "is in his eyes the best in class by a mile". Lisa buys the machine, but later discovers that the brand Johnny sold her received the worst score on quality from Consumer Reports magazine. Lucy v. Zehmer 1. What is the isuue that the Court is asked to decide? 2. What principle of law does the court apply to the facts to decide the case? 3. List five facts that you think were good for Lucy. 4. List three facts that you think were good for Zehmer. 5. Change 5 facts so that the result would have been for Zehmer. 6. Would it have made any difference if Lucy had been the pone to write the agreement? What does the Court say that supports your answer? 7. Would it have been a harder or easier case for the Court to decide if Zehmer was the one trying to enforce the contract? 8. Taking into account all of the facts, do you think it was reasonable for Lucy to have believed Zehmer was serious? Why or why not? Wright v. Newman 1. What is the issue that the Court says it must decide? 2. Promissory estoppel operates to allow one party to enforce a contract that would otherwise be unenforceable. Without promissory estoppel, Newman's claim would fail because what required element of an enforceable contract is missing? 3. Note that Newman was not seeking to collect back child support from Wright, only to establish a court ordered child support obligation going forward. Also, Wright had not been paying child support in the seven years since Newman cut off contact with him. How does this affect your view of the majority's opinion that Newman relied on Wright's promise to her detriment? Should the Court have given more weight to what happened in the intervening seven years? Why or why not? 4. Fatherhood and supporting children carry substantial moral weight. Do you think Newman's case would have been weaker if the promise involved something like the repair of a fence? Why or why not? 5. Which specific part of the majority opinion does Justice Benham disagree with in his dissenting opinion? 6. Why does Justice Benham say Newman has not relied on Wright's promise to her detriment? 7. What does Justice Sears specifically take issue with from the dissenting opinion? 8. The Court makes clear that promissory estoppel is used only when the failure to impose it on the parties would create an injustice. What does Justice Sears see as the injustice to the child if the contract is not enforced? 9. Do you believe that injustice would result if the Court failed to enforce Wright's promise? Why or why not? 10. What is your one sentence summary of the Court's holding in this case? Assignment 5 *** Answers containing clever or funny comments may be awarded + 1 point each. *** Contracts 1. A valid contract has four required elements: agreement (offer and acceptance), consideration, capacity, and legality. Even when those four elements are present, there can be a valid defense to a contract's enforceability. For each of the following, answer whether there is an enforceable contract and explain either why or why not. Example: Betsy hires Frank to transport a shipment of cocaine for her. Answer: Not an enforceable contract. The element of legality is not satisfied because a contact to commit a crime is illegal. Example: Johnny offers to buy Keith's goat for $50. Keith says that he would sell the goat for $55. Answer: Not an enforceable contract because there has been no acceptance. Keith's answer is a counteroffer to Johnny's offer. Example: Tom accepts an oral offer to teach at CSU for Fall Semester 2020 through Fall Semester 2025. No enforceable contract. It is a contract that is required to be in writing because it cannot be performed in one year or less. Because the contract was only oral, it is not enforceable. a. Johnny's friend Randall owns a cattle ranch. One day Johnny asks Randall if he ever thought about selling the ranch, to which Randall replied that "as a matter of fact ! was planning on listing it sometime next year for around a million dollars." The next week, Johnny sends Randy a check for one million dollars and a note that says " accept your offer to sell the ranch." b. Johnny buys bread from Lisa to sell at his convenience store, though they do not have a written contract. Lisa makes deliveries each week, and the two have been operating under this oral arrangement for four years. Last week, Lisa stuck her head in the door and asked Johnny "the usual for next week?", to which Johnny nods his Nem No Spacing Heading 1 Heading 2 Tile Subtit in the door and asked Johnny "the usual for next week?", to which Johnny nods his head yes. C. Johnny offers to buy Keith's corvette for $50,000. Keith just rolls his eyes. Johnny later informs Keith that they have a contract because Keith's silence was an acceptance. d. Johnny hires a hitman to kill Carole Baskin. e. Johnny has a horse that is worth $25,000. When money gets tight, he offers to sell it to George for $18,000. George accepts, but when it comes time for George to pick up the horse, Johnny decides that $18,000 is not a fair price for the horse and backs out of the agreement. f. Johnny tells his employees that they will all get big bonuses at the end of the year if the convenience store has a good year and if Johnny thinks they deserve it. g. Johnny tells his employees that he will sell a watch to the first one who brings him a check for $500 dollars. Johnny meant to say "5600". Jean brings Johnny a check for $500 h. Johnny wants to sell her fancy Porsche. He hears from a friend that Alex is in the tarrid Darrenheme biman nila all the near Can Alaw h. Johnny wants to sell her fancy Porsche. He hears from a friend that Alex is in the market for a used Porsche, so he e-mails him an offer to sell the car for $400. Alex knows this is too good to be true and likely a typo but immediately e-mails his acceptance. i. Johnny sold Matt, a seventeen year old, a car. Matt makes all of the monthly payment before he turns 18 and then continues making payments for the next year. j. Max is 21. His Aunt Eve tells him that if he stays celibate until he is married, she will give him $10,000. Max gets married at age 25 and has remained celibate the entire time. k. Johnny offers to sell Jane a piece of property for $10,000, which is a fair price. Jane has the hots for Johnny, and two weeks later she drops off a note to Johnny that says, "OK, let's do it". 1. Johnny offers to sell Zach his car, and tells Zach that he will leave the offer open for a month. Before Zach can accept, Johnny totals the car in a fiery crash. m. Johnny and Fred orally agree that Johnny will pay Fred to provide lawn care to Johnny for the next fourteen months. n. Johnny and Fred orally agree that Johnny will pay Fred to provide lawn care to Johnny for as long as Johnny lives. 0. Johnny offers to sell Happy Jack Biscuits a dough cutting machine. The offer states: "this offer expires Friday at noon." Johnny calls Happy Jack on Thursday to inform Happy Jack that the machine has been sold to another purchaser. Happy Jack tells Johnny that they accept the offer and insist they have a contract because it is still before noon on Friday. p. Johnny sees Smith walking down the road and offers to take him home for $5. Smith agrees. There is no written agreement. 9. A group of students downtown Friday night flag down a cab. The cab stops, they Antin And the war on them whers hun RRR The him an der 4. A group of students downtown Friday night flag down a cab. The cab stops, they get in, and the driver asks them where they are going. They give him an address. When they arrive, they refuse to pay. r. Johnny promises to donate an empty building he owns to a school for autistic children. The school has outgrown is present location and is looking forward to occupying the building Johnny has promised to give them. After the school sells its present building, and before they can move in the new building, Johnny gets a fantastic offer for the building and sells it. The school sues, but Johnny contends there was no consideration given by the school, so there could be no enforceable K s. Johnny sends Lisa a written contract for the sale of a puppy and gives her until Friday to agree. Lisa mails a written acceptance that is postmarked on the Thursday before the deadline. Johnny receives the acceptance after the deadline. t. Johnny sells Lisa a washing machine and tells her that "this one's a real beaut" and "is in his eyes the best in class by a mile". Lisa buys the machine, but later discovers that the brand Johnny sold her received the worst score on quality from Consumer Reports magazine. Lucy v. Zehmer 1. What is the isuue that the Court is asked to decide? 2. What principle of law does the court apply to the facts to decide the case? 3. List five facts that you think were good for Lucy. 4. List three facts that you think were good for Zehmer. 5. Change 5 facts so that the result would have been for Zehmer. 6. Would it have made any difference if Lucy had been the pone to write the agreement? What does the Court say that supports your answer? 7. Would it have been a harder or easier case for the Court to decide if Zehmer was the one trying to enforce the contract? 8. Taking into account all of the facts, do you think it was reasonable for Lucy to have believed Zehmer was serious? Why or why not? Wright v. Newman 1. What is the issue that the Court says it must decide? 2. Promissory estoppel operates to allow one party to enforce a contract that would otherwise be unenforceable. Without promissory estoppel, Newman's claim would fail because what required element of an enforceable contract is missing? 3. Note that Newman was not seeking to collect back child support from Wright, only to establish a court ordered child support obligation going forward. Also, Wright had not been paying child support in the seven years since Newman cut off contact with him. How does this affect your view of the majority's opinion that Newman relied on Wright's promise to her detriment? Should the Court have given more weight to what happened in the intervening seven years? Why or why not? 4. Fatherhood and supporting children carry substantial moral weight. Do you think Newman's case would have been weaker if the promise involved something like the repair of a fence? Why or why not? 5. Which specific part of the majority opinion does Justice Benham disagree with in his dissenting opinion? 6. Why does Justice Benham say Newman has not relied on Wright's promise to her detriment? 7. What does Justice Sears specifically take issue with from the dissenting opinion? 8. The Court makes clear that promissory estoppel is used only when the failure to impose it on the parties would create an injustice. What does Justice Sears see as the injustice to the child if the contract is not enforced? 9. Do you believe that injustice would result if the Court failed to enforce Wright's promise? Why or why not? 10. What is your one sentence summary of the Court's holding in this case