Having settled things with my neighbor Phil, I produce a few chainsaw carvings and sell them...

 

Transcribed Image Text:

Having settled things with my neighbor Phil, I produce a few chainsaw carvings and sell them at Art on the Square and other events. My work starts to become popular, and I sign a contract with Home Depot's Garden Center to sell them 50 carvings for $100 each. (a) In an effort to reduce the city's carbon footprint, Madison's Common Council votes to ban chainsaw use on private property for "non-essential" purposes such as art. Since I can't use my chainsaw, I fail to deliver the carvings to Home Depot, but I claim I shouldn't owe them damages. Explain why. Would it make a difference if I knew about the impending ban when I signed the contract with Home Depot? (b) I claim the Common Council's action was a regulatory taking. What does this mean, and what are the implications if I'm right? Home Depot successfully lobbies the Common Council to repeal the chainsaw ban, and I go back to making chainsaw carvings. After I deliver the first few carvings, I learn that Home Depot is selling them for $1,000 each, not the $180 I thought they were worth, and I regret agreeing to a price of $100. (c) If Home Depot believed the carvings were worth $180 each when we signed the contract, and only learned later they could be sold for much more, could I get out of the contract? Why? (d) If Home Depot knew when they signed the contract that the carvings were this valuable, could I get out of the contract? Why? (e) I claim the contract is overly one-sided and I shouldn't be bound by it. Is this a valid claim under the Common Law? Is it a valid claim under the Bargain Theory? Explain. Eventually, I realize Home Depot has better lawyers than I do, and accept that I should honor the contract. I go back to making the carvings I promised them, but while I'm working on carving number 17, my chainsaw slips and cuts off one of my fingers, and I'm unable to make any more. Home Depot sues me for breach of contract; I claim that performance became impossible and I should be excused from paying damages. (f) Who is the efficient bearer of this type of risk? Why? (g) What does that imply about whether I should owe damages to Home Depot for breach of contract? Having settled things with my neighbor Phil, I produce a few chainsaw carvings and sell them at Art on the Square and other events. My work starts to become popular, and I sign a contract with Home Depot's Garden Center to sell them 50 carvings for $100 each. (a) In an effort to reduce the city's carbon footprint, Madison's Common Council votes to ban chainsaw use on private property for "non-essential" purposes such as art. Since I can't use my chainsaw, I fail to deliver the carvings to Home Depot, but I claim I shouldn't owe them damages. Explain why. Would it make a difference if I knew about the impending ban when I signed the contract with Home Depot? (b) I claim the Common Council's action was a regulatory taking. What does this mean, and what are the implications if I'm right? Home Depot successfully lobbies the Common Council to repeal the chainsaw ban, and I go back to making chainsaw carvings. After I deliver the first few carvings, I learn that Home Depot is selling them for $1,000 each, not the $180 I thought they were worth, and I regret agreeing to a price of $100. (c) If Home Depot believed the carvings were worth $180 each when we signed the contract, and only learned later they could be sold for much more, could I get out of the contract? Why? (d) If Home Depot knew when they signed the contract that the carvings were this valuable, could I get out of the contract? Why? (e) I claim the contract is overly one-sided and I shouldn't be bound by it. Is this a valid claim under the Common Law? Is it a valid claim under the Bargain Theory? Explain. Eventually, I realize Home Depot has better lawyers than I do, and accept that I should honor the contract. I go back to making the carvings I promised them, but while I'm working on carving number 17, my chainsaw slips and cuts off one of my fingers, and I'm unable to make any more. Home Depot sues me for breach of contract; I claim that performance became impossible and I should be excused from paying damages. (f) Who is the efficient bearer of this type of risk? Why? (g) What does that imply about whether I should owe damages to Home Depot for breach of contract?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

a If the city bans chainsaw use for nonessential purposes including art it could constitute an event ... View the full answer