Chapter 16 Questions

Jessica verbally agrees to sell her house to Kandis, and Kandis makes a $10,000 down payment, moves in, and begins the installation of a pool in the backyard. If Jessica changes her mind seven months later and wants her house back, a court would likely find that:

Kandice may keep the house because there has been partial performance.

Austin has a contract to sell 500 homemade teddy bears to Ally. The teddy bears typically sell for between $25 and $40. Austin delivers the bears to Ally but she refuses to pay, saying she changed her mind and that the contract is not valid because it is missing the price term. Did the price need to be specified in order for this contract to be valid?

No, price need not be in the contract for the sale of goods under the UCC, so long as the quantity is specified.

Sandy guarantees to pay Lester any debts Albert incurs with Lester. Sandy makes this guarantee because she knows that if she does not, Albert will run up a large debt with Lester and be forced to declare bankruptcy. Albert would then most likely be unable to pay Sandy what he owes her. Does this contract have to be in writing?

No, under the main purpose rule

If Juan is buying a tract of land from Ken, in which of the following ways would the legal description NOT be considered part of the contract?

The legal description is written on a separate piece of paper and is mailed separately from the contract.

Heather agrees to work for Noah for one year in his law office. Noah writes an employment contract that states that Heather is to earn $20 per hour and to work forty hours per week. Noah terminates Heather's employment after six months. Heather sues to recover what she claims are her losses. At trial, both parties discover that the contract says that Heather's hourly wage is $0.20 per hour. What can Heather and Noah do about the error?

They can offer parol evidence to clarify the clerical error

Gmiendl, Inc., a German company, and Bordeaux Enterprises Co., a French company, verbally agree to a contract for the purchase and sale of plastic bottles. Assume both France and Germany are signatories to the CISG. Is the contract valid?

Yes, because the CSIG does not require contracts for sale to be concluded or evidenced by writing.

Judge Macy has reviewed a contract between Martin and Rowan and has determined that the written terms of the contract represent the final agreement between the two parties. According to Judge Macy, their contract is:

an integrated contract.

James telephones Wanda, expressing interest in purchasing her famous chocolate ice cream. Wanda receives a purchase order for 100 gallons of ice cream from James for $300. On the appointed delivery date, Wanda delivers James 100 gallons of vanilla ice cream, stating that the contract didn't specify what flavor James wanted. James sues Wanda for the chocolate ice cream. A court will likely find that James:

can submit evidence of the telephone call expressing interest in chocolate ice cream even though the contract was ambiguous on which flavor would be purchased.

Westin wants to borrow $1,000 from Missy to help pay his deposit at his new apartment. Missy says she will agree to lend him the money, only if Westin promises to repay her within six months and if Westin's friend, Betty, promises to pay if Westin fails to do so. If Betty agrees to the arrangement, Betty's promise is called a:

collateral promise

Linda and Zeke sign a contract for the sale of Zeke's home to Linda. Although the price has yet to be determined, the contract states the property clearly to be sold and the date the house will be delivered to Linda. The contract:

does not constitute sufficient writing because the contract does not state the price at which the property will be sold.

Dillon struggles with his Algebra class and, in August, decides that he needs to get a tutor for the upcoming school year. He persuades Vonda to tutor him beginning in September. They discuss Vonda's fee and hours, and agree that the arrangement will last for the entire school year, ending in May. Under the Statute of Frauds, this contract:

does not need to be in writing

Max and Juli communicate by text message and Juli agrees to marry Max if he promises to take care of her daughter as well. His final text message reply says, "Of course I will take care of her if you marry me. Love you. Max." Juli saves the text messages as proof of his love for her. After they marry, Max refuses to take care of Juli's daughter. Juli attempts to enforce the agreement, but Max argues that it has to be in writing because it is a contract in consideration of marriage. If this ends up in court, the court likely would:

enforce the agreement, as copies of the text messages are sufficient writings.

One afternoon, after a couple of beers, Steven says that because Marvin has been a helpful neighbor, he can have a right-of-way to drive across Steven's land to get to a fishing pond. Two weeks later, while Marvin is driving across Steven's land, he hears Steven yelling, "Get off my property, you trespasser!" Marvin has:

no enforceable contract

Beaux is discussing with Brad the purpose of the statute of frauds enacted in all states, and tells him the purpose of the law is to:

prevent enforcement of certain contracts that are not in writing.

James tells Jennie that if she can find him an original painting by G. Harvey, signed with a No. 1, he will reimburse her up to $2,500. If Jennie finds such a painting, presents it to James, and he refuses to pay, she can recover under the doctrine of:

promissory estoppel.

Sheryl and Davis agree that before they marry, they should have a prenuptial agreement to determine what will happen to Sheryl's fortune if they divorce or if Sheryl dies. To make their agreement valid, they must:

put it in writing.

Garth purchases a boat from a boat manufacturer in another state. The sales contract contains all terms of the sale in great detail and at the end has the statement: "This agreement contains the entire agreement of the parties." If Garth later discovers a problem with the boat and sues for breach of contract, evidence extraneous to the contract:

will not be allowed in court because the contract was a fully integrated contract.