A seafood importer entered into a written agreement with a restaurant chain to sell the restaurant chain 500 pounds of prawns for a total price of $10,000. Prior to the date set for execution of the contract, the market price for prawns soared because of a natural disaster in an area where a large percentage of prawns are cultivated. The importer informed the restaurant chain that the cost of prawns had risen and requested that the contract price be adjusted to $12,000 for the 500 pounds of prawns as a result. The restaurant chain agreed orally to pay the $12,000, but no written confirmation was exchanged between the parties. Shortly thereafter, the market for prawns stabilized and prawns became available again at predisaster price levels. The importer shipped 500 pounds of prawns to the restaurant chain. On receipt, the restaurant chain sent the importer a certified check in the amount of $10,000, marking it “payment in full.” The importer did not cash the check, but telephoned the restaurant chain demanding an additional $2,000. The restaurant chain refuses to pay the additional sum. May the importer enforce its demand for an additional $2,000 in a court of law?

A college student gained weight over the course of his first semester of college. His mother was concerned for his health, so over winter break, she told him that if he joined an on-campus gym and started an exercise routine she would pay the gym’s membership fees, and that she would also pay him $100 for every pound he lost until he returned to a healthy weight. The college student agreed and said he would sign up when he returned to campus. The next day, the college student left his mother’s house to spend the remainder of his winter break at his father’s house. His father also was concerned about his son’s recent weight gain. The college student told his father of his mother’s offer. His father thought it was a great idea and told the college student that if his mother didn’t pay as promised, he would pay. The next semester the college student joined the gym and as a result of his efforts he managed to lose 30 pounds. Shortly before summer break began, the student’s mother died, and his stepfather, who was the executor of the mother’s estate, cancelled the gym membership and refused to pay the college student any money for his weight loss. When the college student told his father what had happened, his father also refused to pay, saying that the student should be satisfied with his weight loss and not concerned with the payment. If the college student brings suit against his father for breach of contract, which of the following represents his father’s best defense?

The owner of an award-winning thoroughbred racehorse sent an e-mail to a horse breeder offering to sell him the horse for $80,000 if he bought the horse before November 15. The breeder was extremely knowledgeable about horses and knew that comparable horses were being sold for $100,000. On November 1, just as the breeder was headed to his bank to get a certified check for the purchase of the horse, he received another e-mail from the owner stating that he had changed his mind and the horse was no longer for sale. The breeder got the check and drove to the owner’s stable anyway, where he saw a “horse for sale” sign nailed to the outside of the horse’s stall. The breeder located the owner behind the stable, tendered the $80,000 certified check, and demanded the horse. The owner refused. If the breeder brings an action seeking damages for breach of contract against the horse owner, what is his likely recovery?

A retiring dentist entered into a written agreement with an agent whereby the agent would receive a commission of 10% of the sale price if he procured a “ready, willing, and able buyer” for the purchase of the dentist’s dental practice and if the sale of the practice actually occurred. The agent found a buyer who agreed in writing to buy the practice from the dentist for $500,000, the dentist’s asking price. The buyer put up $30,000 as a down payment. The agreement between the dentist and the buyer contained a liquidated damages clause providing that, if the buyer defaulted by failing to tender the balance due of $470,000 within 60 days, damages would be 10% of the purchase price. The dentist included that clause because she was counting on using the proceeds of the sale for another business venture that would likely net her at least $50,000. The buyer became seriously ill and defaulted. When he recovered, he demanded that the dentist return his $30,000, but the dentist refused. The agent also demanded the $30,000 from the dentist and was refused. The agent and the buyer filed separate suits against the dentist, with the buyer pleading impossibility of performance. The two cases are consolidated into a single case. How should the court rule as to the disposition of the $30,000?

On April 1, a landscaper read an ad in a trade magazine from a nursery offering a new variety of hydrangea bushes for $40 per bush. The landscaper immediately filled out the order form included in the ad ordering 10 bushes and deposited it, properly stamped and addressed, into the mail. On April 2, the landscaper received in the mail a letter from the same nursery, sent out as part of its advertising campaign, stating in relevant part that it will sell the landscaper 10 hydrangea bushes at $40 per bush. A day later, on April 3, the nursery received the landscaper’s order. On April 4, the bushes were shipped. On what day did an enforceable contract arise?

Solve the problem.How much work does it take to slide a box 44 meters along the ground by pulling it with a 125 N force at an angle of 45° from the horizontal?

A boy was playing softball in a neighborhood park when a ball was hit over the fence and into a neighbor’s yard. The boy knocked on the neighbor’s door and obtained permission from her to retrieve the ball from her yard. As he bent to retrieve the ball in some bushes, the boy brushed against an exposed electric wire that was partially hidden by the bushes and received a severe electric shock and burns. The neighbor had failed to maintain the bushes, allowing them to become overgrown, and was not aware of the exposed wire. If the boy sues the neighbor in a jurisdiction that applies the traditional rules for landowners and possessors of land, what is the likely result?

To fight drug abuse, a state enacted a statute forbidding the selling of model airplane glue to anyone under the age of 18 except in small quantities in prepackaged model kits. Violation of the statute was penalized by fines or, in cases of multiple violations, possible imprisonment. The statute also required that all elementary and secondary schools licensed by the state provide comprehensive drug education programs. Neither the legislature nor the courts of the state have abolished the common law tort defense of assumption of the risk. The owner of a hobby shop in the state sold a large tube of airplane glue to a 15-year-old boy who reasonably appeared to be at least 18 years old. The boy had received drug education in his school, as mandated by the statute, including coverage of the dangers of glue sniffing. The boy understood the anti-drug instruction, but he wanted to experience it for himself. The boy sniffed the glue repeatedly and suffered permanent brain damage. If the boy’s parents file suit on the boy’s behalf against the store owner, for whom is the court likely to rule?

A woman gifted her house to her niece by quitclaim deed. The niece promptly and properly recorded her deed. A year later, the woman conveyed the same house to a neighbor for $75,000 by warranty deed, which was promptly and properly recorded. As between the niece and the neighbor, who has the superior right to title to the house?

A woman entered into a written contract to sell her office building to an investor. A week before the date set for closing, the investor decided to buy a hotel in a neighboring town instead. The investor notified the woman that he would not be going through with the closing. The woman sued the investor for specific performance. Which fact, if true, would likely cause the court to rule in the investor’s favor?