Exam 13: Contracts in Writing and Third-Party Contracts

Which of the following is an exception to the general rule that rights to a contract cannot be assigned when a contract is personal in nature?

Not So Rich Uncle.Bruce is attempting to convince Sally to marry him.He promises her that if she will marry him,he will buy a new Mercedes automobile for her within six months of the marriage and take her on a world tour within a year of the marriage date.Sally reluctantly agrees,and they sign an agreement by which Bruce agrees to provide the Mercedes and world tour.Bruce and Sally marry on January 1.Unexpectedly,on March 1,Bruce's supposedly rich uncle,Frank,dies.Frank has no living relatives other than Bruce,and Frank's will leaves everything to Bruce,who is also appointed executor.In attempting to settle the estate,Bruce agrees orally to pay out of his own pocket Frank's debts totaling $10,000.Sally is concerned about Bruce's doing so.Bruce tells her not to worry because he will get all the money back when the estate settles.Bruce admits to a number of friends that he agreed to settle the debts out of his own pocket because he needed to obtain assets from the estate in a hurry.The assets were needed in large part to satisfy his obligations to Sally.Surprisingly,it later came to light that prior to his death Frank had signed away all his assets to his girlfriend in Argentina.There was nothing left in the estate for Bruce to inherit.Bruce disavowed his agreement to pay $10,000 to various creditors.Which of the following is the appropriate term for the marriage agreement entered into between Bruce and Sally?

A statement made in court,under oath,or at some stage during a legal proceeding in which a party against whom a lawsuit has been brought admits that an oral contract existed,even though the contract was required to be in writing,is called a(n)________.

Which of the following is not an exception to the parol evidence rule?

If the buyer in an oral contract for the sale of land has paid any portion of the sale price,has begun to permanently improve the land,or has taken possession of the land,the courts will consider the contract partially performed under the theory of ________.

Which of the following is an accurate description of the parol evidence rule?

Which of the following states that in the case of multiple assignments of the same right,the first assignee to give notice of assignment to the obligor is the party with rights to the contract?

Which of the following are considered an interest in land within the statute of frauds?

Which of the following is needed in order to satisfy the Uniform Commercial Code's requirement for a written document?

Which of the following is an incorrect statement regarding the assignment of claims in Russia?

A(n)________ clause is a clause parties include in a written agreement within the statute of frauds that states that the written agreement accurately reflects the final,complete version of the agreement.

Painted House.Billy had a contract to paint Jan's house for $800 including the duty to clean up any debris.The contract between Billy and Jan did not contain an anti-assignment clause.Billy,who was very busy,assigned the contract,including the right to payment and the duty to paint,to Richard who was interested in making some extra money and had experience painting.Billy did not tell Jan about the assignment because he did not want any trouble nor did Richard mention the assignment to her.In fact,Richard never met Jan because he painted while she was at work.After Richard did a good job painting the house,Jan sent a check to Billy for $800.Billy needed the money to pay some bills,so he spent it.He thought he would have money coming in with which to pay Richard,but that did not happen.Richard asked Jan for $800 when it was not forthcoming from Billy.Jan refused.Richard said that he was going to sue her and Billy.Jan called Billy and told him that he had no right to assign the contract.Another problem involved disposal of debris.Although Richard was a good,competent painter,he forgot and left some old paint cans at Jan's house.Jan demanded that Billy come and properly dispose of the paint cans because they could not simply be put in the trash.Billy refused and told her that she would have to get Richard to dispose of the paint cans because that was his responsibility.What would be the likely result of a lawsuit brought by Richard against Billy to recover the $800?

Third-party rights in a life insurance policy do not vest until the ________.

Not So Rich Uncle.Bruce is attempting to convince Sally to marry him.He promises her that if she will marry him,he will buy a new Mercedes automobile for her within six months of the marriage and take her on a world tour within a year of the marriage date.Sally reluctantly agrees,and they sign an agreement by which Bruce agrees to provide the Mercedes and world tour.Bruce and Sally marry on January 1.Unexpectedly,on March 1,Bruce's supposedly rich uncle,Frank,dies.Frank has no living relatives other than Bruce,and Frank's will leaves everything to Bruce who is also appointed executor.In attempting to settle the estate,Bruce agrees orally to pay out of his own pocket debts of Frank totaling $10,000.Sally is concerned about Bruce's doing so.Bruce tells her not to worry because he will get all the money back when the estate settles.Bruce admits to a number of friends that he agreed to settle the debts out of his own pocket because he needed to obtain assets from the estate in a hurry.The assets were needed in large part to satisfy his obligations to Sally.Surprisingly,it later came to light that prior to his death Frank had signed away all his assets to his girlfriend in Argentina.There was nothing left in the estate for Bruce to inherit.Bruce disavowed his agreement to pay $10,000 to various creditors.Which of the following is the most likely result of Bruce's attempt to avoid his agreement to pay creditors of the estate out of his own pocket?

Lake House.Harry has two houses,a house on the lake and a house in town.Rebecca wants to buy the house on the lake.Harry and Rebecca orally agree that Rebecca will buy the house on the lake for $300,000.Harry hurriedly writes out a contract providing that he would sell "his house" to Rebecca for $300,000.Harry signs the top of the document.Rebecca does not sign at all.No merger clause is included in the contract.Harry backs out of the contract,and Rebecca sues him.He tells the judge that the statute of frauds is not satisfied because he did not sign the document at the end and because Rebecca did not sign at all.He also tells the judge that,at any rate,the agreement referred to the house in town,not the house on the lake; and that under the parol evidence rule,he had the right to identify the correct house.Which of the following is true regarding Harry's assertion that the statute of frauds is not satisfied because he did not sign the document at the end?

Which of the following is/are a type of intended beneficiary?

Which of the following types of contracts does not fall within the statute of frauds?

Mortgages and leases need not be in writing in order to be enforceable.

Although a mutual promise to marry falls within the statute of frauds,prenuptial agreements do not.

Define the parol evidence rule,and list the eight exceptions to the parol evidence rule.