Exam 13: Contracts in Writing and Third-Party Contracts

The parol evidence rule is a common law rule that specifically addresses the admissibility of written evidence as it relates to oral contracts.

What is the term for the third party who receives an assignment of contract rights?

The ________ rule is a common law rule that addresses the admissibility of oral evidence as it relates to written contracts.

Third-Party Woes.Trudy owed Sam $40 for a book she purchased from him.Trudy mowed Betty's yard for $40 and agreed with Betty that Betty would pay Sam for the book.Sam is not initially aware of the agreement.Betty pays no one.Trudy also mowed Bob's yard for $40 in return for Bob's agreement to give the payment to Sally representing Trudy's birthday present to Sally.Bob later refuses to do so saying that promises to give gifts are not enforceable.He then moves out of town.Trudy tells both Sam and Sally that she is broke,that Sam needs to get his $40 for the book from Betty,and that Sally is owed $40 from Bob for her birthday present.Which of the following is the likely result if Sam sues Betty for the $40 that Trudy owes him for the book?

Which of the following is a correct statement regarding the rights of an intended beneficiary?

The Uniform Commercial Code requires assignments to be in writing when the amount being assigned is less than $500.

Partial performance can override the statute of fraud's requirement for a written agreement.

A(n)________ is created when two parties enter into a contract with the intended purpose of benefiting a third party.

Which of the following is an incorrect statement regarding the statute of frauds?

Which of the following is a false statement regarding a condition precedent?

Which of the following is determinative regarding the effectiveness of an anti-assignment clause?

List the types of contractual rights that cannot be assigned.

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 true regarding Bruce's promises to Sally of a Mercedes and a trip?

The statute of frauds is intended to prevent unreliable ________ evidence from interfering with a contractual relationship.

Which of the following is a consideration of courts in determining whether a person is an incidental beneficiary or merely an intended beneficiary?

Pursuant to the equitable theory of post hoc ergo propter hoc,an intended beneficiary can enforce her rights to a contract before the rights vest.

In determining whether a third party is an intended beneficiary,courts ask whether the contracting parties intended the third party to be the ________ beneficiary of the contract.

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 Jan to recover the $800?

When a court deems a contract integrated,parol evidence is generally inadmissible.

An intended beneficiary is a third party to a contract whom the contracting parties intended to benefit directly from their contract.