Exam 8: Real, Personal, and Intellectual Property

Reference - Saturday Auction. Barry, an auctioneer, was holding an auction on a Saturday morning. At the beginning of the auction, Barry announced that the auction was being held without reserve. Helen, Mary, and Chris were all in attendance. Helen saw an old cash register with a stuck drawer that she thought would look great in her den. The auctioneer put the cash register up for sale, noting that the drawer was stuck and that no one really knew what was inside. Helen bought it for $20. At the same auction, Mary saw a great deal on a used table. She bid $20 on it. No one else bid anything. Barry announced that $20 was clearly insufficient for the table, that it was worth much more than that, and that he was taking it out of the auction. Chris started bidding on a diamond ring for his girlfriend. He bid $2,000. Just as Barry was getting ready to say "Sold", Chris looked over at his girlfriend, decided that he was not sure about marriage, and leaped up yelling "I revoke." Barry, however, immediately yelled "Sold." When she got it home and broke into it, Helen discovered that the cash register actually contained $5,000. Unfortunately, Helen had a teenage son named Tad who started bragging to his friends about the family's good fortune. Barry heard about what had happened and sued Helen for return of the $5,000. Mary sues Barry attempting to obtain possession of the table. Barry sues Chris attempting to enforce a contract for the sale of the engagement ring. In the lawsuit in which Barry sues Helen for return of the $5,000, which of the following is the most likely result?

Define a bilateral contract and a unilateral contract, and give an example of each.

When acceptance is examined under the common law, how do the basic requirements for a valid acceptance compare with those for a valid offer?

Wally wants to sell his used computer to Susan for $400. Susan says that she will think about it. Wally tells Susan on Monday that if she wants the computer, she must call him on his cell phone by 6 p.m., the next day. That next morning Susan decides she does want the computer, but she has misplaced Wally's cell phone number. She finds his address in an old campus directory. Therefore, she drops a note to him through U.S. mail telling him that she wants the computer. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, before he gets Susan's acceptance, Wally sells the computer to Alice. When Wally calls Susan to tell her the bad news, Susan tells Wally that she accepted the contract and that under the Mailbox Rule, he is liable to her for damages computed by the difference between $400 and the amount it costs her to obtain a similar computer. Who will win in the dispute between Wally and Susan and why?

Millie mows her own yard to save money. Her neighbor Paul, however, hires a lawn service to mow his yard. One day Millie is looking out the window and sees Paul's lawn service drive up. Surprisingly, they begin to mow her yard, not Paul's yard. Millie thinks that is great and keeps her mouth shut while they mow the yard. Later, she gets a bill. She calls the owner of the lawn service and says that she does not have to pay because there was no contract by she agreed to have her yard mowed. Discuss whether the lawn service is entitled to any recovery and why or why not.

A ________________ is an agreement by the person who issues the letter to pay a sum of money on receipt of an invoice and other documents.

Which of the following is an example of a formal contract?

There are a limited number of circumstances under which silence can be an acceptance.

A _____________ contract is one that contains all the legal elements of a contract.

Which of the following have all their terms clearly set forth in either written or spoken words?

If the subject matter of an offer is destroyed, the offer _________.

Reference - Wrong Deck. Penny hires Jackson to paint her back deck on her house. She agrees to pay him $200 for the job, and he accepts, sight unseen. They enter into the agreement on Tuesday, and he is to paint the deck on Saturday. When Jackson arrives, neither Penny nor her neighbor is at home. He mistakenly paints the neighbor's deck. Penny calls him the next day and asks him why he did not paint her deck. He informs her that he did paint the deck. It is then discovered that he mistakenly painted the neighbor's deck. Penny tells him not to worry because the neighbor will be required to pay him. Jackson says that if the neighbor does not pay, then he expects all of his funds from Penny. Which of the following is true regarding Jackson's assertion that Penny must pay him?

In an auction ___________, the seller is treated as making an offer to accept the highest bid.

Which of the following references a problem occurring when a buyer and a seller purport to make an agreement, but pre-printed forms do not match?

As a general rule, when is revocation effective?

Only the offeree to whom an offer is directed can accept the offer.

Which of the following provides that an acceptance is valid when it is placed in the mailbox?

A[n] _______________ arises when a person acknowledges in court that he or she will perform some specified act or will pay a price upon failure to do so.

Which of the following is the reason the Uniform Commercial Code was drafted?

Reference - Wrong Deck. Penny hires Jackson to paint her back deck on her house. She agrees to pay him $200 for the job, and he accepts, sight unseen. They enter into the agreement on Tuesday, and he is to paint the deck on Saturday. When Jackson arrives, neither Penny nor her neighbor is at home. He mistakenly paints the neighbor's deck. Penny calls him the next day and asks him why he did not paint her deck. He informs her that he did paint the deck. It is then discovered that he mistakenly painted the neighbor's deck. Penny tells him not to worry because the neighbor will be required to pay him. Jackson says that if the neighbor does not pay, then he expects all of his funds from Penny. Which of the following is correct regarding Penny's assertion that the neighbor will be required to pay Jackson?