Exam 14: Breach of Contract and Remedies

Andrew,a carpenter,entered into a contract with Steven for the construction of a garage on Steven's property for $5,000.Andrew had constructed the entire garage except for the small door,when he refused to complete the contract.Andrew would not be entitled to claim payment,because he has not finished his part of the agreement.

Petra agreed to purchase franchise rights from Valley Cream Inc.to sell VCI ice cream from small trucks in a large metropolitan area.Her deposit on the transaction was $15,000 against a final price of the rights at $40 000.The contract contained a term,of which Petra was aware,that the deposit would be forfeited as liquidated damages if she did not follow through on the deal.Early on in the process,Petra could not get the financing she needed,and was forced to back out.Valley Cream,whose file contained only the copy of the agreement,refused to return the money.The most important part of Petra's Statement of Claim will be that relating to

You are the president of Haverland Fruit Company,and you ended negotiations with Western Jam and Jelly Co.,having been highly insulted by the WJJ bid for Haverland strawberries at $12,000 per 10,000 baskets.Just before harvest you found a buyer in Anderson Bakeries at $30 000 for the baskets,but once the trucks had been loaded and sent off,word arrived that Anderson would refuse the shipment as it had been shut down by a strike.The berries will rot in two more days on the trucks.The WJJ President is now on the phone to you with an offer of $8,500 for the berries.What do you do,in what order,and what principles of law are in play?

Antoine,a bush pilot,agrees to ferry an exploration crew from Gamma Oil to a remote part of Alberta in his helicopter,and to retrieve them a month later.Three weeks into the bush,the Gamma team learn through listening to local radio chatter on their short-wave radio that Antoine has sold his helicopter to a pilot in New Brunswick.In any future dispute over the situation,Gamma's position will be that Antoine's actions constituted anticipatory breach.

A condition may become a warranty ex post facto.

Trendy Imports entered into a contract on June 1^st with Neat Things,a small upscale gift shop,to supply it with 100 tooled leather boxes.Delivery was to be made on September 15^th so that the boxes could be on display in the store by October 15^th,ready for the pre-Christmas rush.On August 6^th,Trendy notified Neat Things that it seemed that a dock strike in Italy was holding up the shipment and,if the boat on which they were loaded could not leave port within a very few days,Trendy would not be able to make the delivery on September 15^th. In this situation,

Robin offered to sell her 10-speed touring bicycle to Felicia for $200 on her return from a two-week bicycle trip to a distant city.At the end of the first week,Felicia received a long distance telephone call from Robin,in which Robin advised Felicia that she had decided not to sell the bicycle on her return.Felicia was disappointed,as a similar bicycle on the market would cost her at least $250.She decided to wait until Robin returned then urge her to go through with the sale.Before Robin reached home,her bicycle was stolen,and never found.Felicia is entitled to claim damages for the difference in value between the agreed price and the price of a similar bicycle on the market.

When faced with a seller's onerous exemption clause,it would be time well spent for an aggrieved purchaser to consider the effect of the law as it relates to fundamental breach.

Robin offered to sell her 10-speed touring bicycle to Felicia for $200 on her return from a two-week bicycle trip to a distant city.At the end of the first week,Felicia received a long distance telephone call from Robin,in which Robin advised Felicia that she had decided not to sell the bicycle on her return.Felicia was disappointed,as a similar bicycle on the market would cost her at least $250.She decided to wait until Robin returned then urge her to go through with the sale.Before Robin reached home,her bicycle was stolen,and never found.Had the bicycle not been destroyed,Felicia would be entitled to specific performance of the contract if Robin had refused to sell.

Nature's Flowers is required,as a condition of their contract,to supply the Ubiquitous Chip,a trendy restaurant,with 45 flower arrangements for tables and three large displays,twice a week.This week,it was two table arrangements short one day and three short on the other.Nature's Flowers is entitled to invoke the doctrine of quantum meruit and be paid for the value of what was delivered.

Robin offered to sell her 10-speed touring bicycle to Felicia for $200 on her return from a two-week bicycle trip to a distant city.At the end of the first week,Felicia received a long distance telephone call from Robin,in which Robin advised Felicia that she had decided not to sell the bicycle on her return.Felicia was disappointed,as a similar bicycle on the market would cost her at least $250.She decided to wait until Robin returned then urge her to go through with the sale.Before Robin reached home,her bicycle was stolen,and never found.Felicia cannot recover anything from Robin for repudiation of the contract,because the contract was frustrated before the date fixed for performance.

Andrew,a carpenter,entered into a contract with Steven for the construction of a garage on Steven's property for $5,000.Andrew had constructed the entire garage except for the small door,when he refused to complete the contract.Steven is entitled to ask the court for an order of specific performance of the contract.

Princess Alicia hires Renaldo,the artist to paint her portrait.The two disagreed.Renaldo said,"I'm done!" He left the palace.What remedy is available to Princess Alicia?

Zenia contracts with Yvonne for a supply of specialized computer components worth $6,000,which she needs to meet a contract to supply Wendy with 60 laptop computers,a contract which is worth $65,000 to Zenia.Zenia makes it clear to Yvonne that her contract with Wendy is vital to let her get established in the market and that it is imperative that Yvonne meet the deadline."If you can't," she says,"I'll take the business to someone who can." Yvonne wants the business badly,so,against her better judgment,she agrees to a clause in the contract which says that,for every day delivery is late,she will pay Zenia $10,000.

Antoine,a bush pilot,agrees to ferry an exploration crew from Gamma Oil to a remote part of Alberta in his helicopter,and to retrieve them a month later.Three weeks into the bush,the Gamma team learn through listening to local radio chatter on their short-wave radio that Antoine has sold his helicopter to a pilot in New Brunswick.The circumstances indicate express repudiation by Antoine.

Robin offered to sell her 10-speed touring bicycle to Felicia for $200 on her return from a two-week bicycle trip to a distant city.At the end of the first week,Felicia received a long distance telephone call from Robin,in which Robin advised Felicia that she had decided not to sell the bicycle on her return.Felicia was disappointed,as a similar bicycle on the market would cost her at least $250.She decided to wait until Robin returned then urge her to go through with the sale.Before Robin reached home,her bicycle was stolen,and never found.Because Robin's bicycle was stolen,Felicia is entitled to demand that Robin replace the stolen bicycle with a similar one,and sell it to her.

Mario,a professional entertainer,entered into a one-year contract with Barnum to perform exclusively at Barnum's theatre,and to perform nowhere else during that period of time.A week after the agreement was signed,Mario entered into another agreement with a competitor of Barnum to perform at his opera house.Barnum is entitled to treat Mario's actions as a breach of his contract.

Nature's Flowers is required,as a condition of their contract,to supply the Ubiquitous Chip,a trendy restaurant,with 45 flower arrangements for tables and three large displays,twice a week.This week,it was two table arrangements short one day and three short on the other.Nature's Flowers is entitled to be paid the amount of the contract less the value of the five table vases because there has been substantial performance of the contract.

Catherine agreed to purchase franchise rights from a hamburger restaurant chain to open her own restaurant.Her deposit on the transaction was $10,000 against a final price of the rights at $750 000.The contract contained a term,of which Catherine was aware,that the deposit would be forfeited if she did not follow through on the deal.Early on in the process,Catherine could not obtain ownership of the site upon which she intended to construct her restaurant and was forced to back out.The hamburger chain refused to return her deposit.The most correct statement below is:

Eric was painting the interior of Erna's house.While he was painting,Erna was constantly nattering at him.One day,he quietly packed up all of his equipment,waved good-bye and left.He had almost completed the job and had two walls left in the small bedroom.What remedy is available to Erna?