Deck 23: Specific Performance; Rescission, Rectification, and Account

Question 1

Which of the following statements is false?

A) Specific performance is an order by the court compelling a person to do what they agreed, under pain of a penalty if they fail to do so.
B) Specific performance is a kind of dramatic production.
C) An order for specific performance can be a useful remedy when damages are insufficient.
D) An order for specific performance can require the defendant to confer benefits on a person who is not the claimant.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following is not a situation where equity may intervene and make a defendant perform a contract rather than pay damages for its breach?

A) Contracts for the sale of land.
B) Contracts requiring the defendant to carry out an activity.
C) Contracts where damages would be available, but their calculation would be very difficult.
D) Contracts for commonplace goods that are made rare by other circumstances.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following is not a good defence to an action for specific performance?

A) The award would cause undue hardship to the defendant.
B) Specific performance would not be available against the claimant.
C) The absence of any necessary formalities in the creation of the contract.
D) There was a material misrepresentation by the seller.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Vintage Car Mart sells vintage cars by auction. Alphonso attends one of their auction sales and, carried away by the excitement, is the highest bidder for a vintage car which he has not seen. The car is described as a 1961 Jaguar E-type in British Racing Green and in good running order.
Which of the following statements is most true?

A) If Alphonso fails to sign the written contract at the end of the sale, specific performance will not be available, because only written contracts can be enforced by means of an order for specific performance.
B) If the car is a different colour and lacking essential components in the engine, Vintage Car Marts cannot enforce the contract by means of specific performance because the property has been misdescribed.
C) If the car is a different colour and lacking essential components in the engine, Alphonso cannot enforce the contract by means of specific performance because the property has been misdescribed.
D) Cars can easily be acquired on the open market, so this is not a situation where specific performance would normally be available.

Question 5

Bradley, a criminal convicted of several offences of dishonesty, enters into two contracts to sell the same vintage Rolls Royce Silver Cloud. One of the contracts is with Charlene, the other with Davina. Both apply to court seeking an order for specific performance.
Which of the following statements is most likely to be true?

A) Neither Charlene nor Davina can enforce the contract since it is unlawful for Bradley to attempt to sell the same article twice.
B) Charlene can enforce the contract by means of specific performance if she entered into a contract first. Davina will be entitled only to damages because it is impossible to compel Bradley to transfer the same article to two different people.
C) Charlene and Davina cannot obtain specific performance, but are entitled to damages for breach of contract.
D) Both Charlene and Davina are entitled to an order for specific performance.

Question 6

Margeretta is a trained opera singer, who has been hired to give an exclusive gala concert by Moneybags, as a birthday present for his wife. Margeretta is superstitious and, having read the tea-leaves in her cup, decides not to do the concert. Moneybags is desperate to make her perform. Moneybags may:

A) Compel Margeretta to perform the contract, as this is the carrying out of a specific activity.
B) Not compel Margeretta, as this is a contract for personal services. He can bring an action for damages.
C) Compel Margeretta to perform the contract, as damages would be an inadequate remedy.
D) Not compel Margeretta, because contracts for personal services like this are unenforceable.

Question 7

Which of the following statements is false?

A) Rescission is where the economy suffers a downturn.
B) Rectification is what happens when an alternating electrical current is converted into direct current.
C) A count is a title of nobility used in some European countries.
D) Rescission, rectification and account are equitable remedies.

Question 8

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Rescission is available both for bilateral contracts and voluntary transactions, applying different rules or criteria in each case.
B) Rescission is available both for bilateral contracts and voluntary transactions, applying the same rules or criteria in each case.
C) Rescission is available for bilateral contracts but not for unilateral transactions.
D) Rescission is available for unilateral transactions but not for bilateral contracts.

Question 9

Which of the following situations is not one in which a claimant may seek rescission of a contract?

A) Contracts entered under mistake.
B) Contracts entered into under undue influence.
C) Contracts entered into under a misrepresentation.
D) Contracts entered into which contain unfair terms.

Question 10

Which of the following statements about the availability of rescission for voluntary dispositions is false?

A) Rescission can be available even where the person making a voluntary disposition made a mistake through carelessness.
B) Rescission is available for voluntary dispositions made as a result of a misprediction.
C) Rescission of a voluntary disposition for mistake will be possible only if the causative mistake is sufficiently grave as to make it unconscionable on the part of the donee to retain the property.
D) Rescission of a voluntary disposition can be available for a mistake about the law despite the maxim that 'ignorance of the law is no defence'.

Question 11

Which of the following is not a requirement for rectification of a document?

A) A document in writing.
B) An ambiguity or uncertainty in the document.
C) Clear evidence of the true intention of the person executing the document.
D) Some degree of precision about what the document should have recorded.

Question 12

Which of the following statements about the equitable remedy of account is true?

A) An order of account can only be used where the claimant has suffered a loss: the purpose of the account is to quantify this loss.
B) The taking of an account is sufficient in itself without any further judgment to make a defendant liable for the sum found due.
C) Once an account has been taken, it is final, and cannot be set aside or reviewed, even if there has been fraud.
D) An equitable order to account can be used to support a claim for damages for breach of contract, even where no other aspect of equity's jurisdiction is involved or engaged.