Exam 10: Contracts

In DeRosier v. Utility Systems of America, Inc. where DeRosier sued Utility Systems of America, Inc. for dumping too much fill dirt on his property, the appeals court held that:

Prohibiting the introduction of oral evidence when it contradicts the terms of a written contract is an example of:

____ is something of value or something bargained for in exchange for a promise.

Fraud occurs whenever there is any false information passed to the party being induced to enter into a contract.

Len agrees to sell Doug some choice ocean-front property. If Len later refuses to convey the land, Doug may sue for:

A mutual rescission occurs when both parties agree that their contractual relationship should be terminated without performance.

An effective offer includes which of the following:

The ____ prohibits the introduction of oral evidence into a lawsuit where the evidence presented is contrary to the terms of a written contract.

An effective acceptance must be:

Pena was injured in an auto accident involving Fox. Pena's attorney sent an offer to Fox's insurance company offering to drop all claims with respect to Pena, but not any other parties, in exchange for a certain payment. Fox's insurer replied that it would pay the amount, but the payment would settle all possible claims related to the matter. Pena contended the reply was a rejection of the offer and sued. The trial court held that the parties had agreed to settle the matter so there could be no suit. Was that correct?

Usually, the acceptance of an offer is legally effective when the acceptance is sent.

Fact Pattern 10-1 Lulene makes the best lemon meringue pies in Mississippi. So Ellen, who owns Ellen's Old Fashion Cafe, contracts with Lulene to buy 50 pies per week at the price of $5.00 per pie. Although Lulene took a class in business law, she forgot to get her agreement with Ellen in writing. Lulene and Ellen agreed during a chat. Lulene said: "I will supply you with lemon meringue pies for however long you want them at $5.00 per pie." Ellen said: "That's great, I'll take them." Both women were pleased. Soon Lulene had a problem. Between a hurricane in Florida and brush fires in California, the price of lemons increased by 200%. Now, instead of the $5.00 per pie price she intended to charge Ellen, she feels she must charge $7.00 per pie to make a little profit. Lulene calls Ellen with the bad news and Ellen has a fit. She tells Lulene that's too bad, but the deal is off. Lulene says, "That's what you think!" and goes to see Amanda, her attorney. -Refer to Fact Pattern 10-1. Suppose that when discussing the deal, Lulene said to Ellen, "you know, I can only hold this offer open to you until Wednesday." On Thursday, Ellen calls Lulene and tells her she would like the pies. In this case the offer was terminated:

An offer that has unclear major terms, or is missing important terms:

If one party makes it clear that a contract will not be performed as it is supposed to be in the future, the party who will suffer from the breach must wait until the time of the breach to have the right to sue for damages.

Fraud requires scienter; that is the party accused of fraud must have wanted to mislead the other party.

If parties contract via the Internet, the digital signature provided by the parties is:

If the offeree does not accept the offer, after a reasonable length of time the offer may terminate through:

The basic elements of a contract include agreement, lawful subject matter, legal capacity, consent, and:

Unconscionable contracts are upheld by the courts unless force was used to obtain them.

In the divorce agreement between Ted and Alice, Alice agreed to assume the debt on Ted's credit card. The credit card company agrees to this arrangement. This is an example of: