CAPITAL UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL
SPRING 1998 – CONTRACTS § B
FINAL EXAM
QUESTION I – 33% – 1 Hour -- 4 Page Limit
The sidewalk in front of Florence Samuleson’s German Village house has been broken, crumbled, and uneven, for several years. In early 1997 Florence received a notice from the city requiring her to repair the sidewalk by June 20, 1997.
On March 1, 1997 Florence received the following letter from "Ace Concrete & Sidewalk Co."
Dear Ms. Samuelson:
Ace Concrete & Sidewalk Co. prides itself on the quality of its sidewalk repair and replacement work. We understand that you, as well as many other German Village residents, have been ordered to repair the walkway in front of your home this summer. We would very much appreciate the opportunity to do this work for you, in time to meet the City’s deadline. Our normal charges for sidewalk replacement work is $7 per square foot. Once you let us know, we can begin work immediately.
/s/ Arthur Ace
On March 15, 1997, Florence sent the following response:
Dear Mr. Ace,
Thank you very much for your kind offer regarding my sidewalk. If you can have the work completed by April 15, when I return from vacation, and provide a 3-year warranty against cracks, I will pay $8.50 per square foot for the work..
/s/ Florence Samuelson
On March 25, 1997, not having heard anything further from Ace, Florence phoned one of Ace’s competitors, City Sidewalk Co. and entered into a contract with City Sidewalk to replace her walkway. The agreed price was $9.00 per square foot, with a 1-year warranty against cracks.
On April 1, the day after Florence left for vacation, Arthur Ace and his crew showed up at Florence’s house and began work. However, after removing the old sidewalk, he discovered a rotten system of tree roots underneath the old sidewalk, that would have to be removed and replaced with packed gravel, to prevent the new walk from developing cracks. With no way to contact Florence, and conscious that Florence had wanted a 3 year warranty, Arthur did the additional work, despite the additional $1.50 per square foot cost for labor and materials. The extra work prevented Arthur from finishing the sidewalk until April 17, two days after Florence returned home from vacation.
When Florence returned, on April 15, she was pleased to see work underway and presumed (not having previously met Arthur), that the work was being done by City Sidewalk. Arthur had a truck outside on the street, but it was not marked in any way.
She noticed the gravel that had been dumped into the hole where the roots had been, but did not understand why it was there and did not inquire, presuming it was part of any sidewalk replacement work..
Upon completion of the 200 square feet of work, Arthur presented Florence with a bill for $2,000, based on the $8.50 in Florence’s letter, plus the $1.50 per square foot for the extra work needed to prevent cracks from developing. It was only at this point that she realized it was Arthur Ace of Ace Concrete & Sidewalk and not City Sidewalk, who had replaced her walk.
Florence felt tricked by Arthur. She was also concerned about her potential liability to City Sidewalk. Accordingly, she wrote a check to Ace for only $1400 (based on only $7 per square foot). Before giving Arthur the check, Florence wrote "Payment in Full" on the "Memo" line on the front of the check and, threatening to call the police, and ordered him off her property. Arthur, believing he had done nothing wrong, took the check. Later he wrote "Partial Payment Only, All Rights Reserved to $600 remaining due" on the back, signed it, and cashed it.
Ace has sued Florence in small claims court on all available claims.
Draft a short (no more than 4 pages in a bluebook) analysis of Ace’s likely success.
Return to Contracts Exam Index
Page Maintained by Prof. Jeff Ferriell: 09 March 2000