ESSAY QUESTION - 1 1/4 HOURS

LIMIT YOUR ANSWER TO 3 PAGES IN A
BLUEBOOK

In order to qualify for a "Historic Residence" designation for his home, Riley Owen needed
to restore his home to it's original appearance 100 years ago. Designation as a "Historic
Residence" would be unlikely to add any real value to his house, which was in a run-down
neighborhood with poor schools, but it was personally important to Riley to achieve this
designation, and the plaque from the city that went with it. He hoped, of course, that his
neighbors would follow his good example, and that the restoration of his home would lead to
the general improvement of property values in his neighborhood. He knew, however, that
the likelihood of this ever happening, was slim. He also hoped to win the $2000 award the
city had established for a single residence in the city, during the last year of the century, for
homes achieving a "Historic Residence" designation.

In order to obtain a "Historic Residence" designation, Riley needed, among other things, to
replace the cracked concrete sidewalk in front of his house with a new "clay brick"
walkway. Although the cheaper clay bricks were less durable than "sand bricks", they
looked the same as sand bricks, and, most importantly to Riley, were necessary in order to
receive a Historic Residence designation and plaque for his house.

Riley made a contract with Betty Brick to have the concrete walkway removed and
replaced with "clay bricks". Their written agreement specified that Riley would pay Betty
$5000 for the work and that the walkway was to be completed with "clay bricks". Payment
was to be made within 1 week of Betty's completion of the work.

After a day of work, Betty had removed the old concrete walkway. The next day, rather
than use the clay bricks specified in the contract, Betty decided that Riley would probably
be happier with sand bricks, which she knew would last longer than the somewhat less
expensive clay bricks called for in the contract. She did nothing, however, to call this to
Riley's attention. She finished the work after four days of laying bricks and presented Riley
with the bill. Riley told Betty that h would pay her the following week, after inspection of the
work by the City's Historic Review Board. Betty had never heard of the Historic Review
Board and didn't understand why Riley wanted the Board to inspect her work. But she
didn't really care, so long as Riley paid her for her work.

Naturally, the Historic Review Board disapproved the work done by Betty, citing the use of
sand bricks instead of the clay bricks required for a "Historic Residence" designation.

Riley refused to pay Betty for her work and immediately hired Sally Street to tear up Betty's
brickwork and replace it with the clay brick necessary for approval by the Historic Review
Board and receipt of his "Historic Residence" designation. Sally was not the cheapest
bricklayer in town, but she was the best. Although most other bricklayers would have done
the work for $6000 (tearing up old brick is harder than tearing up concrete), Sally charged
$7500. She finished the work, taking the sand bricks she removed with her, per Riley's
request. Riley paid her the $7500 as soon as she was finished.. Later, as a result of Sally's
work, Riley received the Historic Residence designation from the city. Unfortunately, the
delay caused by Betty's breach, resulted in Riley's house not receiving this designation until
after the deadline to be eligible to be considered for the $2000 award from the city.

DRAFT AN ESSAY ANALYZING THE DAMAGES RILEY IS LIKELY TO
RECOVER FROM BETTY ON ACCOUNT OF HER BREACH.