CONTRACTS – PROF. FERRIELL
EARLY FALL PRACTICE QUESTION
The room on Sally McDonald’ house in Victorian Village was in desperate need of being replaced. Accordingly, she entered into a binding legal contract with Village Roofing who agreed, for a price of $5,000 to tear off the old shingles from her roof, put down a layer of tar paper, and recover the roof with "Midnight Blue" asphalt shingles. Blue had always been Sally’s favorite color. She was glad that she was finally going to live in a house with Midnight Blue shingles.
The Village Roofing crew who worked on Sally’s House failed to notice that the contract specified "Midnight Blue" shingles, and so, instead, they used the same "Slate Grey" asphalt shingles that most homeowners in Victorian Village preferred. Slate Grey shingles, in a quantity sufficient to cover Sally’s Roof, cost $1000. Midnight Blue shingles, which are of the same quality as the Slate Grey shingles, cost $1500, for the same quantity, because of the limited supply of the shingles.
That same day, Sally learned that her company was transferring her out of state. During the day, she contracted a real estate agent and put the house up for sale.
When she arrived home from work, Sally was disappointed to see the "Slate Grey" shingles instead of the "Midnight Blue" shingles. She called Village Roofing and complained that the wrong shingles had been used.
The value of Sally’s home, with the new Slate Grey shingle roof is $100,000. With the old roof, it was worth no more than $90,000. Estimates from other roofers indicate that it would cost $4000 to cover the Slate Grey shingles with the Midnight Blue specified in the contract ($1500 for the shingles and $2500 in additional labor). With the Midnight Blue Shingles, the house would be worth only $85,000, because of the odd appearance of the house in Victorian Village where nearly all the houses have Slate Grey shingles
Write an analysis of how much should Sally expect to recover if she sues Village Roofing for its breach.