I’m trying to study for my Business Law course and I need some help to understand this question.

The purpose of this project is for you to analyze an event that has legal consequences (we call this a fact pattern) that is related to some of the topics we are covering in class. I have provided multiple fact patterns from which you may choose ONE (dealing with torts, easements or contractual issues (which we will cover in Chapters 10-12)) or you can come up with a situation related to topics we have already covered that interest you, as long as I have approved it in advance.

The assignment is to prepare a 500-1000 word analysis using the IRAC method (which is explained in the posted video titled “IRAC Video on Method of Analysis”, and requires you to identify the relevant facts, the specific legal issue implicated, the applicable rules or law, and then provide an analysis and conclusion of how the “case” might be decided.

You may work as a “solo attorney” on this project or in a “law firm” of up to 3 attorneys. Please identify your firm through this portal.

Check in with me by October 29, identifying your project and the attorney(s) assigned to it.

Project Due date is Nov. 24, 2020, 11:59pm. It must be submitted through this portal as instructed. You will have two attempts to upload the project in case you need to correct an error in submission (i.e., you uploaded the wrong version, etc.)

Fact Pattern Choices (Choose One, or you may present a different fact pattern to me for approval)

One (Contracts)

On Thursday, May 14, Tenant received the following letter from Shore: “Dear Tenant, I will let you have my ‘Shore House’ for this June through August season, same terms under which you occupied it last year. Please reply in a week.” Tenant noticed Shore’s letter was postmarked May 11. Earlier in May, Tenant had made inquiry at “The Cliffs,” a mountain resort owned by Cliff. In Cliff’s absence, Joe, one of Cliff’s caretakers, had shown Tenant two available houses, “Hi-Vu” and “Lo-Vu,” which Joe stated were listed for rent at $6,000 and $3,000, respectively, for one season.

On May 15, Tenant received a letter from Cliff which read, “This confirms statements by Joe.

You may have Hi-Vu at $6,000, or Lo-Vu at $3,000, for the season June through August, all services included, payable in equal monthly installments.”

On May 17, Tenant wrote to Cliff as follows, “I think your prices are high. Will you take $5,000 for Hi-Vu? If not, then I’ll have to settle for Lo-Vu, and I agree to pay the $3,000 you ask, only I hope you may be willing to consider some concession if I pay the whole $3,000 in advance.”

On May 17, Tenant learned that Shore had sold Shore House to Jones for Jones’s immediate

occupancy. On May 18, Cliff received Tenant’s letter and Cliff immediately telegraphed Tenant, “No change in prices. See my letter of the 16th.” Tenant received Cliff’s telegram the same day, May 18. Later that day Tenant also received Cliff’s letter of May 16, which read, “Our deal is off.” Tenant immediately wrote Shore, “I’ll take Shore House per your letter of the 11th.”

The normal course of post between Tenant and Shore and Tenant and Cliff was one day.

You may assume that all requirements of the Statute of Frauds have been satisfied. What rights, if any, does Tenant have against Shore and against Cliff? Discuss. (100 Points)

Two (Contracts)

On April 1, Ann Star, a young television personality, signs a contract with Bland Television Network to perform May 1 in a one-hour “live” TV show from 8 to 9 p.m. Bland agrees to pay Star $1,000 for this performance. The contract also provides that if for any reason Star does not appear as scheduled, she will “forfeit the sum of $25,000 to Bland as liquidated damages.”

On April 10, Star informs Bland that she is suffering from acute fatigue and that her physician

probably will not allow her to appear as scheduled. Bland immediately urges her in writing to fulfill her contractual obligations.

On April 15, Star tells Bland that she has miraculously recovered and will appear as scheduled on the May 1 show.

On April 23, Bland informs Star that, due to her unpredictability, it has hired actress Prima Donnaas of that date and will not require Star’s services.

On April 28, Prima Donna breaks her leg in an accident. Bland immediately wires Star that it has

reconsidered the whole matter and will hold her to the original contract to perform on May 1.

On the evening of May 1, Star appears at the studio ready to perform, but Bland, acting under orders from the Federal Communications Commission, cancels the show in order to broadcast a special address by the President of the United States.

Discuss the legal implications of the foregoing events. (100 Points)

Three (Contracts, Torts)

Buyer, who was in the market for a car, heard that Seller wanted to sell his car for $5,000. On June 1, Buyer visited Seller and saw the car. Buyer asked Seller about the car’s condition. In response, Seller said, “The car is in tip-top shape—the brakes and clutch were replaced in the last six months. It’s in beautiful shape for a vehicle of this age. Good for another 100,000 miles easy.” Seller agreed to sell the car to Buyer for $5,000. They both signed the following document: “Seller agrees to sell, and Buyer agrees to buy, Seller’s car for the price of $5,000. Buyer will pick up the car at Seller’s home on June 2 and pay Seller $5,000 in cash at that time.”

On June 2, Buyer came to Seller’s home. Before handing the payment to Seller, Buyer said, “I’d like my mechanic to look at the car to make sure that it is as you represented it.” Seller responded, “Don’t waste money on a mechanic. The car is exactly as I described it.” Even though Buyer, while at Seller’s home, had no way to tell if the brakes and clutch were as represented, Buyer thought that it would be a waste of time and money to visit a mechanic and thus decided to proceed with the transaction. Accordingly, after briefly inspecting the car, Buyer gave Seller $5,000 in cash. Seller handed Buyer the keys to the car, and Buyer left with the car.

On June 10, the car broke down and Buyer had it towed to a mechanic’s shop. After looking at the car, the mechanic accurately told Buyer that the clutch had failed because it was old and needed to be replaced. The mechanic also warned Buyer that the brakes were unsafe and that the engine needed a complete overhaul or it would not last another 10,000 miles. The mechanic told Buyer that if the car had been as represented by Seller, it would have had a market value of $5,000, but in its current condition the car was worth only about $500—its value as salvage for parts.

On June 11, Buyer hand-delivered a letter to Seller. The letter informed Seller that Buyer was revoking his acceptance of the car and that Seller could recover his car at the mechanic’s shop.

What rights, if any, does Buyer have against Seller? Explain. (100 Points)

Four (Easements, etc)

Ned Parker owns a vineyard on 100 acres he owns, which he has farmed for many years. He also owns an easement in the form of a dirt footpath (50” wide) across some of his neighbor’s land that he uses daily to quickly reach the southern 20 acres of his vineyard, which he calls the Merlot Block. After several years, Ned concludes that the grapes from the Merlot Block of the vineyard are not being economically productive at current market prices, so he stops cultivating the Merlot Block and thus stops using the footpath. He continues to cultivate the remainder of his vineyard, which is planted to Cabernet and is very profitable in the current market.

1. After one year of non-use of the footpath, can the neighboring landowner successfully claim that the easement has been terminated by abandonment? Explain why or why not. (25 Points)
2. Suppose in addition to the facts above, after discontinuing his cultivation of the Merlot Block, Ned leased it to another winemaker (“Big Wine Co”) who tripled the production of the vineyard and began using All-Terrain-Vehicles (50” wide, gas powered) on the footpath to access the vineyard daily, if not multiple times daily. How would this situation affect the rights of the Ned, Big Wine Co and the neighbor as to the easement? Be sure to explain the rights and obligations of each party, including the lease, change in use, etc. (50 Points)
3. Suppose Ned instead sold the Merlot Block to a developer who cleared the vineyard and built several apartment buildings on the 20 acre plot and installed a fence and landscaping across the footpath easement. How would this affect the rights of the developer and the neighbor as to the easement? Explain. (25 Points)

Five (Intellectual Property)

• While he was in high school, Joel Gibb downloaded numerous songs to his smartphone from an unlicensed file-sharing service.
• He used portions of the copyrighted songs when he recorded his own band and posted videos on You Tube and Facebook.
• Gibb also used Bit Torrent to download several movies from the Internet.
• Now he has applied to Boston University.
• The admissions office has requested access to his Facebook password, and he has complied.
• What laws, if any, did Gibb violate by downloading the music and videos from the Internet? (25 points)
• Was Gibb’s use of portions of copyrighted songs in his own music illegal? Explain. (25 points)
• Can individuals legally post copyrighted content on their Facebook pages? Why or why not? (25 points)
• Did Boston University violate any laws when it asked Joel to provide his Facebook password? Explain (25 points)

Six (Contracts)

Assume both parties are merchants and all letters are signed by the sender.

Letter One: P sends to D a promise to buy 35 carloads of widgets. She wants a discount from the usual price of $2.00/widget to $1.50/widget. She also wants to know if she can have 10 extra carloads if she needs it. Assume the letter also clearly manifests intent to enter into a bargain.

Letter Two: D replies to P. He says “we cannot cut our price that much.” He offers 35 carloads of widgets at $1.80/widget. Also states that he cannot send more than 35 carloads.

Letter Three: P relies to D. She says, “If $1.80 is the best you can do, we are inclined to take it.” Also accepts the fact that she will not be able to get the 10 extra carloads. She does, however, request that all the widgets be blue.

Letter Four: D replies to P. Says blue widgets are more expensive to make and that price would be $1.85/widget.

Letter Five: P replies to D. Says she can’t afford $1.85/widget, so send any colors. Also states, “Enclosed is my check for $5,000 as a down payment in token of my good faith.” Facts do not state whether D signed or deposited check.

Later, P telephoned D to request her first shipment. D tells her to “Bug off” and does not send any widgets.

What are the rights and duties of each parties? (100 points)

Seven (Easements)

A landowner owned a large parcel of land in a rural area. He built his home on the northern half of the property, and developed a large orchard of fruit trees on the southern portion. A county road ran in front of the northern portion. To service his orchard, the landowner built a driveway directly from the county road across the northern portion of the property to the orchard. To provide electricity to his house, the landowner ran an overhead power line across the orchard property to hook up to the only available electric power pole located on the far southern side of the property.

Subsequently, the landowner conveyed the northern parcel to his brother and the southern parcel to his daughter, who said that she did not mind having the power line on the property. Recently, the brother has begun parking his car on the driveway, thus blocking the daughter’s access to the southern parcel. Finding no recorded document granting an easement for the power line, the daughter has decided to remove it.

If the brother is successful in preventing the daughter from removing the power line, what is the likely reason? (100 points)

Eight (Easements)

A landowner owned a large tract of land, which he divided into two parcels. The northern parcel abutted a public highway. The shortest route from the southern parcel to the highway was over a private road that crossed the northern parcel. The other route was over a single-lane dirt and gravel path that wound for over four miles through the woods. The landowner sold the southern parcel to a developer, including an express easement in the private road across the northern parcel. The landowner knew of the developer’s plans to open an inn on the property. The developer built the inn but never opened it to the public.

Fifteen years later, the developer sold the southern parcel to an investor, who planned to open the inn to the public. The developer had never properly recorded her deed to the land, but the investor promptly recorded her deed, which made no mention of a right to cross the northern parcel via the private road. About a week after the investor took possession of the southern parcel, she learned of the provision in the developer’s deed to the land. However, the landowner refuses to grant the investor permission to use the road across his property to reach the highway.

Does the investor have a right to cross the northern parcel? (100 points)

Nine (Trespass)

A California landowner was declared insane and committed to a state mental hospital 30 years ago. Five years after that, a trespasser entered onto the landowner’s 200-acre parcel of land, which was enclosed by a barbed wire fence. A solid wood fence ran through the middle of the land, separating the property into approximately equal east and west parcels. The trespasser began grazing cattle on the west parcel; no one else has been in possession of any other part of the 200 acres. Other than grazing cattle on the land, the trespasser made no other improvements except for occasionally parking a RV trailer on the parcel when he needed to stay overnight on limited occasions to tend the cattle. The period of time to acquire title by adverse possession is 5 years in California. Thirteen years ago, the landowner was declared competent and released from the hospital, but he did nothing until this year, when he brought an action to eject the trespasser. The trespasser counterclaimed to quiet title to the 200 acre parcel in his name.

In this action, will the trespasser likely prevail, and if so, to what? (100 points)