1 Assignment 2: Contract Facts AnalysisAlexa Beckner Business Law

2 Case #1: Rihanna and Chris Brown entered into a written contract in which Chris Brown agreed to sell his collection of knives to Rhianna for $5,000, payable in 2 installments ($2500 when she picked up the knives and $2500 payable one month later). Rihanna picked up the knives and paid Brown the first $2500. A couple nights later, Rihanna and Beyoncé were out partying together at a club. Rihanna, recognizing that Beyoncé had polished off 6 vodka tonics, told Beyoncé that she wanted to assign her duties under her contract with Brown to her. Beyoncé yelled, “absolutely!”, and promptly fell off her chair. Despite numerous attempts, Brown is unable to get Beyoncé to pay the second payment. Brown sues Rihanna who claims that she is not liable, because she had transferred her duty to Beyoncé.

3 Contract issues for Case #1:Brown suing Rihanna is correct as she did enter into a written contract where both parties agreed to the terms in the contract to purchase the knives. Rihanna’s claim that she transferred the duty of payments to Beyoncé maybe true in her mind as a oral contact but, in the law Beyoncé was incompetent to agree to the terms. Rihanna took advantage of Beyoncé having enough vodka tonics to cause her to fall off a chair. Proving Beyoncé could not have understood the consequences of the agreement.

4 Winner of case #1: Chris Brown is the right party in this case. Even though, Rihanna believes she is not liable for the terms after giving them to Beyoncé. Beyoncé was an incompetent party and not responsible for the contact that Rihanna has with Brown.

5 Case #2 Same initial facts as before but instead, a couple of nights after Rihanna and Brown enter into the contract, they wind up at the same bar with Beyoncé. Brown, in an attempt to make peace with Rihanna, buys both ladies their first round and they all sit around chatting. The knife contract comes up and Beyoncé mentions she’s interested in some, if not all, of the knives. On a cocktail napkin, Beyoncé writes the following: I, Beyoncé, agree to pay the remaining $2500 owed by Rihanna to Chris for the knives by next Friday. Brown and Beyoncé sign it. Next Friday comes and goes and Brown does not get paid. He sues Beyoncé.

6 Contract issues for case #2:In this case, Beyoncé has entered into a written contract with Brown to take over the existing payments. Even though, all parties were drinking unlike before no one was incompetent to enter an agreement. Beyoncé expressed interest in some if not all of the knives leading her to write a contact for them. She agreed to take over the rest of the payments from Rihanna.

7 Winner of case #2: The definition for the word “contract” is a written or spoken agreement, especially one concerning employment, sales, or tenancy, that is intended to be enforceable by law. Although Beyoncé will argue that the contract is on a napkin, the article in which a contract is written on has no bearing on the contract considering that the most important part is agreement from both parties. Beyoncé was in agreement, therefore she owes the money to Brown.

8 Case #3 Jay Z and TI decide to start a record label together. In anticipation of the label, they decide they need a recording studio in Atlanta. They hire Billy Bob Carter Contracting Services to build it. After much negotiation, the parties agree in writing that the studio will be built in 2 phases. First, the building will be constructed. Second, all the required interior work needed for the sound equipment will be done. Jay Z and TI insist that all the interior work be done using teak wood. Billy Bob completes construction of the building. Before beginning construction of the interior, a beetle epidemic plagues teak trees and 95% of the trees in the US die. As a result, the only way to get teak is to import it from Australia at a price five times the amount it could have been bought here prior to the epidemic. Billy Bob calls up Jay Z and advises him that he will not do the interior because of the teak situation and demands payment for the work done. Jay Z refuses. Instead, he hires Billy Bob’s rival, Dougie Fresh, to finish the job. Dougie agrees to complete the work for ten times the amount that Jay Z and TI had initially agreed to with Billy Bob. Billy Bob sues Jay Z and TI for payment for the work completed. They countersue him for the full amount they paid Dougie.

9 Contract issues for case #3:In this case, Jay Z and TI have constructed a contract with two phases to be done, the building and the interior. Because of an beetle epidemic, the product needed to build the inside was more expensive then Billy Bob Carter planned. However, the epidemic has just made the situation more expensive but, not impossible. It would have to be impossible to be able to breach contract. There was nothing mentioned in the contract about working with a rival or competitor. I would say this contract is divisible since the inside is different from the outside and you can build both separately.

10 Winner for case #3: Billy Bob Carter is owed for the work he completed. The contract was divisible, the outside was a separate phase from the inside. Although, he is still under contract to do the inside. Billy Bob Carter will try to say that he breached contact by impossibly but, the job was not impossible just more expensive. They are right to countersue. Since they had to hire someone else to finish the inside, all Billy Bob Carter can do since he is still under contract to finish the inside is file an injunction to stop his rival from completing it.

11 References: Picture References:Chris Brown- content/uploads/2016/08/cs1.png Billy Bob-http://www.imdb.com/name/nm / Information References: https://www.google.com/search?q=definition+of+a+contract&ie=utf- 8&oe=utf-8 Week 2 Readings