Legal Cases: Analysis Of Law And Lawsuit Types

Peter and Sally's Engagement Ring Case

Essay each case is required (what law need we use in case and why) It will be (need to choose): Sales Law; Secured Credit Sales Law; Consumer Protection Law; Product Liability Law; Agency Law; Torts Law; Civil Law; Personal Property Law

1) Peter and Sally worked on a cruise ship together. After working together for so many years, they fell in love and decided to get married. One night while on a cruise, when the moon was full, Peter gave Sally and engagement ring. She was so happy she said YES immediately. However, the day before the ship arrived home, Sally told Peter that she changed her mind and she decided she wanted to marry the captain instead. To make things worse, she threw Peter's ring into the ocean. Peter was so upset that he hired a submarine to search the ocean floor but no ring was found. Peter calls you for advice. Is there anything that he could do? Explain your answer in detail.

2) One day, Mary was walking past the Masee's Department store. She stopped to look in the window at their holiday display. All of a sudden, the big M from the store's sign fell striking Mary and causing her severe personal injury. There were no employees of Masee's working on or near the sign. Also, even though the sign is attached by cables to the roof of the building there were no employees of Masee's performing any work on the roof. What kind of lawsuit would you recommend Mary start against Masee's? Must she prove that Massee's was negligent in some way to win her case? Explain your answer in detail.

3) Frank owned a fruit and vegetable store in Brooklyn. He wanted to order bananas. He called Walter, a fruit wholesaler to ask the price of bananas. Walter told Frank that the wholesale price of bananas was 50 cents per pound. Frank thought it was a good price so he ordered 10 pounds of bananas to be delivered in 2 weeks. Immediately, Walter sent an e-mail to Frank stating "This is to confirm your order of 100 pounds of bananas at 50 cents per pound. Delivery in 2 weeks.” Frank received the e-mail but did not read it. Two weeks later, Walter's delivery truck arrived at Frank's store and the driver unloaded 100 pounds of bananas. Frank was furious and refused to pay for 90 of the 100 pounds of bananas. Walter insisted that Frank pay for the whole order. Who is right and why? Explain your answer in detail

4) Bill purchased a Nextpress coffee maker. While he was carrying it home, he dropped it once or twice. When he reached his apartment, he took it out of the box, plugged it in, added the water and coffee, and pushed the start button. Immediately, the coffee maker began to smoke and spark, and then it exploded causing Bill severe physical injuries. From his hospital bed, Bill calls you for advice. What kind of lawsuit should Bill start against the manufacturer of the Nextpress coffee maker? What must he prove to be successful? What could the manufacturer use as a defense against Bill’s lawsuit? Explain your answer in detail.

5) Bill and Ted were friends but they had no prior business relationship. Bill told Ted that his dream was to own a one-family home on Ocean Parkway and that he further dreamed that the home would cost him only $300,000. Ted left Bar's apartment and while walking home along Ocean Parkway, noticed that there was a For Sale sign outside a one-family home. Ted knocked on the front door, spoke to the owner and asked the price of the home. The owner told him it was $300,000. Ted asked for a contract of sale and signed the contract, Ted, as agent of Bill. Ted ran back to Bill's apartment to show him the contract. There are two possible scenarios that can follow, and I want you to describe them both, explaining your answer in detail.

6) Louisa wanted to paint a wooden table black. She went to the paint store and told the clerk she needed black paint for a wooden table. The clerk said nothing but handed her a can of black paint Louisa painted the table and left for two hours to allow it to dry. When she returned, she saw that the paint was dripping off the table as it had not adhered to the surface. She discovers that the paint she was given was intended for use on a metal surface only. Louisa wishes to sue the paint store but calls you for advice. What legal theory should Louisa use in her lawsuit? Explain your answer in detail.

7) John and James were best friends. While crossing the street together, James was struck by a truck. While on the ground James told John in front of 3 witnesses, “John, I believe I am going to die from my injuries. When I die, I want you to have my gold watch.” James lapsed into unconsciousness, the ambulance arrived, took James to the hospital and he made a full recovery. 25 years later, James died. John came to the funeral with and asked James's wife for the watch promised funeral to with 3 witnesses from the day of the accident and asked Jame’s wife for the watch promised to him the upon James’s death. Must she give him the watch? Explain your answer in detail.

1. Peter gave Sally an engagement ring and proposed her, however, after few days; Sally refused to marry him and threw the ring given by Peter in the ocean. Peter had to hire a submarine to search for the ring in the ocean floor but failed to find it. As the ring was his personal property, Personal Property Law and Civil Law both are applicable in this condition and Peter can sue Sally, as she threw her ring in the ocean for where it was impossible to be collected back (Justia, 2018). If she did not want to marry him, she should have given the ring back to Peter instead of throwing it in the ocean. However, it was a gift but, if she refused to marry him, she had no right over the possession of ring and should have immediately returned to Peter (Britannica, 2018).  

2. When Mary was walking past the Masee’s Department Store, the big M from the store’s sign fell striking Mary and caused her severe personal injuries. It was a severe negligence on the part of departmental store, as there were no employees of the store working or nearby the sign. The tort law is applicable in this case as due to the negligence of the departmental store owners, Mary got severely injured. Furthermore, the sign was attached by cables to the roof of the building and there were no employees of Masee’s on the roof as well. Mary can take tort lawsuit against Masee’s for negligence on their part. In order to prove the negligence of Masee’s, Mary will have to provide the evidence either in the form of pictures of the accident area or the people who can provide evidences as well.

3. The Sale of Goods Act of US considers a legally enforceable contract of sale, if it fulfils the requirement which include an offer to be accepted by the other party and exchange of value or promises in order to take action in future. Frank ordered 10 pounds of bananas to be delivered in 2 weeks by Walter, considering it to be a good deal. It shows the contract to be offered and accepted by the other party, immediately after which, Walter sent an order confirmatory email to Frank in which, the order of 100 pounds of bananas to be delivered in 2 weeks was confirmed by them. It was negligence on the part of Frank that he did not read the email and after 2 weeks, when the delivery was completed, he refused to pay for the extra 90 pounds of bananas. It is clearly his mistake and he should pay for the whole order. In this context, Walter is right as he might have mistaken in taking the order but, when he sent the confirmatory order, Frank should have read it carefully.    

4. Bill purchased a coffee maker and on his way to home, he dropped it once or twice. After reaching home, when he took it out from the box and plugged it, it exploded and caused severe injuries to Bill. However, he negligently handled the appliance and dropped it; he can take legal action against the manufacturer of coffee maker under Consumer Rights, saying that he has received a faulty piece of coffee maker (HG.org, 2018). On the other hand, the manufacturer can take defence of the distributor’s and packager’s mistake because they manufactured the appliances but, safe packaging and delivery and sale of the products might damage the piece particularly those which are delicate or electrical or electronic appliances. The electronic appliance will have to be taken back by the manufacturer and testing of the appliance would reveal the exact reason behind the explosion in the appliance (Brown, 1908). Furthermore, electronic and electrical items are to be tested and checked before purchasing it, so manufacturer can take the defence of the negligence of Bill, as he did not get the item checked before purchasing it.     

Mary's Lawsuit Against Masee's Department Store

5. Bill and Ted were friends and had no business relationships. Ted acted on behalf of Bill and signed the contract of sale as the agent of Bill. The Agency law states that an agent has to be authorized to act on behalf of the Principal for the purpose of creating a legal relationship with third party (HG.org, 2018). In this case, the first scenario would be that Bill has not appointed Ted as his agent so; he is not liable for any action taken by him on his behalf (US Legal, 2018). Secondly, third party who entered into contract with Ted should have asked for the consent of Bill as the Principal in writing before entering into contract, so he cannot take legal action against Bill as it was their mistake as well but can take legal action against Ted for forgery.

6. Louisa asked for the black paint in a store and the clerk without saying anything, given her metallic surface paint. Louisa painted the wooden table with that paint but, it did not adhere to the table because it was strictly for metallic surface. She can sue the paint store for not providing her with the proper information about the product before selling it to her. She can use Sale of Goods Act as a legal theory because it is considered as the responsibility of the seller or trader to provide all the specific information about the product and asking the customer about the purpose and such other queries before selling the product (Ho, Proctor, Patterson, & Dickinson, 2017). The clerk did not ask her anything and neither provided any information to her about the product. So, she can take legal action against the paint store on this basis.      

7. Gold watch was the private property of James and he wanted to give his gold watch to his close friend 25 years before in a serious condition, when he was severely injured due to an accident. He promised him the watch in that condition when he was not in his conscious state. After 25 years, there is no validity of that promise because firstly, when he promised to hand over his watch to his friend he was not in a state to promise anything and secondly, he recovered from that injury from which, he believed that he might die. His wife should not hand over the watch to John as it was his private property and nobody can claim it without his consent (HG.org, 2018).   

References 

Britannica. (2018). Objects, Subjects, And Types Of Possessory Interests In Property. Retrieved from britannica.com: https://www.britannica.com/topic/property-law/Objects-subjects-and-types-of-possessory-interests-in-property

Brown, R. (1908). The Law of Sales in the United States. Columbia Law Review, 8(2), 82-95.

HG.org. (2018). Agency Law - Agent Law. Retrieved from Hg.org: https://www.hg.org/agency-law.html

HG.org. (2018). Consumer Rights - Consumer Protection Law. Retrieved from hg.org: https://www.hg.org/consume.html

HG.org. (2018). Personal Property Law. Retrieved from hg.org: https://www.hg.org/personal-property.html

Ho, M. S., Proctor, M. M., Patterson, M., & Dickinson, K. R. (2017). Sale and storage of goods in the United States: overview. Retrieved from Thomsonreuters.com: https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/8-618-0307?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&firstPage=true&comp=pluk&bhcp=1

Justia. (2018). Various Items of Personal Property v. United States, 282 U.S. 577 (1931). Retrieved from supreme.justia.com: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/282/577/

US Legal. (2018). Agency Law and Legal Definition. Retrieved from Uslegal.com: https://definitions.uslegal.com/a/agency/