Fall 2015 Pelzer Classroom, Mondays Through Thursdays 2:30-3:20 PM

CONTRACTS II Fall 2015

Pelzer Classroom, Mondays through Thursdays 2:30-3:20 PM

Instructor: D. A. Jeremy Telman Office: Wesemann 242 Office phone: 465-7811 Office Hours: Monday-Thursday 1:30-2:20, Friday, 10:00-noon N.B.: I will be available outside of office hours in my office or in the Wesemann Café. Students are welcome to join me in the café. Sometimes I will be called into meetings during my office hours. I will try to give you advance warning if that happens and will put a sign on my door indicating my whereabouts and expected time of return.

Required Texts:

Brian A. Blum, Contracts: Examples & Explanations (6th ed., Wolters Kluwer 2013)

Packet of readings available from Melissa Mundt. These materials are also available on the course LibGuide (online at http://lawlibguides.valpo.edu/contracts), but you need to have a printed version of the cases to bring with you to class.

Course Requirements

We will have three, in-class, multiple-choice quizzes throughout the mini-mester. They will account cumulatively for 20% of your grade.

I will consider attendance and participation in determining the final grades for students whose final examination grade is at or near the borderline between two grades. In addition, I will deduct points from the final grades of students who are habitually absent from class (see below).

Participation and Attendance Policy

Students are expected to participate fully in class through regular attendance, in accordance with law school policy. I will regularly call on students to summarize, analyze and discuss assigned readings.

I will pass around an attendance sheet at the beginning of each class and you will be expected to sign next to your name on the sheet. It is your responsibility to sign in. If you come late and do not sign in, you will be counted absent. Students who miss more than four (4) class meetings will have their grades lowered one level for each additional absence. So if you would otherwise earn a B+ in the class, but you missed five classes, your grade will be a B. Students who miss more than six (6) class meetings will be administratively withdrawn from the course.

Note that this policy does not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. I will do my best to give you fair warning if you are getting close, but it is your responsibility to keep track of your attendance and to make in you sign in each day. In addition, please note that poor attendance can affect your course grade. Your objective should be to attend every class session, not to rack up as many absences as you can without being withdrawn.

If you believe that special circumstances require an accommodation, you should notify the Assistant Dean Probst as soon as you think there might be a problem.

Students who habitually arrive late to class will receive written warnings. After the warning, late arrivals will count as absences.

Student Learning Outcomes:

 Students will demonstrate an understanding of fundamental principles of contracts, including elements of formation, the parol evidence rule and the statute of frauds, plus related doctrines such as quasi-contract and promissory estoppel;

 Students will apply the fundamental principles of contracts to different sets of facts through the completion of problems and other hypothetical situations;

 Students will analyze and distinguish cases, parse statutes, and use the Restatements of Law and understand the applicability of, and subtle differences between, the common law and the Uniform Commercial Code; and

 Students will develop their oral communication skills through participation in the Socratic method and discussion of the cases and problems in class.

Usage of Electronic Devices:

Students may not use computers or other electronic devices during class. If, for some extraordinary reason, you must have your cell phone on in class, it must be on vibrate. If you are expecting an urgent call, let me know and sit near an exit so that you can take the call outside. Texting and other use of electronic devices in class are strictly prohibited.

However, students should bring clickers to each class meeting. I will frequently poll the class (anonymously) to see how well the class is grasping the material.

2 Coursecasting

I do not permit my classes to be digitally recorded. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to get notes from a classmate and to see me if you have questions about the class material that you missed. Sometimes, the Law School administration requires that classes be recorded for particular students. If that occurs, I will let you know and will make the recordings available to everyone. In addition, all review sessions and make-up sessions (if needed) will be recorded and available to all students.

Tentative Course Schedule

This syllabus is provisional. I reserve the right to fall behind and adjust the syllabus accordingly. I will let you know of such adjustments, both in class and through e-mail. Checking your VU e-mail is one of your responsibilities as a law student, so there is no excuse for not being prepared to discuss assigned cases on the days we discuss them.

Class Date Subject(s) Readings

1 10/12 Implied Terms I Case: Wood v. Lucy, Lady Duff- Gordon Blum: 305-317

2 10/13 Canons of Construction Case: Market Street Associations v. Frey Blum: 317-25, Chapter 10, Example 5

3 10/14 Implied Terms II: Employment Cases: Locke v. Warner Bros.; Law) Donahue v. FedEx

4 10/15 Implied Terms III: UCC Warranties Case: Bayliner Marine Corp. v. Crow; UCC §§ 2-313-316 Blum: Chapter 10 Example 1

5 10/19 Defenses I: Illegality Cases: Carrol v. Beardon Blum: 425-29, 467-70; Chapter 13, Example 10

6 10/20 Defenses II: Public Policy Cases: Totten v. United States; In re Baby M Blum: 470-76

7 10/21 Review Discussion of Telman Exercise 5 Assessment I1

3 8 10/22 Defenses III: Infancy Case: Halbman v. Lemke; Blum: 497-504; Chapter 14, Examples 1-2

9 10/26 Defenses IV: Mental Incapacity Case: Hauer v. Union State Bank of Wautoma Blum: 505-11; Chapter Examples 3-5

10 10/27 Defenses V: Mutual Mistake Case: Lewanee County Bd of Health v. Messerly Blum: 521-531; Chapter 15, Example 1

11 10/28 Defenses VI: Unilaterial Mistake Case: Wil-Fred’s Inc. v. Met. Sanitary Dt. Blum: 531-37 Chapter 15, Examples 3 & 4 12 10/29 Defenses VII: Misrepresentation Cases: Syester v. Banta; Hill v. Jones Blum: 429-45; Chapter 13, Example 1

13 11/2 Defenses VIII: Duress & Undue Cases: Selmer Company v. Blakeslee- Influence Midwest; Odorizzi v. Bloomfield Sch. Dt. Blum: 445-53, 454-55 (Skip UCC modification); Chapter 13, Examples 3, 8

14 11/3 Defenses IX: Unconscionability I Case: Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture Blum: 455-67; Chapter 13, Examples 6 & 7

15 11/4 Unconscionability II Discussion of Telman Exercise 6

TBD Review I Review before Assessment II, outside of regular class time 16 11/5 Excuses I: Impossibility, Case: Krell v. Henry; Impracticability Blum: 537-47 Assessment II

1 NB: You must provide advance notice to the registrar and to me if you are going to miss class on the day of an assessment. If you simply do not show up, you will receive a zero. 4 17 11/9 Excuses II: Frustration of Purpose Cases: Transatlantic Financing v. United States; NIPSCO v. Carbon County Coal Co. Blum: 547-49; Chapter 15, Examples 5-7

18 11/10 Substantial Performance Cases: Jacob & Youngs v. Kent; Peevyhouse v. Garland Coal & Mining Co Blum: 624-30

19 11/11 Forfeiture Case: J. N. A. Realty Corp. v. Cross Bay Chelsea, Inc.; Blum: 590-97

20 11/12 Express Conditions & Waiver Cases: Oppenheimer & Co. v. Oppenheim, Appel, Dixon & Co.; Clark v. West Blum: 565-76

21 11/16 Conditions of Satisfaction Case: Morin Building Prods. Co. v. Baystone Construction Blum: Chapter 16, Examples 6 & 8 Discussion of Telman Exercise 7

22 11/17 Anticipatory Repudiation Case: Sackett v. Spindler Blum: 617-24, 638-44; Chapter 17, Examples 1, 2

23 11/18 Breach Cases: Truman L. Flatt & Sons Co. v. Schupf Blum: Chapter 17, Examples 4, 6

24 11/19 Third Party Beneficiaries I Case: Vogan v. Hayes Appraisal Assoc., Inc. Blum: 753-65; Chapter 19, Examples 1-3 Assessment III

25 11/30 Third Party Beneficiaries II Case: Chen v. Chen Blum: Chapter 19, Examples 1-3

26 12/1 Assignment Case: Herzog v. Irace Blum: 767-76; Chapter 19, Example 4

27 12/2 Delegation Case: Sally Beauty v. Nexxus Products Co.

5 Blum: 777-79; Chapter 19, Examples 5-7

28 12/3 Review Discussion of Telman Exercise 8

TBA EXAM