Assignment

Question 1

Betty is a physician. One of her patients was an elderly man named Al. Betty treated Al for Alzheimer's disease, but since she believed he was destitute, she never charged him for her services.

One day Al said to Betty, "I want to pay you back for all you have done over the years. If you will care for me for the rest of my life, I will give you my office building. I'm frightened because I have no heirs and you are the only one who cares for me. I need to know now that I can depend on you." Betty doubted that Al owned any office building, but said nothing in response and just completed her examination of Al and gave him some medication.

Two years passed. Al's health worsened and Betty continued to treat him. Betty forgot about Al's statement regarding the office building.

One day Betty learned that Al was indeed the owner of the office building. Betty immediately wrote a note to Al stating, "I accept your offer and promise to provide you with medical services for the rest of your life." Betty signed the note, put it into a stamped envelope addressed to Al, and placed the envelope outside her front door to be picked up by her mail carrier when he arrived to deliver the next day's mail.

Al died in his sleep that night. The mail carrier picked up Betty's letter the following morning and it was delivered to Al's home a day later. The services rendered by Betty to Al over the last two years were worth several thousand dollars; the office building is worth millions of dollars.

Does Betty have an enforceable contract for the transfer of the office building? Discuss.

Question 2

Betsy contacted Sam, a salesman who works for Luxe, a company that sells luxury boats, and told him that she was interested in purchasing a luxury boat. Luxe provided Betsy with free airfare and lodging at a hotel resort near the Luxe boat showroom. After shopping at the showroom, Betsy became interested in the Wind Catcher model priced at $200,000. Sam explained to Betsy the features of the Wind Catcher and told her that it was "state of the art." Sam gave Betsy a one-page purchase order form on which the words "Wind Catcher" were written in the blank space marked "Boat Model," and "$200,000" was written in the blank space marked "Price." Just above the signature line in red italics were the words "This offer by Purchaser is irrevocable for thirty days. All sales are final when approved by Luxe."

Before Betsy left the hotel the next day, Sam came by to tell her that he had just learned that Luxe was about to raise its prices, but that she could order the Wind Catcher at the current price if she quickly returned the purchase order form she had received the night before. When Betsy returned home, she checked prices on the internet for comparable boats and decided the price quoted by Luxe for the Wind Catcher was a good deal. She signed and faxed the purchase order form to Luxe.

After receiving the purchase order form from Betsy, Sam prepared the documents that Betsy would need to register the boat and went to the boat harbor where Betsy planned to keep the boat to make sure that the docking facilities were adequate for the Wind Catcher.

A few days later, Betsy learned that, despite what Sam had said, Luxe had no plans to raise its prices and that the Wind Catcher was an older model without the navigation and safety features available on newer models. She immediately faxed a letter to Luxe stating that she did not want to make the purchase. That same afternoon Betsy received in the mail from Luxe a photocopy of the purchase order form that was stamped "Accepted" and signed by Luxe.

Under what theory or theories may Luxe be successful in a breach of contract action against Betsy? Discuss.