LEG100 Business Law I – Assignment I
Did Jim and Laura Buy a Car?
Worth 200 points
HINT: See Chapters 10-14 of the text to help understand some of
the legal issues covered in this assignment (Introduction to Business Law –
Beatty Samuelson – Fifth Edition).
Jim and Laura Buyer
visit the local car dealership because they are interested in buying a new car.
The car they currently have is aging and is starting to have mechanical
problems. Jim and Laura would share the new car, and use it to go back and
forth to work and school. Before going to the dealership, Jim and Laura decide
that they can only afford $400.00 a month in car payments.
Once at the car
dealership, Jim and Laura meet Stan Salesman. Stan shows them several vehicles
and Jim and Laura test-drive several of the cars. Jim and Laura particularly
like the blue 4-door sedan. Therefore, they agree to give Stan Salesman a
$100.00 deposit to hold the car for a day. Stan Salesman does not give them the
receipt but guarantees that the $100.00 is refundable. No documents were
signed.
The next day, Stan
Salesman calls Jim and Laura to ask them when they would like to take delivery
of the car. Jim and Laura, on the way home from the dealership, decided that
they were not going to buy the car because they did not want to spend that
money each month. Therefore, Jim and Laura tell Stan salesman that they have
decided not to buy the car and request their $100.00 deposit back.
Stan insists that the
$100.00 was a deposit on the car and was meant to be part of the contract to
buy the car. Stan is very persistent and insistent that Jim and Laura have
contracted to buy the car; therefore, the $100.00 will be applied to the
purchase price of the car. Jim and Laura are shocked and angry as not only do
they not want to spend the money, but now feel as though they are being duped
by Stan Salesman.
Jim and Laura have an
appointment to see a lawyer in a few days, but know you are a student taking a
business law class and come to you for advice. They are very frazzled, and
understandably upset that they may have just purchased a car. Since you have
been taking business law, you have read and understand the elements of a
contract and the defenses to a contract. Therefore, although you are not a
lawyer, you provide some basic advice from what you’ve learned in your business
law class.
In three to five (3-5)
pages, advise Jim and Laura based on the above facts as presented, the material
provided in the text, and material covered in the lecture. In your paper, be
sure to address the following:
1.
Define the elements of a legal contract using examples from the
scenario where applicable.
2.
Decide whether or not there was a contract for the purchase of
the automobile.
3.
Identify the facts from the scenario which support your decision
on whether or not a contract exists for the purchase of the automobile.
4.
Use at least two (2) quality academic resources in this
assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other
Websites do not qualify as quality academic resources.
5.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting
requirements:
o Typed, double spaced,
using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
o Include a cover page
containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s
name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the
required page length.
o Include a reference
page. Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is
not included in the required page length.
Grading for this
assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper,
and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.
