Contracts

Case Analysis
In week five, we will consider the concept of \”assent\” in contracts and how contracts are performed and the obligations contained in contracts are discharged. We will also consider what can be done when the obligations of a contract are not performed.

Assent simply means that the parties to a contract have agreed to the contract and the terms of the contract. The assumption s that if there is a contract, then the parties have agreed to that contract, but there are a number of situation when that apparent agreement has not taken place legally. For instance, the parties to the contract may have been mistaken in that they were talking or thinking about different things so that there was not a \”meeting of the minds\”. Sometimes one of the parties to a contract misrepresents something material about the terms of the contract so that the other party enters into a contract that they did not intend. There can also be situations of undue influence where one party with influence over someone else takes advantage of that person in forming a contract and even situations where one party forces another party to enter a contact. In those situations,there may not be genuine assent to the contract and a contract may not be legally formed.

In most cases, the obligations of the parties to the contract are satisfied and the contract is fully performed,but there can be situations where those obligations are not fully performed yet the unperformed obligations are forgiven. However, if a party to a contract does not perform their obligations under the contract, the other party to the contract may have certain \”remedies\” that they can pursue against the person who did not perform their contractual obligations. The usual remedy for breach of contract is compensatory damages, an amount of money that will put the non-breaching party in the position they would have been in had the contract not been breached, but there are cases where money is not the complete answer to a breach of contract and other remedies are available such as specific performance or reformation of the contract.

Determine whether certain contract remedies exist in the following scenario:
Forrest Gump is a famous table tennis player. He enters into a contract with Alabama Sports Marketing to advertise the
latest ping pong game and to serve as the computer-generated imagery (CGI) model for the development of the video
game. Gump is perfect for this job as there are not many world famous ping pong players who have a following similar to
his. The game is set to start development on March 1 and will be completed on July 31, so the game can be released at
Thanksgivinga major video game release period. Both parties have agreed and stipulated to the fact that the game
must be completed on time to maximize the profits.
Gump will make 20% of the net proceeds from the sales of the game. In addition, the contract has a liquidated damages
clause that indicates that if Gump does not participate in the marketing, does not serve as the CGI model, or breaches the
contract in any way, he will owe Alabama Sports Marketing $2 million.
Based on this fact pattern and the information presented in this unit, answer the following questions in a minimum of 250
words each.
1. One day, Gump gets into an argument with the developer. Gump refuses to perform any work until the problem is
solved. In this situation, can Alabama Sports Marketing seek specific performance of the contract? If yes, why? If no, why
not?
2. How would the court determine whether the liquidated damages clause is valid? Is this clause valid? Explain your
answers.
Cite any direct quotes or paraphrased material from outside sources. Use APA format.
Information about accessing the grading rubric for this assignment is provided below.