SD Bar Contracts 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Statute of Frauds, which of the following contracts must be in writing to be enforceable?
- A contract for the sale of land (Correct answer)
- A contract for services completed in two weeks
- An oral contract supported by full performance
- A contract for the sale of goods under $500
Correct answer: A contract for the sale of land
The Statute of Frauds requires contracts for the sale of an interest in land to be evidenced by a signed writing to be enforceable.
Question 2: The parol evidence rule generally prevents the introduction of prior or contemporaneous oral agreements to:
- Contradict or vary the terms of a fully integrated written contract (Correct answer)
- Explain an ambiguous term in a written contract
- Show that a contract was induced by fraud
- Establish a condition precedent to the written agreement
Correct answer: Contradict or vary the terms of a fully integrated written contract
The parol evidence rule bars extrinsic evidence offered to contradict or vary the terms of a fully integrated written contract.
Question 3: Which doctrine allows a court to enforce a promise even without consideration when one party reasonably relied on the promise to their detriment?
- Promissory estoppel (Correct answer)
- Quasi-contract
- Accord and satisfaction
- Novation
Correct answer: Promissory estoppel
Promissory estoppel (detrimental reliance) enforces a promise without consideration when the promisee reasonably and foreseeably relied on the promise to their detriment.
Question 4: When a contract is silent on a material term, courts will generally:
- Supply a reasonable term based on the parties' intent and trade usage (Correct answer)
- Declare the contract void for indefiniteness
- Require the parties to renegotiate all terms
- Enforce the contract only if the gap relates to price
Correct answer: Supply a reasonable term based on the parties' intent and trade usage
Courts prefer to save contracts by implying reasonable gap-filling terms derived from the parties' intent, course of dealing, and trade usage rather than voiding them.
Question 5: Under UCC Article 2, the battle of the forms rule in § 2-207 provides that between merchants, additional terms in an acceptance:
- Become part of the contract unless they materially alter it or the offeror objects (Correct answer)
- Are always rejected and the original offer controls
- Require a signed written amendment to be effective
- Must be accepted within a reasonable time to be incorporated
Correct answer: Become part of the contract unless they materially alter it or the offeror objects
Under UCC § 2-207(2), additional terms in a merchant's acceptance become part of the contract unless they materially alter it, the offer limits acceptance to its terms, or the offeror objects.
Question 6: Anticipatory repudiation occurs when a party to a contract:
- Unambiguously indicates before the performance date that they will not perform (Correct answer)
- Fails to perform on the due date without excuse
- Requests a modification of the contract terms
- Performs in a substantially but imperfectly complete manner
Correct answer: Unambiguously indicates before the performance date that they will not perform
Anticipatory repudiation arises when a party clearly and unequivocally repudiates their contractual duty before the time for performance arrives.
Question 7: The expectation damages measure in contract law is designed to put the non-breaching party:
- In the position they would have been in had the contract been fully performed (Correct answer)
- In the position they were in before the contract was formed
- In the position to recover only out-of-pocket expenses
- In the position to receive a windfall above the contract value
Correct answer: In the position they would have been in had the contract been fully performed
Expectation damages (benefit of the bargain) are designed to give the non-breaching party the economic equivalent of full contract performance.
SD Bar Contracts 2
Under the Statute of Frauds, which of the following contracts must be in writing to be enforceable?