Changed Circumstances: Impracticality Interaction 1

Changed Circumstances: Impracticality Self-Quiz

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On May 1st, Howard and College Painters, Inc. enter into a contract under which College Painters will paint Howard’s house and Howard will pay the company $10,000. Howard specifies in the contract that he wants Dutchman brand Grade A light blue paint used on his house and nothing else. The contract calls for the work to begin on May 15th and conclude on May 30th. On May 8th, the federal government bans the use of Dutchman Grade A light blue paint because of high levels of lead in the paint. When May 15th comes around, the company does not begin working and Howard sues for breach of contract. Howard will win:

On May 1st, Howard and College Painters, Inc. enter into a contract under which College Painters will paint Howard’s house and Howard will pay the company $10,000. The contract calls for the work to begin on May 15th and conclude on May 30th. On May 8th, Howard’s house is struck by lightning in a storm and burns down. On May 15th, the company comes to begin work but is unable to because the house has been destroyed. The company demands to get paid anyway and Howard refuses. If the company sues Howard for breach, Howard will win:

Howard commissions the Lyons construction company to build him a house. Under the contract, Howard will pay Lyons $1 million and Lyons will build the house exactly according to Howard’s specifications. Lyons has completed 75% of the house when it is struck by lightning during a storm and burns down. Howard demands that Lyons rebuild the house and Lyons demands to be paid for the work he has already done before he begins rebuilding. Howard refuses to pay Lyons anything and sues Lyons for breach. Howard will probably:

Howard commissions the Lyons construction company to do extensive repairs on the wiring, plumbing and shingling of his house. Under the contract, Howard will pay Lyons $100,000 for the repair work. Lyons has completed 75% of the repairs when the house is struck by lightning during a storm and burns down. Because Lyons never finished the repairs, Howard refuses to pay Lyons anything. Lyons sues Howard for breach of contract. Howard will probably:

Howard commissions the Lyons construction company to build him a house. Under the contract, Howard will pay Lyons $1 million and Lyons will build the house exactly according to Howard’s specifications. One week before Lyons is supposed to start work, he falls off a scaffolding and is severely injured. After several months, Lyons recovers and signs a contract to work on a different house. Lyons contacts Howard and informs him that he will not be able to build a house for him. If Howard sues Lyons for breach, Howard will probably:

Howard commissions the Lyons construction company to build him a house. Lyons calculates that, between labor and supply costs, it will cost $700,000 to build the house. Under the contract, Howard agrees to pay Lyons $1 million and Lyons will build the house exactly according to Howard’s specifications. One week before Lyons is supposed to start work, he falls off a scaffolding and is severely injured. After several months, Lyons recovers. However, by this time, supply costs have increased to the point where building Howard’s house will cost $1.2 million. Lyons contacts Howard and informs him that he will not be able to build a house for him. If Howard sues Lyons for breach, Howard will probably: