Blog

Solve the problem.How much work does it take to slide a box 44 meters along the ground by pulling it with a 125 N force at an angle of 45° from the horizontal?

A boy was playing softball in a neighborhood park when a ball was hit over the fence and into a neighbor’s yard. The boy knocked on the neighbor’s door and obtained permission from her to retrieve the ball from her yard. As he bent to retrieve the ball in some bushes, the boy brushed against an exposed electric wire that was partially hidden by the bushes and received a severe electric shock and burns. The neighbor had failed to maintain the bushes, allowing them to become overgrown, and was not aware of the exposed wire. If the boy sues the neighbor in a jurisdiction that applies the traditional rules for landowners and possessors of land, what is the likely result?

On April 1, a landscaper read an ad in a trade magazine from a nursery offering a new variety of hydrangea bushes for $40 per bush. The landscaper immediately filled out the order form included in the ad ordering 10 bushes and deposited it, properly stamped and addressed, into the mail. On April 2, the landscaper received in the mail a letter from the same nursery, sent out as part of its advertising campaign, stating in relevant part that it will sell the landscaper 10 hydrangea bushes at $40 per bush. A day later, on April 3, the nursery received the landscaper’s order. On April 4, the bushes were shipped. On what day did an enforceable contract arise?

A worker who missed his ride home because he was working late walked across the street to a tavern to get a drink. He chatted with a patron of the tavern and discovered that he lived only a short distance from the patron. The patron offered to give the worker a ride home. Although he knew the patron was probably too drunk to drive, the worker reluctantly agreed. On the way home, the patron, driving in a dangerous manner, was involved in a collision with another car, whose driver was also driving negligently, and the worker was injured. If the worker sues the patron to recover for his injuries and the above facts are established at trial, will the worker’s recovery be reduced?

A farmer purchased several acres of land for grazing his sheep. Because of the terrain, the land was not useful for much else and was relatively inexpensive. Shortly thereafter, an adjacent neighbor accidentally discovered gold on the property and began seeking the necessary permits to begin mining. As soon as word got out, real estate values in the area soared. Rather than sell his land for a profit, the farmer decided to try to open a mine on his property. To finance the mining project, the farmer borrowed $100,000 from the bank secured by a mortgage on his land. The bank promptly recorded the mortgage. A week later, the farmer went to a friend asking her to invest in the mining project. The friend loaned the farmer an additional $50,000 in exchange for a mortgage on the property. The friend knew of the bank’s mortgage, and the friend promptly recorded her mortgage. A few weeks after that, the farmer went back to the bank and, after notifying them of the friend’s mortgage, obtained another advance of $25,000 from the bank, increasing the amount of the bank’s mortgage from $100,000 to $125,000. The bank promptly recorded the change. After spending most of the funds on engineers, surveys, and construction equipment, it was determined that the gold strike was limited to a very small portion of the neighbor’s land. No gold was found on the farmer’s land or any of the neighboring parcels. Land values plummeted. The farmer stopped making the mortgage payments to the friend but continued to make payments to the bank. The friend brought a foreclosure action against the farmer and included the bank as a party. The proceeds at the foreclosure sale were just $60,000 after attorneys’ fees and court costs. How should the proceeds be divided?

A man owned a 50-acre lot. He had purchased 40 of those acres from his uncle and had acquired title to an adjacent 10-acre strip from an absent neighbor by adverse possession. The man entered into a land sale contract to convey the 50 acres to a friend. The contract included all necessary details as to the property, the parties, and the transaction, but was silent as to the nature of title that the man would convey to the friend. At the time of closing, the friend paid the purchase price and accepted the deed conveyed by the man for the 50-acre lot. Three months later, the neighbor came back to the area and brought an action in ejectment against the friend for the ten acres. The friend now sues the man. Which of the following statements most accurately describes the friend’s rights?

A father conveyed his land to his son by warranty deed. The deed stated that the son paid $125,000 for the land but, in fact, the son had not. However, the son and the father agreed orally that the son would not record the deed until he paid the father the $125,000. The son neither paid the father nor recorded the deed for three years, at which time the property values in the area began to climb rapidly. Wishing to turn a fast profit, the son recorded the deed from the father and one week later conveyed the land to a buyer for $200,000. The buyer promptly recorded the deed. When the father discovered what had transpired, he filed a lawsuit, and the court determined that the son owed the father $125,000. Unfortunately, the son and his $200,000 from the buyer are nowhere to be found. The father asked the court to levy on the land, which the buyer opposed. The jurisdiction in which the land is located has the following statute: “No interest in land shall be good against a subsequent purchaser for value, without notice, unless the interest is recorded.” Which of the following is the buyer’s best defense against the levy?

A dancer rented a small building for her dance school and subleased some of the building space to two other tenants. The dancer paid $5,000 per month to the owner and charged her subtenants $1,000 per month each. After the dancer had been in the building for five years, the owner called her on the phone with a proposal to purchase the building. The dancer and the owner agreed on the call that the dancer would purchase the building for a price of $300,000, to be paid in monthly installments of $5,000 over a five-year period. It was further agreed that when the dancer had paid $180,000 of the total price, the owner would deliver the deed to the dancer. One month later, the dancer spent $5,000 cleaning the mirrors and decorating the studio and dressing rooms in her dance school. Over the next three years, the dancer hired another dance teacher and had him hold classes in one of the spaces formerly occupied by one of the subtenants. She also raised the monthly rent she charged the other subtenant to $1,500. Three years after the agreement with the owner, the dancer demanded that the owner convey the building by delivery of a deed. The owner refused, denying that he had entered into any agreement with the dancer concerning the purchase of the property. The dancer brings an action for specific performance against the owner. If the owner prevails, what is the likely reason?

A man and his nephew lived and worked together on the man’s ranch for 15 years. The man developed severe arthritis as he grew older, and the nephew took over the daily work of running the ranch. The man told his nephew that he wanted to be sure that the ranch would go to the nephew when the man died, so he gave the nephew a quitclaim deed. The nephew did not record the deed, but locked it in a drawer in his desk. Six months later, the man’s daughter learned about this. She asked her father to sell the ranch to her, saying he could continue to live there for the rest of his life. The daughter offered her father a good sum of money for the ranch, so the man agreed. The man and his daughter closed on the sale the next day. The man then told the nephew that he had changed his mind and decided to leave the ranch to his grandchildren. The nephew promised to destroy the deed, and the next week, he did. A month later, however, there was an accident at the ranch and the man and the nephew both died. The man died intestate and was survived by three children, including his daughter. The man’s heirs, the nephew’s heirs, and the daughter claim title to the ranch. The jurisdiction has a notice recording statute. If the nephew’s heirs bring an appropriate action to quiet title to the ranch, who is likely to prevail?

A college student gained weight over the course of his first semester of college. His mother was concerned for his health, so over winter break, she told him that if he joined an on-campus gym and started an exercise routine she would pay the gym’s membership fees, and that she would also pay him $100 for every pound he lost until he returned to a healthy weight. The college student agreed and said he would sign up when he returned to campus. The next day, the college student left his mother’s house to spend the remainder of his winter break at his father’s house. His father also was concerned about his son’s recent weight gain. The college student told his father of his mother’s offer. His father thought it was a great idea and told the college student that if his mother didn’t pay as promised, he would pay. The next semester the college student joined the gym and as a result of his efforts he managed to lose 30 pounds. Shortly before summer break began, the student’s mother died, and his stepfather, who was the executor of the mother’s estate, cancelled the gym membership and refused to pay the college student any money for his weight loss. When the college student told his father what had happened, his father also refused to pay, saying that the student should be satisfied with his weight loss and not concerned with the payment. If the college student brings suit against his father for breach of contract, which of the following represents his father’s best defense?