Book Opener

The Opening SceneViktor, Alena, Hana, and Emil are spending a Sundayevening at home with their father.The Ever-Elusive CarVIKTOR: I’m not going to make the same mistake Jakemade when he bought his car.ALENA: You mean you’ve decided that Buy-a-Heapisn’t good enough for you?VIKTOR: Exactly. I’m buying a car from someoneI know. Keith from school has agreed to sell mehis old convertible for $1,500.ALENA: Wow! That sounds like a good deal. That’s anice car—I’ve seen Keith driving it. Did you get thedeal in writing?VIKTOR: Well, sort of. I wrote on my deposit checkhow much the total cost would be.EMIL: Did you win the lottery? Since when do youhave that kind of money?ALENA: I know! How much did Keith want you to putdown on the car?VIKTOR: Just $500. I told you that Keith would giveme a better deal than some sneaky used carsalesperson.ALENA: You’re forgetting something that’s veryimportant. Where do you plan on getting theremaining $1,000?VIKTOR: Relax, will you? I’ve already thought aboutthat. I’ll take out a loan from the bank and get Dadto co-sign for me.MR.BENES: Excuse me? Did I just hear you say thatyou expect me to co-sign for a car loan?ALENA: (Snickering.) Yep. You heard right. Vik has aplan, and you’re definitely involved.MR.BENES: I hate to disappoint you, Viktor, but there’sabsolutely no way that I’ll co-sign a loan for you. Ihope you didn’t do anything foolish.VIKTOR: But Dad. . . .MR.BENES: It’s completely out of the question, Viktor.I’ll never co-sign for another loan, ever. I’ve learnedmy lesson when it comes to that.ALENA: What are you talking about? Whathappened?MR.BENES: Have you ever heard of an accelerationclause before?VIKTOR: No.ALENA: Me neither.MR.BENES: Well, neither did I until I co-signed thepapers for your Aunt Agatha’s home improvementloan.EMIL: What happened?MR.BENES: Aunt Agatha didn’t pay, and I ended uphaving to give $2,000 to the contractor right thenand there.(The phone rings and Viktor answers. He becomesincreasingly upset as the conversation progresses.)VIKTOR: Come on, Keith, we had a deal! You can’tdo that! You took my check. I thought that I couldtrust you. (Viktor hangs up the phone in disgust.)MR.BENES: That doesn’t sound good.VIKTOR: Keith says he was thinking about it and nowwants $2,000 for the car. Now I have to borrow$1,500. Can he do that?MR.BENES: Sounds like a breach of contract to me.I think there are laws against that.1. What is the purpose of the Statute of Frauds?2. What is the legal status of a contract that is notin formal writing?3. Which contracts must be in writing?4. What elements must be included in a writtencontract?Chapter 10: Form of the Contract 205