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American Contract Law for a Global Age, 2017a

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Problem 15.2<br />

The town of Amity Beach is a bustling summer seaside resort near Martha’s<br />

Vineyard. Its economy is based wholly on three months of summer tourism.<br />

Recently a great white shark of unusual size and tenacity has been eating<br />

bathers along the shore, creating a great deal of bad publicity and driving tourists<br />

away. At a town meeting, everyone is distressed over the potential loss of revenue <strong>for</strong><br />

the summer. The town council tries to calm the citizens down, but it is difficult. No<br />

one has any good suggestions <strong>for</strong> what to do. Eventually, a local fisherman, Quint,<br />

stands up. He makes the following statement:<br />

Y’all know me. Know how I earn a livin’. I’ll catch this bird <strong>for</strong><br />

you, but it ain’t gonna be easy. Bad fish. Not like going down the pond<br />

chasin’ bluegills and tommycods. This shark, swallow you whole. Little<br />

shakin’, little tenderizin’, an’ down you go. And we gotta do it quick,<br />

that’ll bring back your tourists, put all your businesses on a payin’ basis.<br />

But it’s not gonna be pleasant. I value my neck a lot more than three<br />

thousand bucks, chief. I’ll find him <strong>for</strong> three, but I’ll catch him, and kill<br />

him, <strong>for</strong> one hundred. But you’ve gotta make up your minds. If you want<br />

to stay alive, then ante up. If you want to play it cheap, be on welfare<br />

the whole winter. I don’t want no volunteers, I don’t want no mates,<br />

there’s just too many captains on this island. One hundred thousand<br />

dollars <strong>for</strong> me by myself. For that you get the head, the tail, the whole<br />

damn thing.<br />

Quint adds that this is the deal, take it or leave it, and if he leaves the room without<br />

an agreement the town can starve to death as far as he’s concerned. As there are no<br />

other options on the table, the council reluctantly agrees to hire Quint.<br />

Quint eventually catches the shark and brings it back. The town’s summer is<br />

saved. The council refuses, however, to pay him the $100,000. The reasonable fee <strong>for</strong><br />

his boat and services would be $1,500, but the City offers $10,000. Quint sues. What<br />

result and why?<br />

Problem 15.3<br />

Buyer is a regular attendee at garage sales in her town. While at a sale at the<br />

home of Seller, Buyer sees a rather dull and dirty landscape painting in a rather<br />

gaudy modern frame. Buyer, who thinks that the colors in the painting would go well<br />

in her living room (once the thing is cleaned up) offers $50, and after some negotiation<br />

she and Seller agree to a sale at $85. The painting is subsequently proved to be a lost<br />

painting by <strong>American</strong> luminist artist San<strong>for</strong>d Robinson Gif<strong>for</strong>d (1823-1880). The<br />

Sotheby’s auction house appraises the painting at $100,000 to $130,000. At no time<br />

______________________________________________________________________________<br />

UNIT 15: ASSENT-BASED DEFENSES 305

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