American Contract Law for a Global Age, 2017a

pool contractor to finish the pool for $10,000. If the case goes to trial, what (if any)
damages would either party be able to recover from the other?
Problem 23.3
(a) Buyer contracts with Manufacturer for the production and delivery of
10,000 Texas Rangers jerseys which will be sold in Buyer’s store as part of a special
promotion. The contract price is $150,000, and Buyer has paid $75,000 in advance.
The jerseys will retail for $30 each; Buyer expects to gross $300,000 on them. When
the jerseys arrive on the specified day, Buyer is surprised to see that they say
“Ringers,” not “Rangers.” Buyer rejects the shipment and is not able to find another
supplier in time, so it cancels its special promotion. Buyer demands that
Manufacturer return its deposit and take back the “Ringers” jerseys. Manufacturer
refuses. The jerseys sit in Buyer’s loading area for six months without being picked
up. Finally, frustrated Buyer sells the 10,000 jerseys for $30,000 to a novelty and joke
store. Buyer eventually sues for breach of contract. What damages, if any, would
either party be able to recover from the other?
(b) Same facts, except that the jerseys are not misprinted and conform exactly
to the contract requirements. Buyer, however, has decided to cancel its promotion, so
it no longer wants the jerseys and refuses to take them. Seller, at a cost of $1,500,
sends a truck to retrieve the jerseys. Seller makes several attempts to sell the shirts,
spending about 20 hours of time at $30 an hour and running up a long-distance phone
tab of $150. Seller ultimately sells the whole lot to a discount sporting goods store,
Sports-4-Less, a discount store, for $60,000. Seller sues Buyer for breach of contract.
What damages, if any, would either party be able to recover from the other?
Problem 23.4
Landlord has spent millions of dollars updating a beautiful old office building
in the downtown area. The lobby, in particular, was paved, at great expense, with
San Francisco Green granite and Canberra York Grey granite, the walls were paneled
with sequence-matched crown-cut American cherry. Immediately after the building
is finished, it is leased in its entirety for ten years to Bank. The lease gives Bank
authority to make modifications to the building, but provides that the building at the
end of the lease must be returned in the same condition, minus normal wear and tear.
Shortly after taking over the building, Bank decides it wants a more modern-looking
lobby, and rips up all of the granite flooring and tears out all of the paneling, disposing
of it all in the trash.
At the end of the lease, Bank decides not to renew. It lays a new carpet down
in the lobby and paints the walls to freshen them up. Landlord demands that it
rebuild the lobby to its original state. Bank refuses, noting that it would cost $500,000
to do that. Expert appraisers estimate that the total diminution of value is somewhere
between zero (some people do not like granite and cherry lobbies) and $50,000.
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498 CHAPTER VIII: REMEDIES