CHOSE ONE FACT PATTERN AND WRITE A DETAILED BRIEF DISCUSSING ALL RELEVANT ISSUES. 2 pages

1. Harry Smith, 84, hired a real estate brokerage firm to rent a studio apartment in his townhouse. Martin, 27, a broker, at the firm made him a proposition. “Why not rent it to me instead? The result was that Mr. Smith signed two handwritten leases on two studio apartments in his house with Martin and Martin’s father for below market rates and for terms of up to 20 years. One apartment was rented for $1,167 a month and the other for $400.a month and they paid one year’s rent in advance. The least expensive apartment in that area is $1950 a month. Now, Smith who needs the money, can’t sell his house. “I am not a very good negotiator and I am not very good with numbers, “Mr. Smith said, “That was why I hired a broker to help rent the apartment.” Smith is suing the brokerage firm and Martin. Martin was dismissed from the brokerage firm, but maintains that he did nothing wrong.

2. Elizabeth Covington, who was sixty-five years old when her husband died, needed as much money as she could muster, decided to have a garage sale. Her husband had a baseball card collection but Elizabeth knew nothing about baseball or baseball cards. She displayed the cards along with many other items. Michael Ferrell, an eighteen-year-old, who lived in the neighborhood, attended the sale. What caught his eye was the baseball card collection and, specifically what appeared to be a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie baseball card in near mint condition. On the outside of the box container was a sticker indicating “All cards $1 each.” He couldn’t believe his eyes. He had heard that a similar Mantle card had sold in 2006 for $72,000. He thought about telling Mrs. Covington the real value but decided against it and paid her the $1 and left. Later that month, while she was watching her favorite public television show, she saw Michael asking the antiques expert to estimate the value of the card. The expert said that even in a tough economy the card would likely bring $80,000 at public auction. Mrs. Covington brings an equitable action to rescind the contract, get her card back and return the $1 to Michael.

3. Nelson Velez a renowned artist agreed to paint the portrait of John Booth for either the sum of $1,000,000 or for free room and Board at the Booth estate at the option of Nelson Velez. Velez agreed to paint the portrait and moved into the Booth mansion. Before the portrait could be completed, the Booth mansion burned to the ground. Booth offered to lodge Velez in a local Holiday Inn for the remainder of the year. Velez requested payment of $1,500,000 to continue and complete the project.