The Law Dictionary for Everyone
Following is the case brief for Stambovsky v. Ackley, 169 A.D.2nd 254 (NY App. Div. 1991) Case Summary of Stambovsky v. Ackley: Plaintiff Stambovsky sued to rescind a real estate contract when he learned that the house was supposedly haunted, impacting its value. The trial court dismissed the action, finding no remedy at law. The appeals court modified the judgment. It […]
Read moreA third party beneficiary is a person who benefits from a contract that is made between two other people. For example, a third party beneficiary is not a party to the contract himself but receives a benefit once the contract is satisfied. In certain situations, a third party beneficiary is afforded the legal rights necessary to enforce the contract and […]
Read moreThe term reasonable reliance refers to, in the law, a person’s belief in a fact, which any reasonable person would believe as well. Reasonable reliance has its place primarily in contract law, though it applies in other situations in which one person took another’s word as true. To explore this concept, consider the following reasonable reliance definition. Definition of Reasonable […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Hawkins v. McGee, 84 N.H. 114 (1929). Case Summary of Hawkins v. McGee: A doctor, McGee, guaranteed 100% success in an operation to fix scarring on Hawkins’ hand. The operation was not successful. Hawkins sued McGee under a breach of contract theory. Hawkins won at trial, but the court found that the amount of the […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Hadley v. Baxendale, The Court of Exchequer (England), (1854) Case summary for Hadley v. Baxendale: Hadley owned and operated a mill when the mill’s crank shaft broke. Hadley entered into a contract with Baxendale, to deliver the shaft to an engineering company on an agreed upon date. Hadley failed to inform Baxendale that the mill […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Hamer v. Sidway, New York Court of Appeals,(1891) Case summary for Hamer v. Sidway: Uncle and Nephew entered into a contract in which uncle promised nephew $5,000 if nephew promised to refrain from drinking, smoking and gambling until he reached the age of 21 Nephew lived up to his promise and uncle said he […]
Read moreWhen someone is acting in “good faith,” it means that he is acting with honest intent, and is expected to be honest and to keep his promises without taking advantage of someone else. It is also expected that he will not hold the other party to an impossible standard. Good faith is a necessary element in a variety of situations, […]
Read moreThe term condition precedent refers to something that must happen, or a circumstance that must exist, before something else will happen. This is a common issue in contract law, where one party is to perform his duties under the contract only after the other party has performed his. For instance, Bob will install the new air conditioner at Jack’s home […]
Read moreAn express contract is a legally binding agreement, the terms of which are all clearly stated either orally or in writing. For an express contract to come together, there must be an offer made by one of the parties, and acceptance of that offer by the other party. To determine if an express contract has been properly formed, courts will […]
Read moreThe legal term clean hands refers to a defense in a civil lawsuit regarding a contract, which allows a defendant (the person being sued) to claim that the plaintiff (the person suing) has engaged in wrongdoing. If the defendant is successful in proving the plaintiff had unclean hands through bad or illegal behavior, the plaintiff would not be able to […]
Read more
