Reference no: EM132190762
Newly widowed, 80 year old Bob lives alone in a large Victorian 5 bedroom house because his children have finally flown the coop. He decides to downsize and sell his large house. While Bob waits for a buyer to make an offer, Bob is diagnosed with a stage 4 brain tumor, a tumor so severe that it begins to affect his memory. A week later, Patty, a nosey neighbor, approaches Bob with an offer to purchase the large Victorian for her son Oliver and family for $100,000, a price incredibly lower than the average price of $200,000 that the Victorian would usually sell for, but that she would pay in cash immediately upon acceptance. Oliver and Sarah did not have knowledge that Patty was going to make the offer, in fact Patty intended for the house to be a surprise for the young family. Bob then asks for a week to think about the offer. Patty says that is fine and goes home where she runs into her son Oliver, who happily tells her that he and his wife, Sarah, just bought a house down the street and will be moving in the following week to their new house. Patty, excited to have her Son move so close to her, forgets about her offer to Bob for Oliver and Sarah. A week later, Bob approaches Patty, and accepts her offer of $100,000 for his Victorian house. Patty immediately tells Bob that Oliver and Sarah have bought another house and she will not need to buy Bob’s house. Discuss each of the following contractual topics and whether they apply to this scenario. Take your time and make detailed arguments for each part to the essay.
Was a legal contract formed between Bob and Patty?
Did Bob have the legal capacity to consent to the sale of his house?
Was there a third party to the contract?
If there was a contract formed, was there a breach to the contract?
If there was a breach to the contract, what remedies would be available to Bob?