Reference no: EM131629887

Jack is a 15 year Oregon resident who is being bullied at school. He is small and not very physically fit and has a pronounced stutter. He is also Native American, which seems to be the source of the bullying, with some of the other kids at the school calling him a “broken down Indian”. This infuriates him. His parents have complained to the school administration, but they simply say that there’s nothing they can do about it. The school has also put him in a special education program for slow learners because of his stutter, even though his IQ tests show that his ability is well above average. When his parents tried to get the school to simply provide help with the stutter, the school said that would cost too much money and that he could probably learn better with the rest of the slow learners, who were mostly “his kind” anyways (meaning that they were Native Americans too. )

Jack decided to take matters in his own hands and try to improve his physical shape to be able to hold his own and approached the coach to join the soccer team. The coach liked the idea, but said that in order to do that, he would need to buy gear valued at about $600. Jack’s father had recently lost his job, so Jack didn’t want to ask for the money, so he went to the local sporting goods shop, where he knew Mike, the owner and asked Mike if he could buy the gear and pay him over time from his earnings at his McDonald’s job. Mike agreed and shook hands with Jack on it, saying that this was a firm deal. Jack took the $600 worth of sporting equipment and started training with the team. On his second week on the field, Jack was injured during practice and could no longer keep his McDonald’s job. The kids increased their teasing about him being a “broken down Indian” and Mike started hounding Jack for payment for the sporting goods, since Jack no longer had the earnings to make payments.

What legal issues do the above set of facts raise? Does Mike have any remedy? Why or why not? Do Jack and his parents have any remedy?