1 Module Six Assignment Ashley Rivera Southern New Hampshire University BUS-206 Business Law Professor Judith Logan April 14, 2024
2 Module Six Assignment In the case "Lucy v. Zehmer" Zehmer and his friend Lucy spent the night drinking together. At some point, they signed a contract where Zehmer seemingly agreed to sell his farm to Lucy. However, when Lucy later tried to finalize the deal, Zehmer refused, saying he had only been joking due to being intoxicated. Zehmer argued that the sale lacked the essential element of Capacity to Contract, implying that he was not in the right state of mind to enter into a binding agreement. This concept of Capacity to Contract dictates that all parties involved must be mentally capable of entering into a contract. Justice Buchanan ultimately sided with Lucy, the plaintiff. He reasoned that Lucy wasn't aware of any joking intent; to her, Zehmer's agreement to sell the property seemed genuine. Despite the alcohol consumed, there was no evidence to suggest that either party was too impaired to understand the situation. Additionally, regardless of whether a written contract was signed, Lucy had made a sincere offer that Zehmer had accepted. I personally do not like this kind of situation. It seems to me that Lucy took advantage of Zehmer in a drunken state. I also feel that she continued to try and convince him when it was clear that he did not want to sell the farm. Unfortunately, I must agree with the ruling, because an offer was made and Zehmer accepted it. The story would be different if their paperwork had not been drafted. But if Zehmer was well enough to write an agreement, that means that he understood what was happening regardless if he was being taken advantage of or not. An experience that I've had is when I signed up for a gym membership at a commercial gym. I had no clue that they would make it so difficult to terminate the contract. When you go into the gym looking for information, they make it all look so simple. From there I have learned to always read the fine print when agreeing to sign anything.
3 References Hill, M. (2023). Dynamic Business Law. In M. Hill, Dynamic Business Law, Sixth Edition. New Yorkft McGraw Hill.