1 6-1 Case Analysis: Lucy v. Zehmer 6-1 Case Analysis: Lucy v. Zehmer Cassandra Collins Southern New Hampshire University BUS 206: Business Law I Paul Paquette December 3, 2023
2 6-1 Case Analysis: Lucy v. Zehmer Case Analysis: Lucy v. Zehmer In the Lucy v. Zehmer case, Zehmer tried to say that the contract was "made in jest" when they were drinking whisky (Kubasek, p. 352). But the court didn't buy it because Zehmer's secret intentions didn't matter. Since both parties signed the contract, it was considered a valid agreement. When appealed the court ruled that the mental assent of the parties is not required to form a contract. "If the words or other acts of one of the parties have but one reasonable meaning, his undisclosed intention is immaterial except when an unreasonable meaning which he attaches to his manifestations is known to the other party" (Kubasek, p. 352). I agree with the courts decision to reverse and remand in favor of the plaintiff, Lucy. Signing a contract is the real deal whether you are drinking or not. The plaintiff couldn't have known that the defendant was joking. Just as you must take responsibility for your other actions while under the influence, you do when you sign a contract as a joke as well. A personal experience I had when I entered into a contract that I did not think of as a binding contract at the time was my last job position at a non-profit company. I entered as a front desk associate and then was promoted to an HR position that had office duty responsibilities that did not contain customer service duties. This was right when the covid shut down happened and since I was a full-time employee I was not laid off. Though I was not laid off my new job position now consisted of my old and some new duties along with my current. The elements of a contract are the agreement. The consideration, contractual capacity, and a legal object (Kubasek, p. 330). There were a lot of missing elements of a contract in my situation. It was assumed that my responsibilities were to change due to the lack of most of the staff, which were part-time
3 6-1 Case Analysis: Lucy v. Zehmer staff, that were laid off. I never signed new job duties or was not even given a choice. I was assumed to be grateful for still having a job.