¶ … Breach of Contract Legal Scenarios
Whether Colossus committed the cause of action known as breach of contract where it declined to pay Lucy for two episodes of John's acting services?
Rule: The elements of the cause of action known as breach of contract are a.) Offer, b.) Acceptance, and c.) Consideration.
In this scenario a preexisting contract had been entered into by Colossus and John, and the specific terms of that contract obviously have ramifications on John's decision to amend the payment arrangement. Assuming that no caveats existed in the original contract which would preclude amendments of this nature, John's request to Randall -- who was acting on behalf of Colossus for the purpose of these negotiations -- constitutes a valid offer. Randall verbally agreed to John's request that two (2) payments of $200,000 each would be diverted to John's mother Lucy on December 20th, 2005,...
Consideration of the contract occurred when John performed acting services for two episodes of the show "Pals" within the 2005-2006 season, at which time his duties to Colossus were completed.
Conclusion: Unless Randall and Colossus can prove that John failed in his duty to perform for the show, Lucy's suit against the company for breach of contract is very likely to succeed. A legitimate offer was made by John, Randall accepted the offer, both verbally and through his signing of a written memorandum, and John's performance for the show constitutes Consideration of his contractual duties, meaning each of the three elements constituting breach of contract were present when the predetermined payment date passed without remuneration being received by Lucy. However, in the event that her suit is dismissed because the contract in…
