Chapter 13 – Reality of Consent

Editor's Notes

1. Cabot Corporation v. AVX Corporation is a case example of ratification.
2. Concealment example: if Summers offers his house for sale and paints the ceilings to conceal the fact that the roof leaks, his active concealment constitutes an assertion of fact Nondisclosure differs from concealment in that concealment involves the active hiding of a fact, while nondisclosure is the failure to volunteer information
3. Problem with justifiable reliance element is identifying the extent to which the relying party is responsible for investigating the accuracy of the statement on which he relies. Section 172 of the Restatement, which provides that a relying party’s failure to discover facts before entering the contract does not make his reliance unjustifiable unless his fault was too extreme. Most courts place a greater degree of accountability on the person who makes the assertion rather than the person who relies on the assertion.
4. The hyperlink is to the Circuit Court’s opinion on the Findlaw.com website. The photo is of a dun stallion (though a mustang rather than a Quarter Horse). The plaintiffs did some due diligence, checking status of ownership of the horse with the trainer and the American Quarter Horse Association, but did not check Uniform Commercial Code filings.
5. Hyperlink is to the Colorado Supreme Court’s opinion in pdf. Court: “In short, the record demonstrates that Brooks did not seek an agreement through conscious ignorance. Rather, the record shows that he sought further dialogue because he knew of the discrepancy in the parties’ calculations. In our view, plaintiffs’ efforts to exploit Goodyear’s obvious mathematical or clerical error, thereby obtaining a windfall of over $550,000, were clearly inequitable. For these reasons, we hold that even if Brooks’s November 2, 2006, e-mail and charts could be characterized as an offer and that offer was accepted, Goodyear may properly avoid the resulting agreement on the facts presented here.”
6. Reasonable Alternative Example: Barry, a traveling salesman, takes his car to Cheatum Motors for repair. Barry pays Cheatum the full amount previously agreed upon for the repair, but Cheatum refuses to return Barry’s car to him unless Barry agrees to pay substantially more than the contract price for the repairs. Because of his urgent need for the return of his car, Barry agrees to do this. In this case, Barry technically had the alternative of filing a legal action to recover his car. However, this would not be a reasonable alternative for someone who needs the car urgently because of the time, expense, and uncertainty involved in pursuing a lawsuit. Thus, Barry could avoid his agreement to pay more money under a theory of duress.
7. AVX Corporation manufactures capacitors for electronic products. Tantalum, an elemental metal as rare in nature as uranium, is used in the manufacture of AVX’s products. Cabot Corporation is a major supplier of tantalum powder and wire and supplied AVX with tantalum products for many years. During volatile market, AVX purchased tantalum from Cabot at preferable prices without entering binding, long-term contracts. In 2000, a shortage of tantalum developed and In August 2000, Cabot notified all of its customers that, in the future, it proposed to commit its limited production capacity to those customers who were prepared to enter into binding, long-term supply contracts. Between August and November 2000, Cabot and AVX negotiated the terms of a binding, long-term supply contract. Both parties were represented by highly competent legal counsel throughout the process. Cabot and AVX memorialized the terms of a basic agreement to a binding, five-year contract, under which AVX would purchase specified quantities of tantalum powder and wire at stated prices. The prices agreed to were no higher than the then-current market prices for tantalum products. Cabot agreed to AVX’s demand of “most favored customer” protection. In addition, the parties agreed that the agreement would supersede all prior agreements (including the letters of intent) and released each other from all claims arising under any prior agreements. In July 2002, more than 20 months after the supply contract was negotiated, and more than 18 months after it was signed, AVX filed an action against Cabot in federal court. AVX alleged that the 2000 letters of intent were binding contracts and that the supply contract was void because it had been executed by AVX under economic duress. This action was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Cabot then filed an action for a declaratory judgment, seeking a declaration that the supply contract was a valid and binding contract, and that the 2000 letters of intent were not binding contracts, and were, in any event, superseded by the supply contract. In its answer, AVX asserted economic duress with regard to the supply contract, and filed various counterclaims. Cabot filed a motion for partial summary judgment, which the trial court granted. AVX appealed.
8. Court: “Even if we were to conclude that material facts regarding the existence of economic duress remain in dispute, Cabot nonetheless would be entitled to summary judgment because AVX ratified the contract by its actions. A contract that is voidable for duress may be ratified and affirmed. A party must complain promptly of coercive acts that allegedly forced it into the contract or the defense of duress is waived, and the contract ratified. The requirement that the party claiming duress disclaim the contract or release about which he is complaining promptly or be held to have forfeited his right to do so protects the stability and reliability of such agreements by denying the weaker party the “heads I win, tails you lose” option of waiting to see how the arrangement works out and then deciding whether to seek to undo it…. The supply agreement was executed in January 2001, and the first time AVX asserted duress was in July 2002. This lengthy period of silence is powerful (if not conclusive) evidence of ratification.” Lesson : If you’re going to complain about something, get to court and resolve the situation or forget it and move on!
9. Undue influence is common in familial relationships with regard to wills and trusts.
10. False. The contract is voidable at the option of the person pressured. True. True. False. Unlike duress, pressure is exerted through persuasion rather than coercion .
11. The correct answer is (e). If the assertion was knowingly made, the misrepresentation would be fraudulent rather than innocent.
12. The correct answer is (c).
13. Good question since the answer may vary from state to state. Also, it might depend on whether the landlord knew about the dog and required a security deposit at the lease beginning. Most states, however, would hold that you have reasonable alternatives, thus duress has not occurred. Of course, this raises the issue of policy and lawmaking since laws in some states protect commercial interests (e.g., landlords) more than consumer interests (e.g., tenants).