1.Let's considerHawkins v. McGee, one of the cases discussed in this chapter.In that case, the court restated the basic rule of contract expectation damages:damages in contract cases are designed to give the plaintiff the benefit he would have received if the contract had been properly performed.The court ruled that the correct determination of damages is related to the difference in value of the "100 percent perfect" hand Hawkins was promised and the hand as it was after the actual procedure.Maybe we all haven't been faced with situations as stark as that inHawkins v. McGee, but we all probably have seen or heard of situations where a party promised a result and was not able to perform.Share some situation from your experience in which a party had to deal with a breach of contract where the obligor did not perform as anticipated and the oblige did not receive the expected benefit.How did the situation resolve?Was there any legal action taken?

2.Those of you who rent housing should review your leases for language limiting your ability to assign the lease.Do the leases bar assignment outright?Permit it with the landlord's consent?Can the landlord withhold consent in its sole discretion or must the landlord have a reasonable basis for not consenting to an assignment?Please share a short summary of your findings with the class in this discussion.

3.In response to the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008, the federal government created the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) to help struggling homeowners refinance their mortgage debt, thereby reducing the foreclosure rate.HAMP facilitated contracts between the U.S. Treasury and mortgage lenders, who modified eligible homeowners' mortgage loans in return for incentive payments.Mr. and Mrs. Mackenzie applied for a HAMP modification of their home.Although they were eligible, the bank holding their mortgage loan, Flagstar Bank, foreclosed on their Massachusetts home.The Mackenzies sued Flagstar for breach of contract, claiming they were intended third-party beneficiaries of the lender's HAMP contract with the government.Do you think that the Mackenzies were intended third-party beneficiaries?Issues like this might arise under the new federal COVID-19 relief programs, including some of the loan programs.

4.A manufacturer delivers a new tractor to Farmer Ted on the first day of the harvest season. But the tractor will not start. It takes two weeks for the right parts to be delivered and installed. The repair bill comes to $1,000. During the two weeks, some acres of Farmer Ted's crops die. He argues in court that his lost profit on those two acres is $60,000. The jury awards the full $1,000 for the tractor repairs, and $60,000 for the lost crops.Identify the two types of awards.Is it fair that Farmer Ted received 60 times the value of the repair bill for his lost crops?

5.Assume that the UCLA Bruins football team is on the verge of winning the PAC10 conference title, which will guarantee the team a trip to the Rose Bowl, one of the most prestigious of postseason contests.By coincidence, representatives of the PAC10 are renegotiating a contract with the Big Ten, the other conference that sends a team to the Rose Bowl.The existing contract requires the school that represents the PAC10 in the game to supply to the team that represents the Big Ten 4,000 tickets to the game, for use by fans, alumni, and so on.Demand for this year's tickets is already huge.The University of Wisconsin Badgers is the team representing the Big 10 conference.UCLA is not sure it can supply the 4,000 tickets and does not want to be sued by disappointed Wisconsin fans.The danger is that Badger supporters might book trips to California relying on the guaranteed 4,000 tickets, discover that they have no game tickets, and sue UCLA as third-party beneficiaries.UCLA has spoken to the PAC10 representative about a change in the contract, but she insists that it is only fair for the PAC10 to do its best to supply the 4,000 tickets to the Big Ten.Assume that you are representing UCLA in this controversy.Please draft a proposed contract clausethat (a) obligates the PAC10 conference school to supply tickets to the Big Ten conference school but (b) makes it clear that the contract is not intended to benefit anyone other than the two schools.In other words, the contract should prevent third-party beneficiary claims.

6.Explain the differences between assignment and delegation with respect to performance of contracts.