Art and Betty own adjoining property in rural Riverside County, an area, where all agriculture requires irrigation. Art bought a well-drilling rig and drilled a 400-foot well from which he drew drinking water. Betty needed no additional irrigation water, but in April 2022, she asked Art on what terms he would drill a well near her house. Her goal was to use this water as irrigation for her citrus crops which she planned on planting. She figured it would take about 5 years before she could harvest her first crop. She did not tell Art what her plans were. He just knew she wanted a well.

Art said that because he had never before drilled a well for hire, he would charge Betty only $10 per foot, about $1 more than his expected cost. Art said that he would drill to a maximum depth of 600 feet, which is the deepest his rig could reach. Betty said, OK, if you guarantee June 1 completion. Art agreed and asked for $3,500 in advance, with any additional further payment or refund to be made on completion. Betty said, OK, and paid Art $3,500.

Art started to drill on May 1. He had reached a depth of 200 feet on May 10 when his drill struck rock and broke, plugging the hole. The accident was unavoidable. It had cost Art $12 per foot to drill the 200 feet. Art said he would only charge Betty for drilling the 200 foot hole ($2,400) and either refund the balance or start a new well close by, but could not promise its completion before June 1due to the fact he had to order a new drill bit which are in short supply due to supply chain issues. The new completion date would be July 1.

Betty, annoyed by Arts failure, refused to let Art start another well and on June 1, she contracted with Carlos to drill a well. Carlos agreed to drill to a maximum depth of 350 feet for $4,500, which Betty also paid in advance, but Carlos could not start drilling until August 1. He completed drilling and struck water at 300 feet on August 30.

Since she could not get water until August 30, it delayed Bettys crop harvest for one full year.

In September, Betty sued Art seeking to recover her $3,500 plus the $4,500 paid to Carlos. She also sued to recover her lost harvest for an additional $50,000.

Discuss:

Understanding the elements of what it takes to make a contract, discuss in at least a full paragraph a. the elements of a valid contract b. whether each element as it pertains to the contract between Betty and Art have been met and c. Conclude if you believe there was a valid or invalid contract and why or why not.

Assuming there is a valid contract, do you believe that Art properly performed the contract? Discuss in a full paragraph why or why not and whether nor not Art has any defenses available against Betty? Discuss in at least one full paragraph.

Does Art have a claim against Betty? Why or why not. Are there any defenses available to Betty? Did Betty act properly? Discuss this in at least one full paragraph.

If the parties were to sue each other for breach of contract and you were the Judge, who would you rule in favor of? Provide your ruling in at least one full paragraph.