Brian works for TNC, an oil and gas company that is primarily concerned with building pipelines, in sales. One day, he secures a major contract with DWH, a company that owns pipelines, worth $50 Million to upgrade a pipeline from a processing facility in Fort McMurray to a refinery in Saskatchewan. Brian emails his boss, Tanya, to tell her the good news. She comes by his office later that day and promises him a $20,000 bonus for, "doing such a good job." 

           Later that day, Brian gets a phone call from his wife, Wendy. Explains that their fourteen year old daughter, Alison, had bought herself a new camera and lens for a combined cost of $5,000. Alison is now experiencing a major case of "buyer's remorse" after having made such a huge purchase. Wendy explains that there was a "no returns" policy on the receipt and the store is refusing to let Alison return the camera and get her money back. 

           A few months later, things are not going well for TNC. The upgrade contract Brian landed has a major problem. When Brian had negotiated the contract, the representative from DWH had said that the land the pipeline had been built on was all flat, high ground away from any water sources. However, when TNC crews began working on the project, they found that large parts of the pipeline were, in fact, running through bogs and marshes. This terrain is much more difficult to work in, as equipment and trucks often get stuck in the mud. As a result, it's taking TNC crews much longer to perform their work than had the pipeline been on the flat, high ground that DWH had claimed. In fact, TNC now stands to incur a loss due to all the added expense of having to take more time and work in much more difficult conditions. Unknown to Brian, the DWH representative knew that the pipeline ran through bogs, but decided not to tell TNC because he didn't care. 

           To make matters worse, Tanya has still not paid Brian the $20,000 bonus she promised him and how says she's not going to give it to him due to all the trouble the DWH contract has caused. She's so angry at him that she threatens to fire him if he does not sign a contract whereby Brian agrees to hand over all the patent rights to an invention he had developed and patented before ever working TNC. 

           That evening, Brian goes out for a few drinks at a pub to try and relax. He ends up drinking heavily that night and stumbles home, reeking of alcohol. When he wakes up the next day, he finds papers stuffed into his jacket pocket. When he read them, he's horrified to find that, while stumbling home drunk the previous night, he had gone into a car dealership and purchased a brand new top-of-the-line Lexus with a very expensive custom paint job.

 

Instructions: Identify and assess whether the promises and contracts in the above scenario are binding and any relevant remedies. Explain why each promise or contract is or is not binding with reference to the legal principles of contract law.