BUSINESS LAW/ CONTRACT LAW

For this assignment, assume that you a buyer for The Wine Shop, a retail store in Brooklyn. On November 16, Mike, the shops owner, has a sales meeting with Don, owner of Italy to You, an importer of Italian wines. Mike and Don have a long conversation about this years wine production and the varieties available for import. At the end of the meeting, Mike agrees to purchase 100 cases of wine from Italy to You. Mike specifies a selection of 20 cases of Rose, 30 cases of Chianti, 20 cases of Barolo, and 30 cases of Pinot Grigio. Prices for each case are to be determined when the wine arrives in the United States. Mike and Don shake hands and agree that Don will notify Mike when the wines are available for delivery. Upon returning to his office, Don wrote the following purchase order on Italy to You letterhead: This is to confirm our conversation of November 16, 2020 in which The Wine Shop agreed to purchase from Italy to You 100 cases of wine in the following assortment: 20 cases of Rose, 30 cases of Chianti, 20 cases of Barolo, and 30 cases of Pinot Grigio. Price and delivery to be determined. /s/ Don Don mailed the letter to The Wine Shop, attention Mike, on November 17 and it was received by Mike on November 19. Mike handed you the letter and you filed it in the stores purchasing files. On November 20, Mike, who followed the wine market carefully, realized that the prices for Italian wines were rising very quickly. He began to regret his decision to purchase 100 cases of Italian wine at an undetermined price. On December 1, Mike called you and told you that he no longer wanted to purchase the wine from Italy to You as it could be too expensive and there is no price specified. He instructed you to reach out to Don and tell him The Wine Shop is not going to honor the purchase order as it does not specify the price of the wine.

Write a memo to Mike in response to his request, explaining the following legal issues:

a) Whether The Wine Shop and Italy to You have a contract for the purchase of wine.

b) If there is a contract, are there any legal issues The Wine Shop may raise to avoid the contract? (Specifically, could they raise the Statute of Frauds as a defense to the enforcement of the contract? Explain if this would be successful or not and why.)

c) Would your answer be different if Mike and Don were not in the wine business and Don was selling Mike wine from his private collection?