Hide Assignment Information
Instructions
Carter, Dash, and Burke co-founded the successful Roc-A-Fella hip-hop record label. Walker is an individual who claimed to have helped create Roc-A-Fella's logo. Starting with the commercial release of Carter's first full-length album,Reasonable Doubt, in 1996, Roc-A-Fella began using the logo and continued using it thereafter. According to Walker Dash asked him how much he would charge for the creation of a logo, and Walker replied, "Fiver percent of everything that the label is on and $3,500." Per Walker, Dash replied, "All right, get it done," and the two shook on it. Walker brought the finished logo to Dash's home, where Carter and Biggs were present. Walker and Dash again "shook on" an agreement in which Walker would receive two percent royalties for the next 10 years, as well as $3,500 paid up front. Walker did not shake hands with Carter or Biggs. Walker claimed that at a later meeting with only Walker and Dash, he wrote the agreement on a piece of paper and Dash signed it. Walker lost that allegedly handwritten contract. When he was paid $3,500 for the logo but did not receive any royalties, Walker sued for breach of contract. The court stated that a contract that cannot be performed in less than one year requires a written and signed agreement between the parties to be enforceable. Otherwise, there must be some basis such as witness testimony to allege that a contract existed. Since the only testimony came from Walker, the court ruled against him and in favor of the defendants. If you were Walker, how would you have ensured that the contract would be upheld against the defendants?