Rachel had been thinking about buying a house. She saw an ad that described a house she liked. The ad was posted by Simon, the seller of the house. Rachel contacted Simon and said to him, I will receive a huge bonus from my work in six months. I know home prices are going up. Could you not sell the house to anyone for six months? At the end of the six months, if I want it, lets agree now that you will sell it to me for $100,000. If I dont want it, Ill let you know. Simon replied, Since you will get the bonus in six months, I can wait till my other house is fully remodeled before I move. It works out. Lets do it. Rachel said, Thank you for holding it open like that; in return Ill give you my very expensive dining table.

Six months later, Rachel decided that she wanted to buy the house. She called Simon on the phone and said, Simon, remember our deal? I got my bonus. I like to purchase your house. Shall we open escrow tomorrow? Simon replied, Perfect timing, Im ready to move. Tomorrow Ill call escrow and get this transaction started. Rachel also told Simon, How would you like to gain something in exchange for 10% of the purchase price? The reason why I am so interested in this house is because its quite remote. I plan to grow marijuana. Just dont tell anyone. You can share 10% of my profit. Would you like that? Simon said, I love it. I know some friends that would be interested. I can sell it to them cheap.

Simon really wanted to close this deal. He said to Rachel, I would lose a lot of money if you dont close the deal on time. Is it okay if we agree that for each day youre late on the payment of escrow, you will pay me $5,000 a day? Rachel replied, I wont delay in closing, but even if for whatever reason I did, $5,000 is no problem for me. Simon said, We got a deal!

After opening escrow, about five days before Rachels time set for performance of funding, Rachel decided that she didnt want to proceed with the sale. She said to Simon, Hey buddy, Im sorry I cant go through with this deal because my mother in law needs care. Can we just forget it? Simon felt sorry and said, Thats alright. Escrow was canceled without a sale. A month later, Simon still could not find a buyer. He found out from an online site that Rachel had purchased another property. Angered over Rachels action, he called her and said, Im going to sue you. We had a deal. Rachel replied, Too bad, you said it was okay. Simon said, You owe me $5,000 a day till the day the court settles the matter! And then Ill make sure that the court forces you buy the property because I dont want your stinking money. Rachel replied, Dream on!

Simon brought an action for breach of contract against Rachel. Who will prevail? Discuss.