WRITTEN MEMORANDUM

You are a law clerk working for a lawyer in New York who wants an analysis performed on the case above (do not take sides analyze it in the eyes of a neutral party like a judge). You are expected to interpret and analyze the facts of the case below and draft a comprehensive memorandum which sets forth and analyzes the following: (1) the causes of action the parties in the case may have against each other based on the law learned in the text and class (e.g., breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentation, etc.); and (2) who wins on each cause of action, why (not only should you cover a discussion of each cause of action but potential defenses as well) and in what amounts, if any. The paper should thoroughly analyze each cause of action (show the elements required for each cause of action, potential defenses and exceptions, and apply the facts thereto). The paper should contain a conclusion on each cause of action which is based on a logical application of facts to the law. There is no page requirement for this memorandum, however, you are expected to thoroughly determine and analyze all applicable causes of action. The paper will likely be between 8 to 12 pages double-spaced.

Issues to Consider and Analyze:

1. Determine which facts are relevant to a lawsuit between the parties. You should state the relevant facts at the beginning of your memorandum.

2. What causes of action should Baron Obaka allege against John Pealin in the lawsuit? What is the basis for those causes of action? What are the elements required for each cause of action and do the facts or evidence listed above (assume the facts above to be evidence) support a favorable ruling on each of the elements? Be very specific.

2. What is the amount of damages Baron should seek from John on each cause of action? Why?

3. What defenses, if any, should John raise against each causes of action? Why? Will any potential defenses that are raised likely be successful? Be very specific.

4. Who should win on each cause of action? Why? Taking into consideration all causes of action and any defenses, what is the total amount of damages Baron should recover from John? Why? How are damages calculated? Be very specific and thorough in coverage.

ASSUMED FACTS

John Pealin is a full-time public speaker and part-time real estate agent. John and his wife own numerous houses across the country, including an old four story house in the city of Basilla. For a few years, John served as mayor of Basilla, before moving on to his public speaking job outside of Basilla. Before John bought the house in Basilla in 1988, the house was the site of a murder-suicide that occurred in the late 1970s, whereby a husband killed his wife and four children, then committed suicide. Basilla is a small farming and fishing town, which is not near any major metropolitan areas. Basilla is a bit more isolated than most communities since rivers and waterways surround the town, although, a bridge was built in Basilla to provide an access route to a highway as well as a small airport. All of the residents of Basilla know the story about the murder-suicide that occurred in the house. The house is known to be haunted in the community because of stories they have heard from John, prior owners, and guests who have stayed in the house. Also, the murder-suicide and haunting stories have been published in the Basilla newspaper over the years. While acting as mayor, John had asked the town librarian if the local newspapers could or would ever be destroyed. The librarian informed John that the newspaper articles would be placed on microfish and stay in the town library forever. Everyone in the town of Basilla was afraid to visit John at his house because of the hauntings. John occasionally rented the house to people overnight, largely in part due to the hauntings, as from time-to-time some people have been intrigued to stay the night in a haunted house and they were willing to pay John to witness ghosts. Since John has a number of houses and is afraid to stay in the house in Basilla due to the increased intensity of paranormal activity, John decided to sell the house.

On January 1, 1989, John began advertising his home for sale in a national home registry on a weekly basis, as well made a listing of his house on E-bay along with his private jet. The price John listed his house for in the registry was $230,000. The advertisement in the registry also stated that the house was in a peaceful neighborhood and in perfect condition. A few people in Basilla inquired about the house, but decided not to buy it since they would not be willing to pay anything close to $230,000. A number of people outside of Basilla looked into buying the house, but became aware of the alleged haunting and decided not to pursue purchasing the house. In December 1989, a local real estate company told one prospective purchaser that he believed the fair market value of the house was $160,000 because of the negative effect of the hauntings, and without the hauntings, the house would likely sell for $240,000.

Baron Obaka is a youth group organizer and basketball coach who lives in Belleville, which is five hundred miles from Basilla. Baron puts on summer camps for teens aspiring to play collegiate and professional basketball. Each basketball camp lasts for 3 weeks and the students live with Baron in his house for the entire camp. Baron puts on 4 camps every summer and has 12 basketball students during every camp session. Each student pays $3,000 to attend the camp. The average cost of food, electricity, and essentials for each student, which is paid by Baron is $800. Baron typically has thousands of students on a waiting list to join the camp, as he is extremely well known across the country and has a superb reputation for teaching basketball and accelerating his basketball students skills. Baron decided that he would move to Basilla to get away from the big city life of Belleville, so that he could better concentrate on coaching and teaching basketball players. Also, the seclusion would allow the basketball students to better focus and concentrate on basketball rather than certain outside activities that are available in a bigger city. Baron surveyed potential basketball students and their parents on whether the basketball students would likely attend a camp if Baron held it in Basilla, and the response was overwhelming. It was strongly projected that more basketball students would be willing to sign-up for a camp in Basilla, since it would allow for less distractions and more focus on basketball. On June 1, 1990, Baron contacted John regarding Johns house and the two arranged a meeting for Baron to view the house on June 15, 1990.

On June 7, 1990, torrential rains hit Basilla and Johns basement flooded with water. He immediately began sucking up the water with a vacuum so that anyone viewing the house would not know water flooded the basement. John had never had water leak in his basement before, so he believed that the odd occurrence was solely due to the torrential rains.

On June 15, 1990, Baron traveled to Basilla to look at Johns house. John and Baron met at the house and according to John, Baron was obnoxious, full of himself, and seemed to be under the influence of alcohol or some kind of drug. During Barons visit, John showed Baron the entire house, however, John did not mention anything about the water that leaked a few days earlier, nor did he mention anything about the hauntings in the house or the murder-suicide that occurred decades earlier. While walking through the basement, Baron noticed a musty smell and that a small amount of mold was growing at the base of most of the walls. Baron did not ask John about the mold because he figured he would easily be able to clean the mold after he moved in. Baron loved the house and told John that he would call him to negotiate a potential purchase. While Baron was walking to his car after the visit, a neighbor of John asked Baron if he saw any ghosts while walking through the house. Baron laughed and said of course I didghosts, elephants with lipstick, and blue diamonds must have been those two drinks I had with my back pain medication I took earlier. Baron then got in his car and left.

On July 1, 1990, Baron entered into a written agreement to purchase Johns house for $190,000.00. The written agreement stated that seller does not make any representations or warranties concerning the condition of the house. On September 1, 1990, the parties closed the agreement and Baron moved into the house. Baron immediately began construction of a small basketball facility on his lot, which cost him approximately $28,000. On October 15, 1990, a rainstorm hit Basilla. After being awoken by the rain, Baron went to the kitchen to make a late night snack and noticed a ghost like figure in the kitchen. Baron thought the ghost was cool and decided to set up cameras in the house to capture it on film. Baron went down in the basement to get his camcorder and noticed that the basement was flooded with water. The next day Baron called a contractor to see what the problem was with the basement and the contractor said it had to be a cracked foundation. The contractor said it would likely cost around $15,000.00 to fix the foundation. Baron contacted another company about removing the water from the basement and was told the cost would be $500.00. Baron called John and told John that he would have to pay for the contractor to fix the foundation and pay someone to remove the water from the basement. John told Baron to get lost because he made no representation that the foundation was free from defects in the contract.

Baron decided that he was not going to clean up the water because he believed John should pay for the cleanup costs and he really could not afford to pay for such costs at the time. As a result of his anger towards John, over the next few months the basement walls and flooring became warped and covered in mold. Baron continued to experience hauntings, but they did not bother him at all. On February 10, 1991, Baron received his tax return and he hired the contractor to fix the foundation. Baron was charged $18,000.00 for the foundation because of a recent increase in the price of his work. Likewise, Baron was forced to hire another contractor to re-drywall the basement because the water ruined the walls since it was not cleaned up for weeks. The cost of replacing the basement walls and flooring was $5,000.00.

Baron had successful camps during the summer of 1991, except that numerous students complained of paranormal activity, which frightened them. Almost all of the basketball players told Baron they would not likely return to future camps because of hauntings and their fear for staying in the house. The alleged haunting became well known by many basketball students across the country, as stories from the students attending the camp were broadcast on news stations, newspapers, and via internet websites. On February 1, 1992, Baron decided he was going to sell the house and move back to Belleville because he had aspirations to become a state senator. Baron contacted a real estate agent to sell his house and was told that the fair market value of the house was $160,000.00 since the house was known to be haunted. Baron wanted to move quickly, however, only one prospective purchaser offered to buy the house for $130,000.00. Baron rejected the offer and did not exhaust much effort to see if there were other purchases who would be will to pay more. Baron figured he would make enough money that he would not need to sell the house and its value may appreciate, so he decided it may be better to wait to see if he recoup his losses as a result of the value increasing.

In July 1994, a few years after moving back to Belleville, Baron began experiencing financial difficulties, so he contacted a real estate agent to sell the house for him. A valuation was performed on the house, and Barons real estate agent informed him that due to a nationwide financial crisis and lack of home buyers in the market, the value of the home dropped plummeted and that he would likely only get about $110,000 for the home if he tried to sell it. Baron knew he was wronged by John Pealin and believed he wasnt told the truth about the house he purchased, so he wanted to either give the house back to John or sue him for damages he incurred. Baron filed a lawsuit against John on October 1, 1994.