The paralegal is assigned the task of preparing an office legal memorandum. The memorandum is due in 10 days, and there is a 5-page limit. The facts and law are as follows:
Facts: Mary was Tom's stockbroker and financial advisor. Tom owned five acres of property. Mary advised Tom to sell the property to Ana at a price slightly below the market value. She recommended that Tom buy stock with the proceeds. Tom sold the property to Ana and now wants to have the transaction set aside because he believes Mary unduly and improperly influenced his decision. Mary and Ana are very close friends.
Law: Statutory law (§ 96-4-4-1 of the state statutes) provides that a contract for the sale of land may be set aside if it is entered into under undue influence.
Case law: Lorn v. Bell. In a fact situation similar to Tom's, the court ruled that under § 96-4-4-1, undue influence occurs when:
1. The person influenced is susceptible to undue influence.
2. The person influenced is influenced to enter the contract.
3. The opportunity to influence is present.
4. Undue influence is present.
5. The person exercising the undue influence benefits from the undue influence.
Part A
Detail the application of each step of the prewriting stage to this assignment.
Part B
For the organization step of the prewriting stage, prepare an expanded outline based on the outline presented in section IV.A.3.c(ii) in this chapter.
Part C
Based only on the preceding information, fill in the expanded outline. Include a statement of the issue, analysis, counteranalysis, conclusion, and recommendations.