BUS 3210 – Week IV – Case Study

Contract Scenario

Calvin had been an avid coin collector for many years, and the most valuable coin in his collection was an uncirculated, mintcondition, 1943 Lincoln penny made of copper (most pennies made during World War II were made of zinc because copperwas needed in the war effort). That penny had a value of between $60,000 and $95,000.In August of 2017, Calvin had a serious stroke that left him unable to speak or walk, but his doctor assured his family thatCalvin would recover over time with intensive therapy. Calvin was a widower and did not have any children, but he had several nephews who visited him from time to time as herecovered. None of the nephews had any real interest in Calvin’s coin collection. One of Calvin’s nephews, Billy, who visitedCalvin more often than the other nephews, sometimes listened to Calvin talk (talking was a part of Calvin’s therapy) abouthis mounting medical bills and his coin collection, but Billy never showed much interest in the medical bills or the coincollection.In October, as Calvin’s recovery progressed slowly, Billy visited Calvin and told Calvin that he had been reading about coincollecting, and he realized that Calvin’s collection, especially the 1943 Lincoln copper penny, was valuable, and Billysuggested that Calvin should consider selling the 1943 Lincoln copper penny and use the proceeds to pay his medical bills.Calvin resisted the idea at first, but Billy continued to urge Calvin to sell the penny so that he would not have to worry aboutthe medical bills. Finally, when Billy told Calvin that he would arrange the sale of the penny for a commission of just 5% ofthe sale price of the penny, Calvin began to think that selling the coin might be a good idea. He was still a little confusedabout how the sale would work and what Billy would do to make sure that the penny would be sold for the best price. Calvintold Billy that he thought that the penny was worth almost $100,000, but Billy assured Calvin that the market had changedrecently, and that the penny was now worth $40,000 to $45,000. Eventually, Calvin allowed Billy to sell the penny for the bestprice he could get and to take a 5% commission for arranging the sale of the penny. Billy then sold the penny to a friend for$40,000, took his 5% commission, and paid the remainder of the sale price to Calvin. A few months later, as Calvin continued to recover, he read a story in a coin collecting magazine about how an uncirculated,mint condition, 1943 Lincoln penny made of copper had just sold at auction for more than $100,000, and Calvin began towonder if Billy had taken advantage of him. Calvin consulted a lawyer and asked the two questions below.- Did he (Calvin) have the mental capacity to enter into the contract when he agreed to let Billy sell the penny? What wouldhe (Calvin) have to prove to show a court that he did not have the necessary mental capacity when he authorized Billy tosell the penny?

– Did Billy exert undue influence over Calvin to cause Calvin to enter into the contract that allowed Billy to sell the penny?

What do you think? Does Calvin have a case to set aside the contract with Billy on either of these theories?

Your case study should be at least two pages in length and include at least two outside sources. Be sure to use APAformatting for all citations and references.