contract tort law
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Contract Law
The textbook definition of contract is “a promise or set of promises for which the breach
of which the law gives a remedy or the performances of which the law in some way recognizes a duty (Kubasek 2020).” A contract is important in both business and personal relationships between multiple parties. A contract legally binds an agreement. If broken the party at fault could face consequences. A written contract must have two parties involved, the subject matter of the lease, duration, and consideration clauses. First, we will look at the written and signed contract between Landlord Lou and Dave’s Dawg’s father. The property has been leased and the tenant expects to pay $500 in rent a month. In this scenario the agreement was made between Dave’s Dawg’s father and Lou. But since Dave’s Dawg’s father passed away the rights to the business were transferred to Dave. We can conclude that there is an existence of contractual capacity between the current tenant and the landlord, and that Dave will continue with the legally binding agreement that his dad had made. Dave Dawg decided to deal with selling live animals which was not included in the previous contract which had just pet supplies. Because there is a disagreement involved, we must evaluate the potential claims, defenses, rights, and obligations. Landlord Lou has the right to know there is going to be live animals in his rental space. He could bring Dave to court for breaking their contract. Although landlord Lou approved the expansion of the business, he didn’t realize the animals would cause such issues for the neighboring tenants. Dave broke the contract by causing noise complaints that directly affected neighboring Sunshine Yoga. Dave’s Dawg’s also claims that Landlord Lou has breached contract by not providing air conditioning in the new expanded part of Dave’s
store. However, Dave chose to expand the store in an area in which there was no air conditioning without written or verbal permission. In this case Landlord Lou has provided all the legal basics including safe electrical wiring, plumbing and safe structural building. Landlord Lou in this case is not obligated to pay for air conditioning besides in the originally agreed upon lease. The largest issue here is that Dave stopped paying rent after Landlord Lou wouldn’t pay for air conditioning in the addition of the store. A tenant has legal rights to withhold payment up to the amount in which the repair costs. Dave should have resumed payment after the amount of the air conditioning was met. Both the agreement and legal object are in question here. Both Dave’s Dawg’s and Landlord Lou have obligations within their contracts that they must meet. Dave as the tenant should pay his rent in a timely manner and Lou should provide a
safe and useable space that was all agreed upon in the lease agreement. When it comes to the contract between Landlord Lou and Sunshine Yoga there seems to
be a verbal contract with the same elements as a written contract. A good contract must have offer, acceptance, a negotiation of value or agreed value, and a capacity to enter a contract. Based on this scenario, Landlord Lou met Jasmine at the bar two years ago and offered to rent out the space to her for $300 a month. This provides the valid offer. In this case since Jasmine has been renting the space for the past two years, we can safely say that the effects of alcohol did not impair anyone’s judgement and that they both agreed to the terms and continue to maintain those terms. Although to expect an indefinite contract with no end or renewal period can be rather absurd and proving the legality of this can be rather difficult since this was a verbal agreement. But both parties are still obligated to withhold their part of the agreement. The tenant Sunshine Yoga is to pay monthly rent for the area occupied and Landlord Lou will
ensure the place is in good condition. Without a written contract with terms for how conflicts between both parties should be delt with, both parties would have the option of terminating their verbal agreement and requesting to draw up new terms if neither is delinquent on their initial agreement. In order to avoid potential conflicts drawing up a valid contract with specified terms and
limitations is where to start. A valid contract has limitations to protect agreements which are usually valid up to a year. Due to the lack of evidence to show the existence of an agreement during any confrontation may make it challenging to protect the claim. To be viable in court, there must be a paper trail such as receipts of rent payment to prove the existence of any verbal contract. When it comes to detail satisfaction having a written agreement is much more adequate and official. Dave has a bilateral agreement with the landlord. Since Dave never asked to revise the conditions of his contract to benefit his growing business with the addition of live animals, he has already breached the contract with Landlord Lou. Dave’s decision to stop paying rent because of the whole air conditioning situation is not a term that was negotiated previously in the existing contract and would not necessarily fall under proper living conditions since requirement for good living conditions for humans and animals can differ. The space according to the written agreement, was designed for storage of supplies not live animals. Landlord Lou can defend his claim not to renovate his property since the renovations done by Dave were not in the original contract agreement. Lou has a claim to evict Dave since the contract agreement was breached meaning it no longer stands. If Lou does not want to evict Dave, they could sit down and revise the terms of their previous agreement. A new contract should be written in
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which it would require the landlord to make changes to the air conditioner and the existence of the live animals. When it comes to Jasmine since there are no contract dates the agreement falls under the category of “tenancy at will.” This means that either the tenant or leaser have the right to terminate the lease in question at any time. Jasmine has also been late on rent payments quite often which means that she has breached her contractual agreement with Lou. Jasmine also acquired an injury on premises due to one of Dave’s live animals getting loose. Legally Lou would be responsible for providing a quiet and peaceful environment, also known as a covenant of quiet enjoyment. Based on all the facts Landlord Lou has the right to evict Jasmine due to lack of payment which is a direct breach of her contract. Along with other circumstances regarding action of both tenants and Landlord Lou, in both cases there are strong grounds for contractual termination.
Tort Law
Tort law is defined as a law that helps establish whether an individual is legally accountable for an injury against another person and the kind of compensation to be given to the injured person; Tort law is a wide area that covers issues of misconduct that includes malpractice, negligence, and personal injuries. Tort law also overlaps with other fields of law including contracts and business laws. Although most torts occur as a result of damage to another person’s property or body, a
business tort is different because it involves damage or injury to the business interests of another person. This can include loss of business relations, loss of clients, and loss of business opportunities. Tort law states that all business activities be carried out in a just and fair manner to avoid harm or injury to others which can also help the business to continue operating normally. There are various tort laws relevant to the scenario of the snake such as a infliction of emotional distress, privacy invasion, nuisance, and negligence. The incident that occurred with the snake has caused Jasmine to lose business and clients. In this case Jasmine has the right to initiate proceedings of suing Lou because her rights to survive in an undisturbed an safe place have been violated. The incident where the snake was in Jasmine’s area causing her to have a heart attack is a case of medical distress that has led to medical issues. This has also been a nuisance for Jasmine and her business as she is now losing business and customers due to animal and noise control. This scenario can also be considered negligence on Dave’s behalf as the animal came from his store and if he does not have the proper license for selling these types of animals. Jasmine reported these issues to Landlord Lou including noise complaints. Due to Dave’s lack of
ability to secure the animals it is causing monetary damage to Jasmine’s business as well as invasion of privacy.
Based on tort law the claims Sunshine Yoga might have against Dave and Landlord Lou include, the first legal claim is the breach of contract that affects her rights to survive in an undisturbed safe environment. Also, the breach of privacy which inflicts emotional and physical
distress, invasion of privacy, nuisance, and negligence. Even though there is not a written contract since there was a verbal contract, she is still entitled to all rights protected under statutory laws to include a safe and proper environment. In all I feel the tenant has the responsibility to paying rent on time. If there is an issue that cannot be solved right away, pay the agreed amount and then they can renegotiate. However, it is the duty of the landlord to ensure that the rented space is suitable safe living/working conditions. It is also Dave’s responsibility to make sure his animals are properly secured. It is responsibility of all individuals to avoid certain actions as to not cause any harm or injury to another individual. Tenants with and without contracts should have equal statutory
rights including safe environment, heating and cooling and access to portable water. Both written and verbal contracts should be enforced equally regardless of it being verbal a valid offer was made for a specified service and an agreed upon agreement of rent for extended period of time validating a consensual agreement between the landlord and tenant. If the terms from the original contract were no longer a benefit to either party an official request to renegotiate the terms of the agreement should have been presented.
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Resources
Kubasek, N. K., M Neil Browne, Dhooge, L. J., Herron, D. J., & Barkacs, L. L. (2019).
Dynamic business law
.
Mcgraw-Hill Education.
www.law.cornell.edu/contract
Legal information Institute
What are the legal requirements for landlords cover4insurance.com