Contracts Keyed to Frier
Ardente v. Horan
Facts
The Horans(defendants) offered to sell residential property in the city of Newport. Ernst Ardente (plaintiff) bid $250,000 for the property. The Horans’ attorney communicated that the bid was acceptable and prepared a purchase and sale agreement which he forwarded to Ardente. Ardente executed the agreement, and his attorney forwarded it back includeding a check for $20,000 and a letter asking if certain furniture and fixtures were a part of the transaction and requesting that they remain with the property. The Horans refused to sell the items listed by Ardente and returned the unsigned purchase and sale agreement and the $20,000 deposit.The Horans refused to sell the property to Ardente, and Ardente brought suit seeking specific performance. The trial court ruled that Ardente’s letter constituted a conditional acceptance of the Horans’ offer to sell their property and thus must be construed as a counteroffer. The Horans never accepted the counteroffer and thus no contract was formed, so the trial judge granted the Horans’ motion for summary judgment on the grounds that no facts were in dispute and no contract had been formed as a matter of law. Ardente appealed.
Only StudyBuddy Pro offers the complete Case Brief Anatomy*
Access the most important case brief elements for optimal case understanding.
*Case Brief Anatomy includes: Brief Prologue, Complete Case Brief, Brief Epilogue
- The Brief Prologue provides necessary case brief introductory information and includes:
Topic:
Identifies the topic of law and where this case fits within your course outline.Parties:
Identifies the cast of characters involved in the case.Procedural Posture & History:
Shares the case history with how lower courts have ruled on the matter.Case Key Terms, Acts, Doctrines, etc.:
A case specific Legal Term Dictionary.Case Doctrines, Acts, Statutes, Amendments and Treatises:
Identifies and Defines Legal Authority used in this case.
- The Case Brief is the complete case summarized and authored in the traditional Law School I.R.A.C. format. The Pro case brief includes:
Brief Facts:
A Synopsis of the Facts of the case.Rule of Law:
Identifies the Legal Principle the Court used in deciding the case.Facts:
What are the factual circumstances that gave rise to the civil or criminal case? What is the relationship of the Parties that are involved in the case.Issue(s):
Lists the Questions of Law that are raised by the Facts of the case.Holding:
Shares the Court's answer to the legal questions raised in the issue.Concurring / Dissenting Opinions:
Includes valuable concurring or dissenting opinions and their key points.Reasoning and Analysis:
Identifies the chain of argument(s) which led the judges to rule as they did.
- The Brief Prologue closes the case brief with important forward-looking discussion and includes:
Policy:
Identifies the Policy if any that has been established by the case.Court Direction:
Shares where the Court went from here for this case.