Jacob Ringtone is a young virtuoso violinist. Two weeks befo…
Jacob Ringtone is a young virtuoso violinist. Two weeks before his eighteenth birthday, he visited the elderly Frank Jones, who is a noted collector of musical instruments. The two had never met, but they had corresponded for years. Ringtone consulted Jones on which instruments best suited his style of music; Jones supported Ringtone’s career by writing about his performances in his weekly music commentators that appeared in newspapers across the country. Ringtone heard that Jones was in declining health and went to visit a man he considered his mentor. The two spoke for hours and played music together on Jones’s instruments. Both played from memory, without consulting sheet music. Both were such skilled musicians that, if they forgot a passage, they could improvise, and they delighted each other with their inventiveness and musicality. Towards the end of their meeting, Ringtone noted that he was under contract to record the Brahms, Mendelssohn, and Berg violin concerti, and he asked whether Jones would consider loaning the him Jones’s two most-precious instruments, which Jones identified as a Stradivarius and a Guarneri. These are famous and valuable antique violins. Jones had been lucid and quite cheerful throughout their meeting, but he grew emotional when Ringtone mentioned recording the violin concerti using the Guarneri and the Stradivarius. “I’m a senile old man who is no use to anyone, and you can use these wonderful instruments to share their lovely music with the world. I want you to have them.” Ringtone objected to the word “senile.” “You are in fine form, Mr. Jones, and I know I speak for a lot of people when I say that I continue to count on you and your expertise and your outstanding musicianship.” Jones asked for $500,000 for the Stradivarius and $300,000 for the Guarneri. Ringtone objected that the price was far too low, but Jones grew heated. “Everybody things I’m crazy! I know what a fiddle is worth, damn it!” Ringtone had never heard the older gentleman curse. Taken aback, he agreed to Jones’s price. He agreed to forego an appraisal. Ringtone had been playing each violin for some time, and he said, “Mr. Jones, I know a Strad when I play one. I know a Guarneri when I play one. These are the real deal.” Ringtone wrote out a check for $50,000. Jones sold instruments regularly, so he produced two form agreements, and they filled in the blanks, providing for a down payment of $20,000 on the Guarneri and $30,000 on the Stradivarius. Ringtone was to pay the remaining $750,000 on the two contracts over the next twelve months. As Ringtone was leaving, Jones remarked on how much he looked forward to hearing Ringtone perform with the two violins. Three weeks later, Ringtone appeared on “Good Morning, America” with the two violins as part of a promotion for an upcoming tour he was to do with his string quartet. He played both violins and discussed their qualities. The next day, Ringtone had the violins appraised. The Stradivarius was the real thing, with an estimated value of $3 million. The Guarneri was a very convincing fake worth $25,000. Ringtone, who preferred to use the violin he’s been playing for years, sold the Stradivarius for $3.2 million to an eccentric Viennese performance artist who planned to put pickups on it so that he could accompany Poppy (formerly a bubble-gum pop singer and performance artist now performing heavy meatal and industrial music) on her upcoming tour. Ringtone assigned his obligations under the contract relating to the Stradivarius to the Viennese performance artist, and he recorded the violin concerti with his favorite violin. 1. Ringtone stopped using the Guarneri once he learned it was fake. He now seeks to disaffirm the contract for the fake Guarneri. Can he do so based on mistake or infancy? Can he claim breach of a warranty? (10 points)2. When Jones’s children learned of the sale to Ringtone, they were outraged. In the previous months, Jones had been diagnosed with depression and had begun selling off his musical instruments at very low prices. He had also made a number of other very bad business decisions that had led the children to consider establishing a legal guardianship to prevent him from dissipating their inheritances. Do Jones and his children (treat them as one party for the purpose of these questions) have a basis for avoiding the contract with Ringtone? (10 points)3. Can Jones and his children claim that the assignment of the contract for the Stradivarius to the Viennese performance artist was wrongful and therefore a breach? (5 points) Upon completion of PART ONE, save your answer and exit the exam. You may begin PART TWO when you are ready. Remember, this is the only break in the exam.