Anthony a New Jersey resident and owner of a waste disposal company in New Jersey decided to expand his business to the five boroughs of New York City. On a particular Sunday afternoon Anthony and some of his employees drove in the company SUV across the Bridge and headed to a meeting in the Queens with a local Queens based waste disposal company in order to enter into a joint venture for the collection of commercial waste. The SUV was traveling at approximately 30 miles per hr on the side streets of the Queens as it headed to the meeting. tony was driving the car and had his employees, Paul and Silvio (all NJ residents) sitting in the back seat of the vehicle. As Tony left the Long Island Expressway at the Utopia Parkway ramp he stopped at a traffic light. A truck traveling from behind was apparently traveling over the speed limit and was unable to stop in time. Tony’s SUV was “rear-ended” by the truck. The truck was owned by a local fireworks company, a New York domestic corporation and contained fireworks for the upcoming 4th of July display in the East River. Paul and Silvio sustained injuries as a result of the car crash. They were immediately hospitalized. The SUV was “totaled” and could not be repaired due to the extensive damage. The damage to the SUV ( a specially designed Porsche) was $85000. The cost of the hospitalization to Paul and Silvio was $15000 for each respectively. Anthony was able to keep his business appointment despite the fact that his entourage was hospitalized. During the business meeting, Anthony was angered that the Queen’s Company was not interested in the terms of the contract. He held a gun to the head of the Queens Company Vice President and as a result they agreed to enter into a joint venture agreement. His agreement with the Queens-based company was as follows: THe Queen’s company could use his trucks for waste removal. they would pay him a monthly rental for the use of his trucks. the vice president then brought the agreement to the President of the Queen’s company for signature. The president was awoken from his sleep and presented with the agreement and was told he was signing a contract with a local vendor for truck parts. He signed the agreement without reading it as he was still groggy from being awoken. Two weeks later Paul, who owned an appliance store paid for an advertisement in the local Dollarsaver newspaper. The advertisement stated that the first person who entered the store at 9:00 am on Tuesday, October 16, and who purchased a 19″ plasmas TV set would receive a free outdoor barbeque set. Jim entered the store at 9:00 am on the 16th, purchased the 19″ plasma TV and was advised that the appliance store had no barbeque sets in stock. The same day Paul signed an agreement with Sony to purchase all of the 19″ plasma TVs that sony produces. Two weeks later, when the first shipment arrived, Paul rejects the shipment on the basis that there was no contract because the quantity was “too vague”. Three weeks later Silvio decided to sell his home. He met with the potential buyers and advised them that the zoning for the house permitted the house to be used as a two-family dwelling and that the property size was sufficient for the town to permit the construction of an in-ground pool. The real estate broker representing Silvo concurred. The broker was Silvio’s nephew. The purchasers, who wanted to convert the house to a two-family dwelling in order to move their parents in, signed the agreement and relied upon the broker and Silvio’s representation. Weeks later they met with the local Buildings Department for the town and were told that the zoning laws for the town only permitted one-family dwelling for their newly purchased house. INSTRUCTIONS You are an attorney working for a large law firm. Anthony, Paul, and Silvio retain you to represent them. With the material given prepare an essay explaining the issues presented. Be sure to explain the courts to which the matters could be brought and why and the various legal issues that you find in the fact pattern.
