Analytical thinking involves breaking down a complex set of circumstances into manageable parts. In that sense, it is the opposite of ‘synthesis’, which involves creating a coherent whole out of disparate parts. In this assignment, you are asked to define the elements of a civil cause of action and to determine which facts from a brief fact pattern are relevant to which element or elements of the cause of action.
In the State of Connecticut, a 2008 case reaffirmed that someone can sue a person or entity for implied breach of contract where there has been the formation of an implied agreement and one party has performed under that agreement but another party has breached a material term of the agreement resulting in damages, but only where there is no express agreement governing the same subject matter.
Fact pattern: Dave owns an auto service station with a sign out front saying “WE FIX THINGS RIGHT – THE FIRST TIME”. Peter brought his 2010 Hyundai sedan into Dave’s service station because there was a thumping and pounding and pulling to the left whenever he drove over 55 miles per hour. Peter told Dave about the issue and Dave said he had a pretty good idea what it might be. Handing Dave the keys to his car, Peter said “Well, do whatever you need to do to square things away. It was pulling so much I nearly drove off the turnpike!” When Peter came back later in the day, he found that Dave had rebalanced all four wheels for the modest sum of $80 and put on four new tires for the not-so-modest sum of $750. Peter was flummoxed. He claims that rebalancing the wheels would have taken care of the issue. Dave says that the old tires were wearing unevenly due to being out of balance and he needed to put on four new tires both for safety and to keep the wheels from being thrown out of balance again due to the uneven wear pattern on the tread. Peter pays his bill but drives immediately to his lawyer’s office to ask if he has a case for breach of implied contract, saying that he never ever said anything about getting four new tires.
You do not need to decide whether there is a case for breach of contract. Your assignment is to provide the following:
1. State the elements of implied breach of contract;
2. For each element, state the facts which are relevant to a determination of whether that element has been met; and
3. Identify the facts that are not relevant to any of the elements.
