PART II - ESSAY
(One hour and fifteen minutes)
Oliver, a building contractor, enters into a written contract with Stanley
to build 20 residences on a subdivided plot of land which Stanley owns. Oliver
builds the houses, but Stanley refuses to pay him, claiming that the houses are
structurally defective and unsafe for occupancy.
Oliver sues and Stanley counterclaims.
Oliver presents the following evidence:
(1) Oliver testifies that the written contract was destroyed in a fire. His
lawyer then puts in evidence a letter from Stanley to Stanley's wife
which purports to set out the terms of the contract. The letter had
been turned over to Oliver's lawyer by Stanley's lawyer in pretrial
discovery proceedings.
(2) Fourteen witnesses testify that Oliver built homes for each of them
and that all of them were structurally sound.
(3) Dr. Phloog testifies that he is the psychiatrist for Elsie, Stanley's
business partner. Phloog testifies that Elsie told him Stanley's son,
Todd, along with Todd's wife and three children, had all moved into
one of the newly-constructed homes and that they still lived there.
On cross-examination, Stanley's lawyer asks Phloog, "Isn't it
true that Todd only has one child?" Phloog replies, "No. That's not
true."
(4) Benny, who is the barber for Stanley's son, Todd, testifies that Todd
said, "I am moving my family into Dad's new subdivision."
On cross-examination, Stanley's lawyer asks Benny, "Is
it true that Todd only has one child?"
(5) Sylvia testifies that she is an employee of the county Public Works
Department and that a document is a building permit which was
taken out by Oliver for the construction of the houses.
Stanley presents the following evidence:
(1) Three witnesses testify that Oliver built houses for
them which were structurally defective and collapsed.
(2) Denise, a civil engineer, testifies that she has no
recollection what seismic specifications she
instructed Oliver to use in building the houses.
Stanley's lawyer shows Denise a set of specifications
from a different building site upon which Denise had
given seismic specifications. Denise says that,
although she cannot personally recall, the
specifications for Oliver's project would have been
the same. The set of specifications are then put in
evidence.
(3) Reverend Enoch testifies that he is the pastor of
Denise's church. He says that Denise's reputation in
the community for truthfulness is excellent, that it
is his personal opinion that Denise is a truthful
person, and that he witnessed Denise tell the truth
hundreds of times.
(4) Testimony by the warden of the state prison that Dr.
Phloog was convicted of rape and petty theft in 1980.
(5) Testimony by Stanley's secretary who identifies a copy
of a letter sent to Oliver from Stanley which sets out
various matters relevant to the lawsuit.
(6) Testimony by Jake that he bought a house built by
Oliver and that after the back porch slid down a
hillside, Oliver and his company replaced the porch
with a stronger one at no expense.
In rebuttal to Stanley's evidence, Oliver presents,
(1) Testimony by Oliver's secretary that the letter
referred to by Stanley's secretary was never received
at Oliver's office.
Discuss:
(1) What issues are raised by these facts?
(2) How should those issues be resolved?