Ellis Agreed to Paint Lee's House for $1500

question 164

Multiple Choice

Ellis agreed to paint Lee's house for $1500. A month before the performance was due, Lee called and told Ellis that she had changed her mind and was going to have her house stuccoed instead. Ellis insisted that they had a contract and that he was going to paint the house anyway. Lee repeated that she was not going to go through with it, but Ellis insisted the contract was still on. Before further steps could be taken by either party, Lee's house was destroyed by a freak airplane accident. Which one of the following statements describes the law applicable to these facts?

• A) Ellis's conduct amounted to repudiation, and Lee could have sued for breach of contract immediately after the phone call.
• B) Lee could have accepted Ellis's conduct as an anticipatory breach.
• C) The contract has been discharged by frustration.
• D) Ellis will be able to successfully claim as damages the amount that he would have made if the contract had been performed.
• E) Lee's conduct did not amount to a breach since she told him a month before performance was due that she didn't want the house painted.

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