The Martin Family Owned a Home That Was Badly in Need

question 6

Essay

The Martin family owned a home that was badly in need of repair. Mrs. Martin worked outside the home and Mr. Martin took care of the household responsibilities and cared for the two young Martin children. One day, Mrs. Martin left for work and a home repair crew drove up and began to put aluminum siding on the Martin house. Mr. Martin telephoned his wife, told her, and inquired about whether she had hired the workers. When the Martins realized that they never had ordered this work done, Mr. Martin sneaked out the back with the children. He later met his wife at work and they returned home for dinner. By that time, the entire front of the house had been aluminum-sided. The foreman asked, "Mr. and Mrs. Wolf, how do you like the job?" The Martins replied that they loved the job, but the Wolfs lived next door. When it became clear that the repair crew had made an error, the foreman insisted that the Martins had to pay.
a.
Decide the case, and explain the reason(s) for your decision.
b.
Decide the case, assuming that the Martins were away on vacation when the improvements were made, and then returned home to discover the improvements.

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Definitions:

Sale of Equipment

This transaction involves disposing of business equipment, typically recorded as a gain or loss in the financial statements, depending on the sale price versus book value.

Common Stock

A type of equity ownership in a corporation, with voting rights and potential dividends, that takes last priority in asset distribution upon liquidation.

Purchase of Equipment

The act of acquiring equipment for business operations, typically considered a capital expenditure.

Comparative Balance Sheet

Financial statements that display a company’s financial position at different points in time, side by side, to facilitate comparison.