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Life Skills Assignment

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Life Skills Assignment

The Church of Narnia vs. ABCD Company case study entails a scenario where the corporation's CEO sent a letter to the church promising to donate $5,000,000. The Bishop of the Church of Narnia contacted the CEO regarding the letter, confirming that he would send the check-in four to six months. The donation would assist the Bishop in expanding the church to surge the congregation. He hired an architect for the new expansion project for $200,000 and a contractor for $1,000,000 to begin setting up the project. Further, the Bishop paid $3,000,000 for materials and tools. However, ABCD's finances started to deteriorate, making the company unable to fulfill its donations. The Bishop wants the court to compel the company to pay its pledge as it had pushed the Bishop into engaging in the new project and spending a significant amount on the project. The paper will identify three court opinions with similar facts to the case to assist the company in handling the case.

Kolkman v. Roth, 656 N.W.2d 148 (Iowa 2003).

Issue

Corrine Roth, who is the defendant, inherited farmland from her dad in December 1995. In 1996, she orally accepted letting Kolkman, the plaintiff, stay on the farm without paying any fee as long as he would raise cattle and farm. In June 1996, the plaintiff and his wife started to live on the farm. However, in 1999, the defendant demanded $550 monthly in rent where the plaintiff refused and filed a suit against Roth for breaching their oral agreement.

Rule

The court ruled that Kolkman had created promissory estoppel, and he was awarded $154,429 in damages as Roth had breached the agreement. On appeal, the Supreme Court of Iowa affirmed the lower court decision.

Application

The promissory estoppel rule is accessible as an exclusion to the statute of frauds for leases claimed to be over a year. Thus, the ABCD CEO might be forced to pay damages to the church for his promise over one year.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the judgment of the district court and that of the court of appeals. The promissory estoppels principle stands for claims above a year.

Cheshire, G. C., & Fifoot, C. H. S. (1947). Central London Property Trust Ltd v. High Trees House Ltd. LQ Rev., 63, 283.

Issue

The Central London Property Trust Ltd had leased a flat for £2,500 annually from High Trees House Ltd in 1937. London's occupancy rates' war and heavy bombing were radically lower than customary. In 1940, restructure the condition, the parties chose to lessen rent by half. Nonetheless, the parties didn't specify the period of applying for the reduced rent. The High Trees paid a lessened rate over the next five years. In 1945, the flats began to fill and were back at full occupancy 1945. The property company sued for compensation of the total rental expenditures from 1945 onward.

Rule

The court ruled that the rent waiver covered the wartime phase. Thus, it was fair to increase the rent back to the original fee after the pandemic as the defendant could pay it again. Therefore, the doctrine of promissory estoppel holds that the company would return the rent to the initially agreed price for the future only.

Application

The promissory estoppel acts when there is a legal association between promisor and promise. Therefore, the ABCD CEO had already established a legal relationship between the firm and the church.

Conclusion

It applies the principle of estoppel, where an event ceases when a situation to which the condition used comes to an end. For instance, the low fee was to be paid during the war, but the resumption of regular pay was after the cessation of war.

Cohen v. COWLES MEDIA COMPANY, 481 N.W.2d 840 (Minn. 1992).

Issue

Cohen, a campaign advisor, leaked data about an aspirant in the Minnesota governor race to the Cowles Media Company, promising that the corporation wouldn't reveal his identity. However, after the media firm published the inculpatory data, Cohen was fired. He sued the company for breach of promise resulting in a job loss. 

Rule

The court ruled in favor of Cohen by awarding him damages for a breach of promise of $200,000, causing a job loss and reducing his capacity to earn money.

Application

An oral promise is binding in the case of Cohen v. Cowles Media Company, as the firm was forced to pay for damages for a breach of contract.

Conclusion

The doctrine of promissory estoppel is viable in this instance, and there is a need to safeguard a promise even if he made it orally.

Conclusion

The court opinions show that a court of law can implement a verbal execution of a promise upon establishing a dependence on such a promise. The Church of Narnia vs. ABCD Company shows that there was the communication of a donation promise, but there is no agreement on usage of the cash to expand or build another church. Nonetheless, there is an exemption when there is the usage of promissory estoppel. If a person made a promise to the promisor making the latter rely on the contract, the law could enforce the pledge.

References

Cheshire, G. C., & Fifoot, C. H. S. (1947). Central London Property Trust Ltd v. High Trees House Ltd. LQ Rev., 63, 283.

Cohen v. COWLES MEDIA COMPANY, 481 N.W.2d 840 (Minn. 1992).

Kolkman v. Roth, 656 N.W.2d 148 (Iowa 2003).

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This is your Second Life Skills Assignment. For this assignment you will continue to work with the case of The Church of Narnia v. The ABCD Company, introduced in the first life skills assignment. Using the research you previously conducted (and the cases you found) for Life Skills Assignment #1, you must write a one to two page memorandum discussing the legal issues and predicting the likely outcome of the The Church of Narnia v. The ABCD Company. Feel free to conduct additional research if necessary. Your memos must include not only your conclusions but also your reasons for who you predict will win this case.

In addition, in order to receive full credit for this assignment, you must prepare a comprehensive PowerPoint Presentation summarizing the findings of your papers.

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