Contract Law

Rules, Cases, and Problems

Second Edition · Seth C. Oranburg · Carolina Academic Press (2025)

Get the Casebook Start the Journey
Professor Oranburg

Your Guide Through Middle-earth

Contract law is the law of promises. In this course companion, you will experience doctrine as a narrative — from Bilbo's first bargain in the Shire through the Fellowship's complex agreements to the remedies that make Middle-earth whole again.

Seven modules. Twenty-eight chapters. One continuous story.

The Journey

Follow the Hero's Journey from the Shire to Mount Doom. Each module is a stage in the adventure — and a pillar of contract law.

The Shire
Module 1 · Ordinary World

Foundations

Bag End — where promises are kept without lawyers

Chapters 1–2 · What is contract law? What is a contract?

There and Back Again
The Unexpected Party
Module 2 · Call to Adventure

Mutual Assent

From Bag End through trolls, riddles, and Mirkwood trade

Chapters 3–6 · Bargains, offers, termination, acceptance

The Road Goes Ever On
The Lonely Mountain
Module 3 · Tests & Allies

Consideration & Alternatives

The Lonely Mountain — what was bargained for, promised, and owed

Chapters 7–9 · Consideration, promissory estoppel, restitution

The Dragon's Price
There and Back Again — The journey continues The quest deepens — from the Hobbit to the Lord of the Rings
Council of Elrond
Module 4 · Crossing the Threshold

Defenses to Formation

The corruption of agreements — forged documents, mistaken beliefs, overborne wills

Chapters 10–13 · Statute of Frauds, mistake, improper bargaining, incapacity

Shadows Over Middle-earth
Doors of Moria
Module 5 · Inmost Cave

Interpretation & Terms

Speak, friend, and enter — reading the words beneath the words

Chapters 14–18 · Ambiguity, evidence, parol evidence, warranties

The Words Beneath the Words
Helm's Deep
Module 6 · The Ordeal

Performance & Breach

From Helm's Deep to the Black Gate — performance under fire

Chapters 19–23 · Conditions, performance, repudiation, excuse, modification

The War of the Ring
Mount Doom
Module 7 · Return with the Elixir

Remedies & Third Parties

Mount Doom to the Grey Havens — making Middle-earth whole

Chapters 24–28 · Damages, limits, alternatives, third-party beneficiaries

The Return of the King

Resources

Everything you need for the course, in one place.

25

Podcast Episodes

Organized: The Business Law Breakdown, Season 1

Listen →
119

Video Lectures

6 playlists covering contracts, formation, remedies, and review

Watch →
676

Assessment Questions

Multiple-choice questions mapped to Bloom's Taxonomy (coming soon)

35

Interactive Exercises

7 module activities + 28 chapter exercises with graded steps and certificates

R2d + UCC

Statutory Supplement

Restatement (Second) and UCC Article 2 selected provisions