Class 22: Module IV Capstone: Defenses

Defenses · Nov 18

Module quiz, debrief, and Negotiation Simulation skills assessment.

Today

Floor. Quiz (0:00 to 0:25) plus item-level debrief (0:25 to 0:55). The quiz happens. The debrief covers every item with the doctrinal trap explained. ~55 min.

Target. Floor plus skills assessment (0:55 to 1:40) at scheduled scope. The deliverable is collected at the end. ~85 min.

By the end of class, you can

Map any defense fact pattern onto the voidability matrix (mistake, misrepresentation, duress, undue influence, capacity, unconscionability, Statute of Frauds).
Identify which defense produces void versus voidable and explain the policy reason for the line.
Apply the procedural and substantive prongs of unconscionability and the basic-assumption plus risk-allocation frame of mistake to a fact pattern that overlaps both.

Voidability matrix: module recap

Four defense subgraphs covering mistake (mutual and unilateral), misrepresentation (fraudulent and innocent), duress (physical and economic), and undue influence; each shows elements and void or voidable outcome; physical compulsion is the only void result. — The quiz tests each subgraph independently. The exam will present facts that overlap two or three subgraphs and require you to choose and justify.

Closing the module

The module's central question. When should the law refuse to enforce an agreement the parties signed?

Six answers. Statute of Frauds (the writing requirement). Mistake (shared false assumption). Misrepresentation (one party's wrongful act, affirmative or by silence). Duress (improper threat plus no reasonable alternative). Undue influence (exploitation of relational dominance). Incapacity (status defense for infants, mental illness, intoxication). Unconscionability (procedural defect plus substantive oppression).

The thread. Each defense identifies a defect in the conditions of formation. The law refuses to enforce because the bargain reflects something other than two parties' free and informed choice.

Next time

Next class: Mid-Year Review I: Formation + Consideration

_Mid-Year Review I_ · Nov 17

Review Modules I through III through the Pappas v. Bever fact pattern. Bring the offer life-cycle, the § 2-207 walk-through, and the consideration, reliance, and restitution map. One question runs the whole review: at what point in the negotiation did this transaction become a contract, and what was the doctrinal hook? Come ready to answer. You may be called.