Match each commercial contract scenario in Column I with its corresponding legal classification, mode of discharge, or remedy in Column II.
- A haulage firm contracts to transport goods across state lines, but a newly enacted federal law unexpectedly bans all interstate commercial transit indefinitely before performance begins.Discharge by frustration due to supervening illegality
- A vendor knowingly makes a false statement regarding the origin of commercial machinery to induce a buyer into entering a binding purchase contract.Fraudulent misrepresentation rendering the contract voidable at the option of the innocent party
- A building contractor completes three-quarters of a warehouse renovation project before the client wrongfully repudiates the agreement and prevents further work.Claim on quantum meruit allowing recovery for the value of work already executed
- Both a buyer and seller execute an agreement for a specific cargo of grain, unaware that the entire shipment had already perished at sea prior to contract formation.Common mistake as to the existence of the subject matter rendering the contract void ab initio
Answer
The haulage scenario matches discharge by frustration due to supervening illegality; the vendor's false statement matches fraudulent misrepresentation rendering the contract voidable; the contractor's partial performance matches a claim on quantum meruit; and the destroyed grain scenario matches common mistake as to subject matter existence rendering the contract void ab initio.
Each scenario illustrates a distinct legal principle in commercial contract law: supervening statutory illegality automatically terminates performance via frustration; intentional deceit regarding goods vitiates consent through fraudulent misrepresentation; wrongful prevention of performance permits equitable recovery on quantum meruit for rendered value; and mutual ignorance of destroyed goods forms a common mistake voiding the agreement ab initio.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Law of Contract: Modes of Discharge, Vitiating Elements, and Equitable Remedies