Question

Difficulty: MediumLaw of Contract: Discharge, Vitiating Elements, and Remedies for Breach

Match each commercial scenario in Column I with its corresponding legal concept governing contract discharge, vitiating elements, or remedies in Column II.

  • A cargo ship chartered to deliver agricultural produce is permanently detained by foreign authorities due to an outbreak of war, rendering performance impossible.Discharge by frustration
  • A distributor is forced to sign a supply agreement under direct threats of immediate physical violence against his family.Vitiating element of duress
  • A consultant completes three out of five distinct stages of an agreed audit contract before the client wrongfully terminates the agreement, and the consultant claims payment for work done.Remedy of quantum meruit
  • Two merchants enter into an agreement for the sale of a specific warehouse inventory, unaware that the inventory was completely destroyed by fire an hour earlier.Vitiating element of common mistake

Answer

The cargo ship detention corresponds to discharge by frustration. The coerced distributor agreement corresponds to the vitiating element of duress. The partial audit work claim corresponds to the remedy of quantum meruit. The contract for non-existent inventory corresponds to the vitiating element of common mistake.
Each scenario correctly matches its foundational principle under Nigerian contract law: supervening war causes frustration; physical coercion creates duress; recovery for partial work completed is quantum meruit; and contracting for already destroyed subject matter is a common mistake.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the scenario regarding the ship detention.
Identify that an unexpected supervening event (outbreak of war) made performance legally impossible without fault of either party.
This meets the criteria for contractual discharge by frustration.
2
Analyze the scenario regarding threats of violence.
Recognize that genuine consent was negated by unlawful physical coercion.
Unlawful force or threats of force constitute duress, a vitiating element.
3
Analyze the claim for partial audit performance.
Identify that the party seeks payment proportional to the value of work done after wrongful termination.
Quantum meruit ('as much as he has earned') is the appropriate legal remedy for partial performance under these circumstances.
4
Analyze the agreement for destroyed inventory.
Identify that both parties shared a fundamental assumption that the subject matter existed when it did not.
A mutual mistake as to the existence of the subject matter (res extincta) constitutes a common mistake.

Key Concept

Classification of Contract Discharge, Vitiating Elements, and Remedies
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