法律英语案例.docx

1、法律英语案例Presentation要求：1、每个人预计上台讲解时间为15-30分钟，根据案例的长短和人员的个数略有差异。请合理安排时间。2、容包括案例分析和答复讨论题。案例分析的格式教师在课堂上已经讲过，按照书后面的案例分析格式，中英文均可，只要有利于表达就好；答复讨论题也是中英文均可。3、讲解的辅助工具是PPT，案例分析需要，答复下列问题同样需要。字体不能太小，以免同学看不见。4、仔细阅读案例，并重点研究教师划了颜色的文字，教师会不定时的针对案例的具体情形提问。5、除了自己负责的案例，其他同学讲解的案例也要提前预习。教师也会提问其他同学，这样有利于大家知识的积累和系统化。第一讲 合同与其他

2、债【教学目的和要求】掌握合同的相关概念，区别合同之债与其他债券债务关系。【教学时数】 约2学时案例1：合同之债与其他债-不当得利Beley v. Ventura County Municipal Court Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 5, California.100 Cal. App. 3d 5December 17, 1979ASHBY, J.Real party in interest Gerry Harmsma (hereinafter Seller) is a building contractor who brought

3、an action in the municipal court to recover for services performed and material furnished in remodeling the home of appellants John and Lorraine Beley (hereinafter Buyer)On June 10, 1977, the parties executed a contract, at the home of Buyer, for the remodeling of Buyers home. The contract price was

4、 $11,689 and the work was to be completed by August 15. . The work was not completed on time, and on November 10, 1977, Buyer gave written notice that the contract was canceled.Buyer moved for summary judgment, contending that the contract was a home solicitation contract (Civ. Code, 1689.5) which d

5、id not contain the mandatory notice of Buyers right to cancel within three days ( 1689.7); that Buyer therefore had the right to cancel at any time prior to Sellers giving the required notice ( 1689.7, subd. (e); that Buyer canceled the contract on November 10, 1977 ( 1689.6); and that Seller was en

6、titled to no compensation for the services performed ( 1689.11, subd. (c). ( Weatherall Aluminum Products Co. v. Scott, 71 Cal.App.3d 245 139 Cal.Rptr. 329.) Buyer also sought the return of the $8,566 Buyer had paid to Seller.Although the home solicitation contract statute was enacted in 1971 primar

7、ily to protect residents from the high-pressure techniques of door-to-door salespersons, it was interpreted in Weatherall Aluminum Products Co. v. Scott, supra., 71 Cal.App.3d 245, 248 (decided shortly after the execution of the contract in the present case) to apply to contracts entered in the home

8、, even where the buyer had telephoned the seller and invited him to come to the home. Thus, under Weatherall, the instant contract was a home solicitation contract. Because the instant contract did not contain the required notice giving the Buyer a right to cancel within three days, the statute tech

9、nically extended indefinitely (until the Seller complied with the notice requirement) the Buyers right to cancel (Civ. Code, 1689.7, subd. (e).) Here Buyer exercised this statutory right to cancel, but only after Seller had apparently substantially completed the job. Buyer argues that the statute gi

10、ves Buyer the right to retain all the substantial benefits conferred by Sellers performance without paying anything at all for them. We disagree.Although Buyers statutory cancellation gives Buyer a defense to Sellers first cause of action on the contract, Seller has also alleged in his second cause

11、of action a quantum meruit quasi contractual theory for recovery of the reasonable value of the benefits conferred on Buyer by Sellers performance. (See 1 Witkin, Summary of Cal. Law (8th ed. 1973) Contracts, 49, p. 60.) Although the statute gives Buyer a right to avoid the written contract, there w

12、as nothing illegal or immoral about the contract itself or the nature of the services and materials to be furnished under it. (See Trumbo v. Bank of Berkeley, 77 Cal.App.2d 704, 709-710 176 P.2d 376.) Therefore, even though Seller could not recover on the express building contract, Seller is entitle

13、d to recovery on quantum meruit for the reasonable value of the improvements Buyer has received. ( Sims v. Petaluma Gas Light Co., 131 Cal. 656, 660 63 P. 1011.)Nothing in Weatherall Aluminum Products Co. v. Scott, supra., 71 Cal.App.3d 245, precludes such equitable adjustment of the rights and duti

14、es of the parties. There is no indication in that opinion that the seller in that case raised an equitable quasi contractual theory for the reasonable value of benefits conferred, as distinguished from an action on the contract. Nor does Civil Code section 1689.11 preclude Sellers quasi contractual

15、recovery. .This case does not involve an attempt to evade the statute or to pressure the buyer by the performance of a small portion of the contract within the first three days.Here we have a large building contract which was substantially completed over a long period of time before Buyer exercised

16、Buyers technical right under the statute to cancel. It would be grossly inequitable to interpret the statute to mean that Seller gets no compensation even though Buyer has the benefit of several thousand dollars worth of home improvements. Of course, in determining the reasonable value of the benefi

17、ts conferred on Buyer, the court can also take into account the damages suffered by Buyer from the incomplete, delayed or improper performance of the job.The judgment is affirmed.Stephens, Acting P. J., and Hastings, J., concurred.讨论题：1. 本案双方争议的焦点是什么？2.在本案中，加州的民法典赋予了“买方被装修房屋的房主什么权利？该方基于什么事实可以行使该法赋予的

18、权利？3. 买方是在卖方装修房屋的一方已经实质性地完成了其装修工作之后宣布解除合同的。这一事实对本案判决有什么影响？4. there was nothing illegal or immoral about the contract itself or the nature of the services and materials to be furnished under it. 这一事实有什么重要性？5. 本案所运用的或确定的法律规那么是什么？6. 请结合Harry Schott案案例一和本案的情况，思考“公正考量在决定合同一方的行为是否构成不当得利时起的作用。第二讲 意思表示和许诺的作

19、出【教学目的和要求】了解一项对表意人产生约束力的许诺在何种情况下会发生。【教学时数】 4学时案例2：诺言的存在-确定性Milic Pesovic v. Svetozar Pesovic Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Second Division.10 Ill. App. 3d 708, 295 N.E.2d 261March 13, 1973LEIGHTON, Justice:This was an ejectment suitby a father, the appellee Milic Pesovic, against his

20、son, appellant Svetozar Pesovic, in which Milic sought to evict Svetozar, his wife and their three minor children from a house in Chicago. In an answer that evinced a bitter family dispute, Svetozar interposed the defense that Milic had either made a contract to convey the house to him or had given

21、him the house as an oral gift of land.The issue in this appeal is whether the evidence in this record proved that the house had been the subject of either a contract to convey or an oral gift by Milic Pepovic to his son Svetozar.I.Milic Pesovic came to this country from Yugoslavia in 1950. He left a

22、 family that included Svetozar. Milic became an American citizen on June 21, 1956. In July 1957, having paid $7500, he received a warranty deed to a six-room house situated in Chicago at 10041 South Exchange Avenue.In 1957, because of his political views, Svetozar was incarcerated in a Yugoslav pris

23、on. He escaped and became a political refugee in Greece. With the aid of the United States and Greek governments he was joined by his wife and children. Until the middle of 1959, Svetozar lived in the Greek city of Florina employed by the Greek army as a driver in a motor pool. Life there was good a

24、nd living standards were quite comfortable.Sometime during the last half of 1958, Milic Pesovic began corresponding with Svetozar urging him to come to this country with his family. In a letter written in Serbian, Milic told Svetozar that (w)hen you come to me I will dress up and shoe you and your f

25、amily. I promise you that I will buy everything you and your family need. When you arrive here to me I will need a lot of money to shelter you and your family. In the closing sentence, Milic asked Svetozar to tell his wife and children that they will have their own home. Earlier, to assist Svetozar

26、in his application to immigration authorities, Milic executed an affidavit in which he said that he lived in Hammond, Indiana; that he was regularly employed by the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company as a mechanics helper earning more than $500 per months; that he desired to sponsor Svetozars immigra

27、tion from Florina, Greece to this country; that if an immigration visa were granted him, he, Milic, undertook to see that Svetozar would not become a public charge in this country; that he would furnish Svetozar with food, clothing and other necessities of life; that he would obtain employment for S

28、vetozar in local industry; that he had adequate housing and accommodations for Svetozar when he arrived in this country; and that he would help Svetozar become established in the American way of life. In other letters written by him to Svetozar, Milic urged his son to leave Florina, Greece and come

29、to the United States with his family.Prompted by these urgings, Svetozar, sometime in the latter half of 1959, brought his family to this country. First, they lived with Milic in Hammond, Indiana. Then, a short time later, Milic gave them possession of the house in Chicago. They lived there for abou

30、t one year when Milic began demanding rent from Svetozar. He refused to pay and moved his family out of the house. In December 1961, Svetozar suffered a serious industrial accident. He demanded of Milic the support and assistance which Milic had promised in his letters and in the affidavit prepared

31、for immigration authorities. Milic refused. In March 1964, Svetozar became an American citizen. On November 25, 1964, he filed a chancery suit against Milic in which he alleged the inducements Milic had made in persuading him to emigrate from Greece to this country with his family. Svetozar prayed t

32、hat the court order Milic to convey to him the house in Chicago and pay him damages in the sum of $10,000.II.Specific performance of a contract to convey land requires one that is unambiguous, complete in its terms and clearly prove. ( Gabrenas v. Romanecki, 331 Ill. 95, 101, 162 N.E. 161.) The contract cannot be partly written and partly oral. ( Kopprasch v. Satter, 331 Ill. 126, 127, 162 N.E. 141;Weber v. Adler, 311 Ill. 547, 143 N.E. 95.) And it is not enough to show that some kind of contract existed between the parties; it must app