Donovan V. Rrl Corp

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LBS HOMEWORK SHEET Name of Case in Proper Legal Citation Format - Donovan v. RRL Corp, Corp., 27 P. 3d 702 (Cal: Supreme Court 2001) Who is/are the plaintiff(s) (i.e. consumer, company, employee, government) and what type of legal relief is/are the plaintiff(s) seeking? - The plaintiff is Brian J. Donovan, and he is suing a car dealership for refusing to sell a vehicle at a price listed in an advertisement. What legal question must the court decide, and what is the common law rule, constitutional provision or statute that the question will turn on? - The court must decide if the advertisement constituted an offer, and if the mistake is genuine and can be grounds to avoid the contract due to a unilateral mistake of fact. What is the court’s reasoning? (Might include reliance on precedent, statutory interpretation and legislative history & societal considerations) - The court first looked at whether an advertisement can be considered an offer. The court differentiates between advertisements that are in fact invitations for individuals to negotiate an offer, and advertisements that ask for a specific action without further communication and leave nothing for negotiation. The first category of advertisements is not considered offers, while the latter is not. Because the Vehicle Code forces dealers to sell at advertised prices if the vehicle remains unsold and before the advertisement expires, the plaintiff is reasonable to take the ad as an offer. The court next considered if the mistake was genuine. The court finds that the defendant satisfied the requirements for a rescission of the contract. The significant error in price is a mistake regarding a basic assumption. Selling the vehicle at the advertised price would be very undesirable for the dealer and much more desirable for the plaintiff. The mistake was due to the newspaper editor.

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