Timberrrrr Tree, LLC (“Timberrrr”) operates a tree removal service. Their slogan is “Short or Tall We Chop ‘Em All.” Theresa and Richard Rosen hire Timberrrr to clear 10 trees on their property. The estimate they receive from Timberrrr quotes a price of $6,000.00. A deposit of $500.00 must be paid within 7 days of the estimate, $2,500.00 must be paid at the start of the first day of Timberrrr’s work. The remainder must be paid upon completion of the job.
Timberrrr states that they are “Fully Licensed and Insured” and give the Rosens 3 names of prior customers that they may contact as references. The Rosen’s contact the references and are given glowing reviews of Timberrrr’s prior work. The Rosens hire Timberrrr and give them a check for $500.00. The Rosens do not sign the estimate, nor does Timberrr provide them with any written documents other than the estimate.
The Rosens make it clear through a discussion with their contact at Timberrr, Tim, that they want to keep the wood from the trees that are cut and that they want Timberrr to grind the stumps left in their yard. Richard explains that has a fire pit and big plans for evenings around the fire with friends. He plans to use the chopped wood from the trees as fuel for his fire pit. They also tell Tim that grinding the stumps is important to Theresa because she has plans for a bocce court and a putting green in the yard. Tim tells the Rosens there will be an additional charge of $2,000.00 to split and chop the wood into pieces of a size acceptable for a fire pit. The Rosens discuss this and agree to the additional charge. No written estimate or statement of the additional charge is given to the Rosens.
On the morning of the start of the job, Theresa Rosen writes a check for $2,500.00 plus the additional fee for the splitting and chopping for a total of $4,500.00. She gives this check to Tim, who tells her that the entire job will be completed today (they already have one tree down). Theresa leaves for work. She tells Tim that she will come back during her lunch break and that Richard would also stop by during the day.
As happens, both Theresa and Richard’s days wind up being extremely busy and neither stops home during the course of the day. When they do return home, they see that only two of the trees have been cut down. The wood has been chopped (they can tell because there is saw dust and small wood chunks all over their yard), but all of the wood from the two trees is gone. Neither of the stumps have been ground and the remaining 8 trees that were to be removed are still standing.
Theresa and Richard call Timberrr and get no response. They call Tim on his cell phone and get no response. They continue to call and even stop by Timberrr’s office a number of times over the next two weeks. They try to stop payment on the check that Theresa gave to Tim, but discover that he cashed it almost immediately after she left for work. They also discover, after contacting the police, that the references they spoke to were fake and were in fact Timberrr employees posing as former customers.
Knowing what you know about contracts, the statute of frauds, and mutual mistake, please explain what the issues are here and what recourse if any the Rosens have in civil court. Assume for your response that the police find Tim. Your response should be approximately 3-5 pages.
Last Completed Projects
| topic title | academic level | Writer | delivered |
|---|