Contracts: mock trial
Haskins v. McGraft (1928)
Facts of the case: Plaintiff Georgia
Haskins was burned on the face at age eleven, in an accident resulting from
faulty wiring in the electric lighting of her family's kitchen.
After healing, she had a
"pencil sized" scar on the right side of her face. Specialists in
Montreal advised that nothing further could be done for her face. When plaintiff
was fourteen, the scar was noticed by defendant McGraft, the family physician.
McGraft recommended a procedure in which he would cover the scar tissue by
taking skin from the plaintiff's thigh and grafting it over the scarred area of
the plaintiff's face.
There was evidence that the defendant repeatedly solicited
from the plaintiff's father the opportunity to perform this operation, in which
he had little previous experience. The plaintiff eventally consented, and surgery was undertaken
when she was eighteen. There was also evidence to the effect that before the
operation was performed the plaintiff and her father went to the defendant who,
in answer to the question, "How long will the girl be in the hospital?" replied,
"Three or four days, not over four; then the girl can go home and it will be
just a few days when she will go back to work with a clear face." According to
trial testimony, the defendant also said before the operation was decided upon,
"I will guarantee to make the face a hundred per cent perfect face" or "a
hundred per cent cured face." The plaintiff was present when these words were
alleged to have been spoken.
The operation was a failure. When her mother beheld Georgia in
post-operative recovery, she fainted. Her daughter was bleeding profusely from
her face, and intermittent bleeding has continued since. The wound became infected, and post-operative hospitalization was prolonged through
three months. Further consultation with Montreal specialists resulted in the
same advice she had received years before: do nothing further. Plaintiff filed
suit for damages due to breach of contract.
| Tasks: |
| Step 1:
Legal counsel: Prepare and submit a team brief in which you represent your
client's interests with respect to: (1) whether or not a breach of a valid
contract has occurred, and (2) if so, how the size of the resulting damages
should be determined. For part (2), do not not calculate a dollar
estimate of the damages. Plaintiff's counsel should describe how to proceed
in determining an amount of damages sufficient to "make the plaintiff whole."
Defendant's counsel should describe how to proceed in determining what your
client should be held liable for. Step 2: Legal counsel and judges: Conduct a hearing to allow both sides to present and clarify arguments and to allow the panel of judges to raise questions. Step 3: Judges: Make a decision and prepare an opinion explaining your decision. |
| Guidelines: | |
| (1) | You should use only course materials as sources: notes, texts, and assigned cases. Information and cases dealing with breach of contract are most directly related to this case. |
| (2) | Your written submission (brief or opinion depending on your role) should be no longer than 5 pages, with standard fonts and margins. |
| (3) | You must turn in both a hard copy and email copy of a team submission, which will be graded. I will grade each submission on the quality of the analysis, writing, and support from sources. |
| (4) | You may, on the due date, turn in a hard copy of an individual submission, which will not be graded unless you request it after receiving your team grade. If you make that request, the grade you will receive on the assignment will be the grade for your individual submission. |
| (5) | The maximum length of time for the hearing is 40 minutes. Judges stipulate and enforce the rules for the hearing. If counsel for either side introduces evidence or arguments during initial presentation of their case that is not covered by their brief, then opposing counsel may object and/or the judges may strike the additional information from the record. New evidence or arguments that are not stricken from the record when presented become a permanent part of the trial record and must be taken into account by the judges. |