Melvin Was a Sophomore in College and Had Signed a 1-Year

Melvin was a sophomore in college and had signed a 1-year lease from August 15,2001,through August 14,2002,for an apartment near campus.Melvin's fall semester was bleak and he was not able to return to school the following semester.Therefore he made an arrangement with a friend that the friend would move into the apartment and pay rent to Melvin and Melvin would make the payments to the landlord.The rent was $700 a month on the original lease,but Melvin said his friend could pay him $650 per month.This worked for January and February,but in the middle of February Melvin told his friend that he wanted the friend to just make the payments to the landlord.For March,Melvin would pay $550 and the friend could pay $150.The $550 represented the $100 difference for the remaining five-and-a-half months on the lease.Thereafter the friend would simply pay the full $700.Melvin would have no obligations under the lease.In June,the friend went to Hawaii for the summer and quit paying the landlord.The landlord has sued Melvin seeking recovery for amounts due under the lease.Melvin claims that the arrangement with the friend was a valid assignment and that therefore Melvin is not liable.Discuss this situation.