Petra Agreed to Purchase Franchise Rights from Valley Cream Inc

Petra agreed to purchase franchise rights from Valley Cream Inc. to sell VCI ice cream from small trucks in a large metropolitan area. Her deposit on the transaction was $15,000 against a final price of the rights at $40,000. The contract contained a term, of which Petra was aware, that the deposit would be forfeited as liquidated damages if she did not follow through on the deal. Early on in the process, Petra could not get the financing she needed, and was forced to back out. Valley Cream, whose file contained only the copy of the agreement, refused to return the money. The most important part of Petra's Statement of Claim will be that relating to

A) performance in equity.
B) the doctrine of part-performance.
C) the duty to mitigate loss.
D) punitive damages for ordinary breach.
E) the doctrine of quantum meruit.