Bradley collects historic memorabilia and one of his prized possessions is the pistol used by Aaron Burr in his duel with Alexander Hamilton.After reading an article in a magazine Bradley discovers that Sam owns the matching pistol,used by Hamilton in the duel.Bradley contacts Sam and offers him $500,000 for the pistol.Sam e-mails Bradley that he accepts his offer but the transaction must be for cash and face to face.Bradley responds that he'll be at Sam's home at noon the next day with the money.When he arrives,Sam informs him that he's received an offer of $600,000 for the pistol and Bradley must pay that amount or he'll sell to the other buyer.Bradley wants the weapon to complete the set.If he sues Sam,what course of action will best provide him the results he desires?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The best course of action for Bradley is to sue for breach of contract and seek a decree of specific performance. This is because the initial agreement between Bradley and Sam constitutes a binding contract, which Sam has breached by failing to sell the pistol to Bradley at the agreed-upon price. Specific performance is a court order that requires the breaching party to perform the terms of the contract, which in this case would mean selling the pistol to Bradley for $500,000. This course of action would provide Bradley with the results he desires, which is to acquire the matching pistol and complete his set of historic memorabilia.

Bradley Collects Historic Memorabilia and One of His Prized Possessions