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CSU Elizabeth and Michael True Value of Card Case Questions

 

MANAGAMENT ASSIGNMENT – DUE MAY 10, 2021 11:59pm.

Elizabeth Covington has brought Michael Ferrell to court. Elizabeth
Covington is seeking to get her card back from Michael Ferrell or in the
alternative Elizabeth wants to recover the true value of the card
($80,000?)

You are Judge Wapner and you are presented with the following evidence.

They say that “all good things must come to an end,” and for
Elizabeth Covington, the saying had unfortunately come true. After a
brief illness, Elizabeth’s husband Forrest had died at the age of
sixty-eight. The couple had been happily married for forty-two years,
and now Elizabeth was left with only her memories, and with the material
belongings her husband had left behind. Her husband’s funeral now
complete, Elizabeth was faced with the responsibility of administering
her husband’s estate. As required by state law, she had only one year to
“wrap up” the financial affairs of her husband’s estate through the
process of probate. The “clock was ticking” on the probate time limit,
and Elizabeth knew that she must somehow “press on.” As the sole heir of
her husband’s estate (Forrest had named his wife as the only
beneficiary of his will,) all proceeds and property from the estate
would pass to Elizabeth. That was little consolation to Elizabeth, as
she would, if she somehow had the opportunity; trade all of her worldly
possessions for another day with her life and soul mate.

Some time ago, Elizabeth had read that one of the best way’s to cope
with the loss of a deceased spouse was to rid the house of the personal
belongings of the lost loved one. Along those lines, she decided to have
an estate sale. Elizabeth’s daughter Samantha agreed to help with the
sale, with the stipulation that all of the proceeds of the sale would be
used for the benefit of her mother. Samantha knew that with her mother
now approaching retirement alone (Elizabeth was sixty-five years old,)
she would need all of the financial support she could muster.

The date for the estate sale had arrived. All of Forrest’s personal
belongings had been arranged neatly in the garage. Throughout his life,
Forrest had been an avid baseball fan and collector of baseball cards;
although it had been his hobby, Elizabeth had not shared in his love for
baseball or card collecting, so she therefore knew very little about
the cards. Samantha did not know the difference between a “home run” and
a ”touchdown.” Forrest’s entire baseball card collection was displayed
in the garage with his other worldly possessions, waiting for buyers.

Michael Ferrell, an eighteen-year-old who lived in the neighborhood,
decided to attend the Covington estate sale. He arrived early that
morning, before all other prospective customers, with a twenty-dollar,
self-imposed spending limit. What first caught Michael’s attention was
Forrest’s baseball card collection; more specifically, what appeared to
be a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie baseball card in near-mint to mint
condition. On the outside of the box containing the cards was a sticker
indicating “All Cards $1 Each.” Michael could not believe his eyes. He
meandered for several minutes through Forrest’s old dress shirts, golf
clubs and electronic equipment, with butterflies in his stomach and with
the Mantle baseball card in his hand. Michael debated with himself
about whether he should disclose the real value of this treasure to Mrs.
Covington (he had heard that a similar Mantle card had sold in 2006 for
over $72,000!); remembering something about “discretion being the
better part of valor,” however, Michael paid Elizabeth the $1, left the
estate sale, and returned home with his treasure.

Later that month, Elizabeth was in her living room watching her
favorite public television show, “Antiques Circus.” To her surprise, her
young neighbor Michael was on the show, asking an antiques expert to
estimate the value of the 1952 Mantle card. The expert, well-trained in
the art and science of baseball card collecting, said that even in a
tough economy, the card would likely bring $80,000 at public auction.
Elizabeth was heartbroken; not only had she sold her husband’s personal
belongings (which she had come to regret,) but she knew that this one
card could have “paved the way” for a more financially secure
retirement. If only she had known…

Write out your decision and the reasoning underscoring your decision.

Consider and include ALL legal arguments that could be raised by either side in this dispute regardless of whether you would win the argument. (CONTRACT FORMATION is the law you will need to consider to complete this assignment.)