Contracts-Notes from the Sample Essays

How to write about quantum meruit:
A party may recover in quantum meruit if there would otherwise be unjust enrichment.
Is there any unjust enrichment here? Evaluate by looking at the value of what was received, not the services rendered but rather the value of what was bestowed on the recipient.
What will the recovery be? Not for the cost of materials and labor expended by the plaintiff, but for the market value of the benefit retained by the defendant.

How to write about excusal by impossibility/impracticability:
I need to read more about this when my Maine BarBri book finally comes. I'm getting all confused by the PMBR treatment of this issue (confusion which I think arises because the MBE will take a very old-school approach, whereas Maine might follow more closely the Rest. 2d?). Here's what the "correct" answer for Maine says:
If a person is hired for a contract based on specialized or unique skills, and cannot complete the contract due to death or incapacity, the contract performance is excused. If not a specialized person, the incapacitated person can arrange for substitute performance and delegate his duties under the contract without breach.
I would also write about foreseeability and "occurrence of an event the non-occurrence of which was a basic assumption on which the contract was made." And was the risk allocated by the K?

Writing about summary judgment:
Whenever the call of the question asks about a summary judgment determination, start with that. Is there a genuine issue of material fact? Then apply the law to the facts, looking for genuine issues of material facts. When assessing the likelihood of s/j, list the possible GIMFs and analyze.

Notes about the statute of frauds:
It's easy to over-look the 1-year rule on statute of frauds questions. A town can't "operate and maintain" a sewer system without it taking more than a year to complete the contract.
Also: remember that part performance by the defendant is accepted as an evidentiary substitute for the missing memorandum of essential terms if the performance points to the terms of the oral contract. Part performance by the plaintiff may also be weighed by the court to prove the existence of the contract.

Mistake:
Talk about mistake even if it appears to be unilateral and not a valid defense to the contract. In mutual mistake scenarios, the issues are: timing of discovery (was K still executory) and gravity of the mistake (minor v. heart of the deal).