Reference no: EM133167693
The case of Bad Muriel and Stony Brook Farms Estate
Radio station WHUR (Station), put an identification tag on a large bass fish it named "Bad Muriel" and placed it in a nearby lake (the Potomac Lake) as a part of a promotional fishing contest. WHUR Station advertised the contest during radio broadcasts but required no formal entry. The advertisement stated that anyone who caught Bad Muriel on hook and line and presented it to the station would be entitled to a $15,000 cash price.
Mindy and Mark often went boating at the lake with friends. While driving together to the lake, Mark said that he was having problems paying his mortgage and owed past-due taxes on his property (Stony Brook Farm). Mark told Mindy, "I will give you a deed to Stony Brook Farm if you agree to pay all past-due taxes and to make all future mortgage payments due on Stony Brook Farm. Mindy had always wanted to own Stony Brook Farm and she immediately replied, "I agree!" Mindy did not intend to fish but while sitting in Mark's boat she picked up an extra fishing pole and decided to drop a fishing line into the lake to see what might happen. Almost immediately Mindy felt a fish bite her hook. Mark saw this and yelled, "You may have hooked Bad Muriel! Reel her in and you will win $15,000 cash price offered by WHUR." Mindy reeled in her catch and saw the Bad Muriel identification tag. She called the station and told them she had caught Bad Muriel with hook and line. When Mindy presented Bad Muriel and attempted to claim the $15,000 cash price, WHUR radio station refused to pay her because "She had not actually participated in the contest but was merely on a social outing" when she caught Bad Muriel.
After returning from the lake, Mindy paid the past-due taxes on Stony Brook Farm and immediately moved in where she has continuously and exclusively resided. Besides regularly paying the mortgage, Mindy added a new family room and new front yard landscaping to the property that permanently improved Stony Brook Farm, greatly enhancing its appearance and value. However, when Mindy asked Mark to give her the deed to Stony Brook Farm as he had promised, Mark refused to do so.
Does Mindy have an enforceable contract against Mark? Does she also have an enforceable contract against WHUR? What legal remedies does she have against both Mark and WHUR Discuss all the legal issues that you have identified in this case?