Pass The South Dakota Bar Exam

Herb is selling his home in the northwest to retire in the south. He has a large house filled with antique furniture, but he cannot take it all to his smaller home in the south. The buyer of the home wants it vacant. Herb calls his nephew Joe and tells Joe that if he moves the furniture out of his home, he can have it. Joe agrees, so he rents a truck and drives 300 miles to his uncle’s home and places the furniture into the truck. Before Joe departs, Uncle Herb decides that he wants to keep the furniture. Was a valid contract formed?
I. Yes. There was a bargained for exchange.
II. Yes. Herb made a valid unilateral contract offer.
III. No. Herb merely stated a condition for Joe to receive a gift.

Boris is walking on a County street. His doctor had recommended that he stay in bed. He turns ill and stumbles along the sidewalk. He comes to a sidewalk vault that is flush with the sidewalk, but not in a hazardous condition. Boris misses a step and trips over the vault. He falls to the ground and breaks his left ankle and hip. He sues the owner of the vault for negligently maintaining it. A settlement offer is made to Boris by the vault owner’s insurance company, but Boris rejects it and wants more. At trial, the vault owner’s defense is that Boris was negligent and the sole proximate cause of his injuries. The vault owner calls a man who saw the accident to the stand. The vault owner’s attorney wants to question the witness about what he observed. The attorney asks the witness to describe how Boris looked. The witness states that Boris looked old, ill and looked like he suffered from AIDS. Boris’ attorney objects. Will the Court overrule the objection and allow the witness’ answer to stand?

Milo is out partying with some old college friends. They stay in the bar until closing time. Milo is extremely intoxicated. The bartender offers to call Milo a taxi, but Milo refuses and gets into his car to drive home. Several blocks later, Milo is pulled over by the police. Based upon the officer’s observations of signs of intoxication, he asks Milo to step out of his vehicle. Milo stumbles out of the vehicle and falls to the pavement. The officer helps Milo up and asks Milo if he consumed any alcohol. Milo denies it. Milo is given a sobriety test and fails. He refuses to take a breathalyzer. Milo is arrested based upon suspicion of drunken driving. Since Milo refused a breathalyzer, Milo’s driver’s license is suspended for 12 months and a post-suspension hearing affirms the suspension. Based upon a procedural issue, no charges are brought against Milo, but the suspension remains. Does the suspension run afoul of Milo’s Due Process rights?

While Junior is out trapping in the Alaskan forest, his neighbor Franco trespasses onto Junior’s land and cuts down 500 of Junior’s corn stalks, which Franco’s wife will use to make corn bread for the county fair. Franco takes 250 of the stalks home and leaves the remaining stalks next to Junior’s barn. Franco plans to come back later at night to pick up the rest. Junior comes home and finds the 250 stalks and is baffled. He moves them onto his flat bed trailer and places a tarp over them. When Franco returns to Junior’s property later that night, he learns that the stalks were moved from the area where he left them next to the barn. He spends a half hour looking for them and finally finds them on Junior’s trailer. He takes off the tarp and brings the stalks home. Junior reviews his video surveillance system and observes Franco cutting down the stalks and his subsequent actions. He contacts the police, who charge Franco with larceny of 500 stalks. Franco objects to the charges. Has Franco committed larceny?

Summer is an avid fan of Heschitt paintings. She finds one in poor condition at an art sale. She purchases it for $22,000, but knows that it is worth $55,000 in perfect condition. Summer takes the painting to Cooper’s Painting Restoration Company, which specializes in restorations of old paintings. After negotiations, Cooper agrees to restore the painting for $18,000. After working on the painting for 2 weeks, and spending $15,000 on materials, Cooper tells Summer that they will need to charge $12,000 more to make a profit. Summer verbally agrees to the additional cost, since she does not want to bring the painting to an inferior restorer. Cooper completes the painting, but Summer refuses to pay anything more than $18,000. Can Cooper recover the additional $12,000?