This is needed by saturday. 8 pages double spaced. Orginal work

Knarles and Barkley are father and son respectively. Barkley is seventeen years old.

They operate a facilities maintenance company that regularly does business in the

District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. The company is based in Maryland. They

have a number of contracts with building owners where they have agreed to provide

building maintenance to both residential and commercial buildings within the three

jurisdictions already mentioned. They receive a monthly payment of $2,000 to $4,000

depending upon the size of the building. They bill the owners for any equipment of a

substantial nature that has to be replaced. Because of Knarles' long-term relationships

with building owners, these contracts that were once in writing are generally renewed

without a new written agreement. Often Knarles and Barkley will replace outdated and

broken equipment such as water heaters and boilers that are part of a building's heating

system. Further, as part of maintenance they regularly wash windows, remove snow and

do touch-up painting as required.

Knarles and Barkley have four full-time employees. One of the employees is a licensed

plumber in the District of Columbia. His yearly license renewal is paid by the firm as part

of an employment agreement that was negotiated four years ago. That agreement was

in writing and was for a period of two years. It was the second such agreement entered

into between said employee and Knarles and Barkley. The license, through inadvertence

on the part of Barkley, was not renewed this year. In the past Knarles had taken care of

this, but he had assigned this duty to his son so he might gain experience in what was

involved in the license renewal process.

While Knarles is away in Hawaii at a “green facilities maintenance trade show,” Barkley

is approached by a building owner, Ian Chetum, in northern Virginia who has heard of

their excellent reputation. Barkley sends Chetum a standard agreement signed by

Barkley. Chetum signs it and returns it to Barkley with a check for the first month.

Chetum has an immediate need for the services of Knarles and Barkley as it is the

middle of February and his building is without heat. Barkley sends the plumber and

another worker to Chetum’s building. While inspecting the non-operating boiler at

Chetum’s building, the plumber notices that the boiler is one that has been recalled by

the manufacturer, Housewarm, because of a defect that does not allow all the carbon

monoxide produced by the boiler to vent properly. This boiler was purchased by Chetum

at a salvage yard and replaced another non-operating boiler. Further, the boiler has

been improperly installed, according to the plumber. The plumber notifies Barkley of the

problems with the boiler and Barkley immediately notifies Chetum. Chetum tells Barkley

that he does not want to purchase a new boiler. He asks if the existing boiler can be

fixed to get through the winter months. Barkley calls his plumber who is still at the

Chetum site and asks the plumber about a quick fix for the winter. The plumber tells

Barkley he would not recommend the quick fix for the winter as this boiler is defective

and has been recalled. He also tells Barkley: “You’re the boss and I can get it to work if

you really want me to.” Barkley replies: “I don’t want you to fix it, the client does. He is

the customer and this business has been built on customer service.” Barkley calls

Chetum again and relays what his man on the site has said. Chetum replies: “Fix It.”

Knarles returns from his conference shortly after the fix on the boiler has taken place. He

reads in the Washington Post on the first morning after his return that a number of

residents in a building in northern Virginia had become sickened and admitted to the

hospital for observation. It appeared that they were suffering from the effects of

exposure to carbon monoxide. These people all lived in the Chetum building. While at

lunch that day in a restaurant with his son and other members of the building

maintenance community, he tells all about what he read in the Post and says: “Thank

God we don’t deal with that jerk Chetum. He is the shadiest operator in this region and

would shoot his mother for a buck. What a crook!” One of the people at lunch, Joe

Stucko, says: “I agree with you. Chetum stole my plans for converting old HVAC

systems to new ones. I should sue him for stealing my ideas.”

Knarles later learns from his son of the agreement that he entered into with Chetum on

behalf of the firm. Knarles calls Chetum and tells him he wants no part of the agreement

and tells him he will messenger a check over to his office minus the charge for the work

already completed by the plumber. Chetum sues for breach of contract.