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6. If the son sues the car dealer for breach of contract, which of the following will the court probably decide?

The car dealer rejected the tender and denied any obligation.

On May 25, however, the widow and the car dealer by mutual agreement rescinded in a signed writing «any and all agreements heretofore made between the undersigned parties for the sale-and-purchase of a new sports car.» Later that day, the car dealer sold for $190,000 cash to another buyer the only new sports car that it had in stock or could readily obtain elsewhere. On June 1, the son tendered $180,000 in cash to the car dealer and demanded delivery to him «within a reasonable time» of a new sports car with all available equipment.

On May 4, the widow and the car dealer both signed a single document evidencing a contract for the sale by the car dealer to the widow, «as a wedding gift for the widow's son,» a new sports car, under the same terms as previously stated in their correspondence. On May 5, the widow handed the son a carbon copy of this document. On May 20, in reliance on the prospective gift the son sold his nearly new luxury SUV to a dealer at a «bargain» price of $50,000. The son immediately informed the widow and the car dealer that he had done so.

On May 1, the widow wrote the car dealer a signed letter offering to buy «one new sports car, with all available equipment, for $180,000 cash on delivery not later than June 1.» By coincidence, the car dealer wrote the widow a signed letter on May 1 offering to sell her «one new sports car, with all available equipment, for $180,000 cash on delivery not later than June 1.» These letters crossed in the mail and were respectively received and read by the widow and the car dealer on May 2.

For several weeks, a wealthy, unemployed widow and a car dealer negotiated unsuccessfully over the purchase price of a new sports car. The car dealer knew the widow wanted her son to have the sports car as a wedding gift. On April 27, the car dealer sent the widow a signed, dated memo saying, «If we can arrive at the same price within the next week, do we have a deal?» The widow wrote «Yes» and her signature at the bottom of his memo and delivered it back to the car dealer on April 29.