Blackmon v. Iverson - Negotiation, Contract, and Sales

Question 1

Facts

Answer 1

• Blackmon became an Iverson supporter of the family- Financially, mentor
• Iverson was told to use “The Answer” as a logo by Blackmon
• Iverson promised 25% of revenue- Iverson became popular- “The Answer” is used in a Reebok deal but without the logo
• Iverson is document promising the 25%
• Blackmon sues for
○ Breach of contract-wanted a cut of the proceeds- He wanted expectation benefits
○ Also claims:
§ Idea misappropriation
Unjust enrichment claim

Question 2

Issue

Answer 2

Did Blackmon’s complaint state a claim on which relief can be granted?

Question 3

Reasoning

Answer 3

○ The idea was not novel- Not unjust enrichment: Someone else owned the trademark. Did not lose out in business
○ There was no consideration
○ Unjust enrichment: This is the idea to get a court to use its power of justice to make the other whole
§ Essentially: someone takes the benefits away from the other person
□ There was no promise initially for a return (consideration)
○ Breach of contract:
§ The statute of limitations for the contract had expired- From the first promise
§ In terms of the consideration:
□ This was originally made as a gift
□ Iverson did not get anything in return, already got the answer before there was a promise
This was a gift promise

Question 4

Holding

Answer 4

• Court decided to dismiss the case:

Question 5

Business Takeaway

Answer 5

The court said Promissory Estopple:
Adjust claim to say- Blackmon continued the work on building ‘the answer” brand because of the promise of getting 25% in the future
• This occurs when there is no contract- This allows one to recover what was lost based on the original promise
“Detrimental reliance”