Assignment task: This question is about Contractual Capacity Be sure to explain what Capacity is and how it applies to this case/scenario.
Question Scenario:
Little Miss Lee started racing junior mopeds competitively since she was 12-years old. Race race track/event owners often asked her to sign an exculpatory clause within the racing contract. Little Miss Lee always signed such clauses which clearly states that the race track/event owners are not responsible for any minor injuries or any damages to racer's mopeds.
On August 12, 2022, right before her 16th birthday on August 14, 2022, Little Miss Lee participated in the annual Downtown Grand Prix, a series of races in different states where stated determine age that persons can enter these racing contracts either by being the legal age required of the state or if they had written parent's permission to do so. During this event on August 14, 2022 in a state where persons can enter these races from age 16 without parent's permission, Little Miss Lee entered the race. There was a lot of traffic getting to the event so Little Miss Lee had to rush to get to her race while her parents tried to find parking. She was 30 minutes later than the time all racers had to check in, but because the event owners knew both her and her parent really well from many years of racing, they still allowed her to participate. They quickly gave her the forms with the exculpatory clause so it could be signed while she was setting up to race. They also verbally went over the contract terms while she was getting ready and left it with her to sign and leave at the pre-race counter on her way to track. Little Miss Lee smiled as the contract terms were being told to her and said that she will leave the document on her way out to the track because she was rushing to get ready and could not stop to sign it at that moment in time.
Once Little Miss Lee got to the track and rushed on her moped to start the race, in less than 2 minutes she drove into a foam padding that was used as a course barrier and it was torn from its base so she ended up on the side of the track. A portion of the padding struck Little Miss Lee on the head, and another portion was thrown to the side of the track with her moped. The foam was well padded so although Little Miss Lee had some pain and bruises from the crash, she was not severely injured. However, a significant part of her moped was damaged. She was rushed to the hospital mostly to bandage minor cuts and for observation. About a month later, Little Miss Lee filed a lawsuit against the race track/event owners for the cost of her hospital bill and the repair of her moped. The race track/event owners were shocked. They then looked for the exculpatory clause that Miss Suzie Lee signed but could not locate it as it must have still been with her due to the rush associated with her late start. They argued that she verbally expressed agreement with the contract and clause which were also read to her while getting ready for the race. Those items stated that the racers, not the race track/event owners, are fully if occurred. They argued that Little Miss Lee must have signed one to enter the race, as everyone does, so she must have kept it and not returned it because she arrived late and was rushing to join the race that they still permitted her to enter although she was 30 minutes late; this was allowed as a courtesy due to the long relationship they had over the years. They also argued that if she had not signed the contract or clause, her actions of expressing her agreement showed her intent to be bound by terms of the race contract and clause, and therefore, they did not have to pay for her injuries or the moped as those are the terms of the contract.
Question:
Using the information presented in the chapters about the elements of a contract, did Little Miss Lee have the contractual capacity to enter into the contract? Are the race track/event owner responsible because of the contract as expressed and the terms were clearly noted? Explain why or why not? Y our response must be at least a paragraph.