Sean Brosnan was a high school senior. He filled out his applications for college in September of 2015, including an application for early decision to Queens University. In December Brosnan received a thick packet from Queens, which included a glossy brochure entitled, “Welcome to Queens.” The first page of the brochure said, “Welcome to Queens!! We are delighted to have you as a member of the university community! We will be holding a place for you in the class of 2020 if you submit a $200 deposit by January 20. We would remind you that by your application for early decision, you indicated your commitment that if you were accepted to Queens, you would withdraw any applications that you have filed to other colleges and universities.” The brochure included an “Acceptance Coupon” providing that the signer was making a “definite commitment to attend Queens University during the coming academic year, to withdraw applications from any other colleges and universities, and to enclose a check for $200.” Brosnan signed the form and sent it with a $200 check to the Queens Admission Office. He then withdrew his applications from the six other universities to which he had applied.
A few days later he got a phone call from the Director of Admissions at Queens saying, “I’m sorry, we did not intend to give you the impression that you had been accepted. Your mailing should have been a deferral letter and should not have included the acceptance brochure. In any case, you had no business sending in a check—we didn’t even send you a letter of acceptance. We are returning your check.”
Please discuss the questions below using common law contract principles.
Answer the follwing
Topic 1 a. Has Queens University entered into a contract with Sean Brosnan? Give the legal arguments that can be made on each side of the issue.
Topic 1 b. Suppose that Queens discovered its error and contacted Brosnan prior to receiving Brosnan’s acceptance coupon. Would this change your analysis? If so, how and why?