The custom furniture order
Rivera was preparing to open a restaurant called Harbor House and wanted furniture that would distinguish it from nearby competitors. On May 28, she visited Okafor, a furniture maker who regularly sold tables to restaurants, and examined an oak display table. They discussed dimensions, finishes, and the possibility of engraving the restaurant's name into each tabletop. Okafor explained that his workshop could complete twenty tables before the restaurant's planned August opening. Rivera photographed the display but took no paperwork home. On June 2, she emailed him: ‘Please make twenty oak tables matching the display, with Harbor House engraved on each, for $18,000 total, delivered August 1.’ Okafor replied that afternoon: ‘Agreed. I have reserved the workshop time.’ Both messages ended with the sender's typed name. Neither party signed a separate contract, paid a deposit, or discussed whether either could cancel before production began.
On June 3, Rivera called Okafor to confirm that the tables would withstand daily restaurant use. Rivera later said he promised a two-year warranty covering any damage to the finish; Okafor recalled saying only that oak was durable if properly maintained. No recording or written summary of the call exists. On June 5, Rivera's principal investor withdrew, leaving her uncertain whether the restaurant would open. She immediately emailed Okafor: ‘Cancel the tables. We cannot proceed, and since nothing was signed I do not think we have a binding deal.’ Okafor read the message before ordering materials or beginning construction. He replied that he considered the agreement binding and intended to finish the order. Rivera did not answer. The next morning, he purchased $6,200 of oak specifically for the tables, although the supplier would have accepted a return of the unused lumber for a modest restocking charge.
Okafor began cutting the oak on June 8 and engraved Harbor House into every tabletop during the following week. He believed completing the project would preserve his right to payment and keep his employees occupied. His workshop was busy, however, and on June 10 another restaurant offered him a $9,000 job requiring the same equipment and delivery period. He declined that work because the Harbor House tables occupied his available production capacity. Okafor completed the twenty tables on July 20. His records distinguish the oak purchase from later labor and finishing expenses, but he has not yet supplied those additional figures. Ordinary tables of the same dimensions had a ready market locally. The deeply engraved restaurant name made these tables unattractive to other buyers, and removing it would require replacing the tops. Okafor contacted two furniture dealers, neither of whom offered to buy the completed set.
On August 1, Okafor arrived at Harbor House with the tables and an invoice for $18,000. Rivera refused delivery, repeating that she had canceled before he spent money and that the absence of a signed document made the order unenforceable. The restaurant eventually opened with rented furniture after Rivera found a different investor. She also argued that Okafor should have returned the lumber or accepted the other restaurant's job rather than manufacture tables he knew she would not take. Okafor stored the finished tables in his workshop and obtained a written offer of $4,000 for their scrap value, but has not accepted it. He now seeks the full contract price and reimbursement for the oak, while also pointing to the $9,000 job he declined. Rivera alternatively contends that any enforceable agreement included the oral two-year warranty. Neither party has filed suit, and no table has been used, resold, or damaged.
You are a judicial clerk writing a pretrial memo for the judge. Identify and assess the arguments that each party is likely to make. If your analysis reaches a decision point that requires information not contained in the pretrial filings, flag that for the judge and explain the different results that could be reached depending on what evidence is introduced at trial.
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