Parol evidence rule - Next Generation Bar Exam

1. What effect does a partial integration have on evidence of earlier agreements?

   It bars contradictory terms but permits consistent additional terms. A partial integration is final as to the terms it contains but not complete.

2. What effect does a complete integration have on evidence of earlier agreements?

   It bars even consistent additional terms within its scope. A complete integration is the final and exclusive statement of the parties' agreement.

3. What effect does a merger clause have on whether a writing is completely integrated?

   It is strong, often conclusive, evidence of complete integration. Courts may disregard a merger clause in a standardized form or where the writing is plainly incomplete.

4. Which agreements fall outside the parol evidence rule regardless of integration?

   Agreements made after the writing. The rule addresses only prior and contemporaneous agreements; later ones may modify the contract.

5. A fully integrated contract with a merger clause sets the price at $50,000. On what ground may the seller not prove an earlier oral agreement setting the price at $55,000?

   The oral term contradicts a term of an integrated writing. Even a partial integration bars evidence of prior agreements that contradict its terms.

6. For what purpose may extrinsic evidence be offered without violating the parol evidence rule?

   To interpret the meaning of terms in the writing. Interpretation explains what the writing means rather than adding to or contradicting it.

7. Under the Restatement (Second), when is a consistent additional agreement admissible despite a written contract?

   When it is a term that might naturally be omitted from the writing. The test asks whether parties in that situation would naturally make the agreement separately.

8. What oral agreement may be proved to show that a written contract never took effect?

   An agreement that the writing would not become effective until a condition occurred. Proof of a condition to effectiveness shows there is no operative writing to integrate.

9. For what purpose may evidence of fraud, duress, or mistake be offered despite an integrated writing?

   To show that the contract is void or voidable. The rule presupposes a valid contract, so it does not bar proof of defects in formation.

10. Who decides whether a writing is integrated, and how completely?

    The court, as a preliminary question. The jury does not decide integration, although it may decide factual questions about the terms once evidence is admitted.

11. What does the parol evidence rule bar?

    Evidence of prior or contemporaneous agreements offered to contradict, or sometimes to add to, an integrated writing. The rule protects the parties' final written expression of their agreement.

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