Walker Meeks is currently a party to two contracts. On the first contract, he has agreed to paint a portrait of a gentleman riding a horse. This portrait is for the wall of the gentleman's study. The gentleman chose Meeks for his realism in portraying

Question

the true feelings behind portrait models. Meeks' second contract is to paint the house of Sylvia Sneed. Meeks is offered an employment contract for a large sum of money. He wishes to accept, but this would render him unable to complete the aforementioned contracts. Meeks delegates the painting of the portrait to his friend Bob, an impressionist, and delegates the painting of Sylvia's home to Ted, a professional house painter. Neither the gentleman nor Sylvia intends to allow the delegation to occur. Comment on the probable outcome of the dispute.

Answer 1

In all probability, the contract with the gentleman for the portrait is not delegable, while the painting of Sylvia's home could be delegated. Under certain circumstances, a contracting party may obtain someone else to do the contract work. Provided that the performance is standardized and non-personal, so that it is not material who performs, the law will permit the delegation of the performance of the contract. The house painting certainly is standardized enough for a delegation to be allowed. However, the portrait-painting contract was based on the unique skill of Meeks, creating a situation that probably could not be delegated.?