I. M.A. Starr is a standup comedian (born and raised in New York—woop! woop!) who has performed at major venues around the World. Starr entered into a written and signed contract with a local venue in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the Funny Bone, to perform for their summer laugh-a-thon show on June 26. The Funny Bone spent thousands of dollars to advertise Starr's upcoming performance and sold out all of the tickets for the performance.
a) On June 25, Starr was struck in the head with a baseball while attending an all-star baseball game for charity. He suffered a head injury and required immediate surgery to relieve the pressure of an intracranial hematoma. Since Starr is in the hospital, he will not be able to perform at the show at Funny Bone on June 26. Is he liable to the Funny Bone for breach of contract? Explain fully.
b) Instead of the facts in (a), assume that on June 25, Starr calls the manager of the Funny Bone and tells her that he will not perform for them on June 26 because he received a better offer to perform at Caroline's Comedy Club in New York. Starr had a reputation of cancelling performances to try to get more money from the venues. The Funny Bone immediately began a law suit against Starr. Explain, separately, whether the Funny Bone will be able to:
(i) Obtain an injunction preventing Starr from performing at Caroline's Comedy Club and collect money damages?
(ii) Obtain an order of specific performance that requires Starr to perform at the Funny Bone on June 26? Explain fully.
c) How could Funny Bone have avoided the risk of that Starr would breach his contract