This assignment has a suggested length of approximately 2,200 words with a maximum word count of 2,500 words. Penalties for exceeding the maximum word count may apply.
Presentation
The assignment must be typed (11 or 12 point) in a clearly legible font, 1.5 or double spaced.
Formatting of citations and referencing must accord with the style as set out in the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC), 4th edition. [australian-guide-to-legal-citation-v4.pdf (unimelb.edu.au)]
Assignments must include a footer showing your name, student number, and the unit code and name. Cover Sheets are not required.
Assessment Criteria
Students will be assessed on the Assessment Criteria detailed in the table below (LWZ 118 First Assessment Marking Criteria). Please not that this is the same rubric as was shared on 5 Sept, except that it now explicitly includes a requirement that in your discussion of the issues you are to refer only to the topics covered in Weeks 1 – 5 and the relevant legal authorities to material in Weeks 1-5. Do not include material to be covered in later weeks of the semester.
Problem Questions
Question 1
Milli is the organiser of a climate action group and plans a rally in Darwin to protest drilling off the coast. She enters into a written agreement with a local business, Sounds Dangerous, for them to set up and operate the sound system for the rally at a cost of $1,000.
Karen operates a catering business that Milli sometimes uses for events for her employer, a local law firm. They have been friends since grade school. Karen wants Milli’s rally to be a success and agrees to drive around with the rally message and dates and the group logo on the sides of her catering delivery van. She assures Milli it will cost nothing.
Meanwhile, a local entrepreneur, Tony, tells Milli that he really hopes the rally will be the first step towards getting all the drilling stopped and that he’d be willing to put up $2500 ‘to help with expenses to get the thing happening’. He says maybe Milli can return the favour one day.
Milli is thrilled that things are going so well. Determined that the rally be successful, at the last minute, Milli agrees to pay Sounds Dangerous a bonus of $200 ‘if the sound system is really schmick like they say it is.’ She also asks her local police officer, Joe Bolton, to block off a part of the road for the rally, for which she agrees to pay $500.
The rally is a success, but the following week Tony informs Milli that he cannot pay the $2500 as his new business is insolvent. Milli then refuses to pay the bonus to Sounds Dangerous. She says they didn’t deserve it because they played heavy metal at the start and end of the rally and everyone knows climate change activists don’t like heavy metal. Milli also fails to make the payment to Joe and doesn’t take his calls. Finally, Karen finds that her costs were more than anticipated and Milli agrees to reimburse her when she can, but months go by and Milli fails to reimburse Karen.
Discuss the contractual liabilities (if any) that exist between:
- Milli and Sounds Dangerous
- Milli and Joe Bolton
- Milli and Karen and
- Milli and Tony
Question 2
Raj has recently moved to Darwin from India. His first language is Hindi and he earns his living designing and maintaining websites. Raj has taken his computer to Adam to repair a faulty screen. Adam said it would be no problem to fix and to come back in a week. He gave Raj a receipt and asked him to sign it. Raj signed without reading the receipt, which contained a clause excluding Adam from liability for any damage to the computer arising during its repair. A few days later Raj came back to Adam’s shop to pick up the computer and gave his receipt to Adam. Adam retrieved the computer and said to Raj, ‘Right, I remember this one. Afraid it got damaged when it fell from the ledge it was on after a customer accidentally bumped it. Sorry, mate, unfortunately, it can’t be fixed.’ Raj asks for a replacement, but Adam tells Raj that isn’t possible. Adam says the exclusion clause on the receipt means he can’t be held liable for the damage. Raj seeks your advice
Question 3
Garth and Betty met online. Garth is a part-time professional artist and Betty fancies herself as a bit of a collector, so they had lots to talk about. Betty went over to Garth’s place for dinner one night and she admired his artwork. A few days later Betty called Garth and offered to buy one of his works, a collage of leaves, shells and paper on canvas. Garth was out at the pub at the time, but agreed to sell Betty the collage for $700 including Garth’s costs of having it professionally framed. The next day Garth considered he had agreed to a price that was too low, but he went ahead and took the collage to the framer anyway. Betty meanwhile transferred the $700 to Garth’s account and sent him an email to confirm and telling him how pleased she was about the deal. In the course of preparing the work, Jack, the framer discovered that there was another painting beneath Garth’s collage (Garth often worked over old canvasses he picked up at local op shops). Jack thought he recognised the style of the painting underneath. He checked further and it turned out to have been painted by an increasingly celebrated Indigenous artist. The painting can be restored and therefore has an estimated worth of between ten and twenty thousand dollars. Garth is delighted with the news as he can really use the cash. He now claims that he does not have to deliver the painting to Betty, but Betty insists that she has paid him and he has to sell her the work as agreed. Garth seeks your advice.