Australian Business Law
Assessment item 1
Task
Write an answer to the problem-type question below, using the ILAC (Issues, Law, Application, Conclusion) format, a worked example of which is in the Resources folder.
In this subject, assignments are marked on-line, using an adapted MS Word programme. You therefore MUST submit your assignment in Word format, NOT as a PDF document. If you submit in PDF it will not be able to be marked.**
If you think you may need and extension for this assignment, please read the rules relating to extensions in the Subject Outline before applying for an extension.
Question
Steve runs a car hire business. Steve is a sole trader - his business is not a corporation. He tells you about the following events:
Steve's friend Tom runs a trucking company. Tom phones Steve and says ‘I need to hire a truck capable of carrying 10 tons of cargo'. Without checking the specifications of the vehicles he has available, Steve says ‘I have just the thing for you - a Hino Cargo Master - it can carry 12 tonnes'. Tom agrees to hire the truck at $ 200 per day, and picks it up. He loads it with 10 tonnes of cargo, but on its way to make a delivery, the suspension collapses. As a result, he is unable to use it and loses $ 5 000 per day in profits.
Pamela has often watered Steve's garden when he (Steve) has been away on holiday. Pamela phones Steve and says ‘I've got a problem - my car is being fixed and I am going on holiday tomorrow, but I can't afford to hire one. Can you help me out?'. Steve says ‘Sure - you looked after my garden last month, so I'll lend you a car for the weekend because you did that'. When Pamela comes to collect the car, however, Steve tells her that he hired it to another customer. Pamela says that Steve has broken the contract she had with him and that she will be consulting a lawyer.
Danny telephones Steve and says ‘I would like to hire the Toyota Corolla I used last week' Steve says ‘The charge will be $ 40 per day plus fuel and you can collect the car tomorrow'. Danny says ‘That's great, I will be there at 9 am'. When Danny arrives at the car lot, Steve says that when he had been speaking to Danny, he was unaware that the vehicle had already been destroyed in a crash while being driven by another customer the previous day. Danny refuses to take a different car and says he will go to court to enforce the contract he had with Steve.
Steve is thinking of putting in a new airconditioning unit in his premises. He has been in negotiations with Cool It Aircon Ltd, owend by Trisha. One Monday morning he comes into his office and sees the latest draft contract from Cool It Aircon, with details of specifications of the airconditioners, price and installation date. The top sheet of the contract contains a space which says "I agree to these terms of supply" and with a space for a signature and date. Steve sets the contract aside on his desk, and it soon gets mixed up with piles of other paperwork. Later during the day, he signs the form, thinking that it was the front page of another contract he had been sent by a supplier of microchips. He gives it to his office manager, Tim, and says "Send this by fax". A few days later a truck from Cool It Airon arrives at Steve's business. Steve phones Trisha and says he never agreed to the installation. When Trisha tells him about the fax, he realizes his mistake and tells her that he had sent it by accident. She says "Too bad, we have a deal - I have already spent several thousand dollars making customized components for your system".
Advise Steve on his legal position in relation to each transaction, backing up your answers with relevant rules of law.
Assessment item 2
Task
You must answer the two problem-type questions below, using the ILAC (Issues, Law, Application, Conclusion) format, a worked example of which is in the Resources folder.
Please note that the word limit of 2 000 words is a total for both questions (ie, it is not 2 000 words for each question). I would however expect that students should be able to answer both questions in far less than 2 000 words. Your bibliography is not included in the word limit.
In this subject, assignments are marked on-line, using an adapted MS Word programme. You therefore MUST submit your assignment in Word format, NOT as a PDF document. If you submit in PDF it will not be able to be marked.
If you anticipate applying for an extension for this assignment, please read the rules on extensions in this Subject Outline before doing so.
Question 1
Peter, Aidan and Adrian are partners in an accounting firm. There is a partnership agreement which states that each partner may enter into contracts worth up to $ 10 000, but that any contract in excess of that amount requires the prior agreement of all partners.
Peter and Aidan are away doing an audit when Adrian sees an advert for a set of accounting journals being sold by a local accountant, Tom, who is retiring. The set would cost in excess of $ 25 000 if all the back issues were bought from the publisher, so Adrian thinks that the asking price of $ 15 000 is very good, and he agrees to buy them for the firm.
He also decides that because he studied surveying before he studied accounting, the firm would make money if it branched out into surveying, and so she buys a set of surveying instruments for $ 8 000 on behalf of the firm from Edgar.
When Peter and Aidan return they are furious to find out what Adrian has done and refuse to accept delivery of the journals or the surveying equipment or to pay for them. Advise Tom and Edgar as to their legal position, citing relevant law.
Question 2
Richard was employed selling slimming products in Victoria for Nu-Slim Pty Ltd from 2008-13. A term of his contract was that if he should leave Nu-Slim, he could not sell slimming products' in Victoria for three years. In 2014 he registered a company called Fat-Away Ltd. Richard owns 99% of the shares. The other 1% is owned by his sister, Frances, whom he elected as Managing Director and CEO. Fat-Away Pty Ltd operates out of Melbourne and sells slimming powder throughout Victoria. All sales are signed by Frances on behalf of of Fat-Away Pty Ltd.
Frances also signs a contract on behalf of the company, taking out a loan of $ 500 000 from United Bank in 2014 as start-up capital. The company did well during 2014, 2015 and the first half of 2016, but in July 2016 was not able to repay a loan instalment of $ 40 000 owing to the bank.
Richard comes to you for advice after receiving two letters: One from Nu-Slim Pty Ltd requiring him to cease the operations of Fat-Away Pty Ltd in Victoria, the other from United Bank Ltd threatening to sue him for $ 40 000. Advise him, citing all relevant legal authority. You should assume the validity of the terms of the contract entered into between Richard and Nu-Slim Pty Ltd.
Attachment:- Australian Business Law Assignment.rar