Assignment Task: Stewball, Tim's racehorse has won 3 of its last 4 weekly races. On the night before Stewball's 5th race he appeared to be ill, so at 3 am Tim called Victor the regular vet for Tim's stable, who promised he would be there right away, but Victor fell asleep again and didn't make it. Tim withdrew the horse from the race. Later another vet discovered the horse had only been stung by a wasp and fit to race. Tim claims from Victor:
- Reimbursement for the other vets' bill of $170.
- Forfeited entry fee for withdrawing the horse of $400.
- Lost prize winnings of $35,000 if Stewball had come first.
- Lost bets of $35,000 if Tim had put $5,000 on at 7 to 1 as he usually did.
- Loss of Tim's reputation as a reliable race entrant, estimated by Tim at $20,000.
Victor admits that he should not have gone back to sleep and is willing to pay $10,000 to settle the issue, but Tim refuses to accept this and while the dispute is unsettled Tim will not allow Stewball to race. Each week as Stewball misses a race, Tim adds another $70,000 to his claim.
REQUIRED:
Tim seeks your advice if he can successfully claim the common law damages he has suffered.
NOTE: You are required to use the 4-step process in answering this question. The marks allocated for the steps are as follows: Steps 1 and 2: 11 Marks. Steps 3 and 4: 9 Marks.
You are not required to discuss Tim's position under the Australian Consumer Law.