LAW

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

Qantas Airlines Ltd signs a contract with Airbus Corporation Ltd for Airbus to build a new aeroplane. On average, Qantas would make $ 800 000 profit per day from using such an aircraft.

The contract has 545 terms. Term 56 says that the plane must be able to travel 10 000 km at 800 km per hour. Term 455 says that the aircraft must have an in-flight video system capable of showing 36 channels of entertainment to passengers.

After the contract is signed, Airbus sends to Qantas a package containing a large number of documents, including the contract itself and examples of the colour scheme that will be used. In the middle of these documents there is also a new document headed ‘Limitation of Liability', the key part of which states as follows:

The liability of Airbus Corporation Ltd for breach of contract is capped at $ 300 000.

When the plane is delivered, its engines are as required, but, due to confusion at the factory, the wrong software has been loaded into the entertainment system, which has only 34 channels. It would take a week to re-configure the software. Advise Qantas Airlines fully as to what its legal position is, citing relevant case law.

Question 2

Frank runs a shop that sells appliances such as ovens, fridges and freezers. He is a sole trader - his business is not incorporated. Gemma is employed by Frank as a salesperson. Among the second-hand appliances in the shop is a dishwasher, priced at $ 350. One day Tom, is browsing in the store, sees the dishwasher, and says to Gemma "That's a great price - I will just go home to see if I have space for it".

Gemma's niece, Frances, is getting married next month. Gemma knows that Frances needs a dishwasher. Gemma quickly phones Frances and says "Get to the store quickly - I think I can get my boss to agree to take $ 300 for a fantastic dishwasher". Gemma tells Frank that she doesn't think that the dishwasher will ever sell for $ 350, but that a customer might pay $ 300. Frank authorises Gemma to sell the dishwasher for $ 300. Frances comes in and Gemma sells it to her at that price. Later, while Gemma is on her lunch break, Tom comes in to the store. When he inquires about the dishwasher, Frank tells him that it was sold that morning for $ 300. Tom tells Frank that he would gladly have paid $ 350 for it.

Another salesperson, Bob, has the job of selling large quantities of washing machines to commercial laundries. He has frequently negotiated with Angela, who owns a chain of laundries, to sell her washing machines. Bob frequently comes to work late and is sometimes drunk. One Friday afternoon, Frank says to Bob "You are fired with immediate effect - clear out your desk and leave". Frank then rushes off to a meeting across town without making sure that Bob actually leaves the premises.

Bob sends an email to Angela, saying that he has just received ten new industrial washing machines which he can sell to her for $ 1 000 each. Angela agrees, and makes an electronic transfer of $ 10 000 in payment, saying that she will collect the machines on Monday. Bob withdraws the $ 10 000 from the Home Appliance Specialists bank account and disappears overseas with it. When Angela comes to collect the machines on Monday, Frank refuses to give them to her, saying that Bob had no authority to sell them as he had been fired. Angela has sued Frank for delivery of the machines.

Give Frank legal advice in relation to the above situations.

Presentation

Please comply with the following Style Guide:

1. Do not re-state the question.

2. Use in-text referencing. Do not use footnotes.

3. Names of statutes should be italicised, and followed by the jurisdiction not in italics, for example: Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth). Note the abbreviation for ‘Commonwealth' is ‘Cth' not ‘Cwlth'.

4. The names of the parties must be italicised, but the citation must not, for example: Smith v Jones (1967) 345 CLR 34.

5. An in-text reference to a book should be structured as follows: (Latimer, 2010, p. 75). There is no need to put the author's initial. Note the positioning of brackets, stops and commas. You use ‘pp.' only if referring to more than one page. If you are referring to a book with more than one author, the in-text reference would be as follows: (Smith et al, 2002, p. 78).

6. An in-text reference to the subject's Modules should be structured in brackets as per the following example - obviously you will alter the reference depending on the subject, year of study and Module number : (CSU LAW220 Modules, 2015, Topic 7).

7. Do not start a new line simply because you are starting a new sentence.

8. Be careful of apostrophes: director's = of a director, directors' = of many directors, directors = many directors. Also particularly prevalent is confusion between its (it possessive) and it's (contraction of "it is").

9. The following words always start with a capital letter: Commonwealth, State, Act, Bill, Regulation, Constitution, Parliament. Do not unnecessarily capitalise other words.

10. One should not use terms such as can't, won't, don't and shouldn't, neither should one use "ie" and "eg" in formal writing.

11. A sentence must always begin with a full word and a capital letter - so a sentence would start ‘Section 55 says...', not ‘S 55 says...' or ‘s 55 says...'. The abbreviation for 'section' in the middle of a sentence is 's'.

12. Start each paragraph on a new line, and leave a clear line gap after the preceding paragraph.

13. You must put page numbers on your assignment.

14. Quotations and excerpts from legislation should be indented from the rest of the text in a separate paragraph. The text in quotations should not be in italics.

15. You must end your assignment with a bibliography that is divided into three separate parts, listing statutes, cases and books / articles / on-line Modules.

16. A listing of a book in a bibliography should appear in accordance with the following format: Latimer, P (2010). Australian Business Law, 29th ed, North Ryde: CCH. If listing a book with multiple authors, do so as follows: Heilbron, G, Latimer, P, Nielsen, J and Pagone, T (2008). Introducing the Law, 7th ed, North Ryde: CCH.

17. When listing statutes at the end of your assignment you should conform to the format: Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth). List the statute only once - you do NOT list individual section numbers relied on. You should not list textbooks as the source of Acts - the Act itself is its own source.

18. When listing cases conform to the format: Gordon v Richards (1976) 123 CLR 32.

19. When listing article conform to the format: Jones, J 'The new analysis of law' (2010) 4 Journal of Recent Law 34.

20. When listing CSU Modules conform to the following format: CSU LAW220 Modules.

21. Make sure that your sentences are grammatical - it may be useful to read your assignment out loud if you have any doubts about this.