2. critically evaluate the operation of legal frameworks within which organisations operate, including particularly aspects of contract, negligence, nuisance, agency, and some criminal issues.

3. demonstrate skills of critical analysis of the Law, including the logical application of Law to the solution of legal problems likely to be encountered by an organisation

4. demonstrate an ability to identify and use  legal materials, including some primary sources.

This will allow you to demonstrate your understanding of relevant statute and case law and your ability to identify, apply and evaluate legal argument to a Business-related situation.

You are not expected to demonstrate the full range of skills and knowledge that would be expected of a student of Law, but rather those of a business manager or Entrepreneur when dealing with a potentially litigious situation.

Title

Research and write an essay of 2,000 words on the case study below which critically discusses all of the potential legal issues arising from the scenario, drawing particularly on your knowledge of contract and tort law. In identifying the legal issues, you will also need to set out what the respective parties’ claims are (if they have any) in contract and / or tort and explain and apply any other areas of law that may be relevant.

Case Study Scenario:

John and Peter are keen sailors. John writes a letter to Peter offering to sell his boat for £1000. He states “if you pay me a £1000 you will get my boat”.  Peter sends a letter back stating “I would like to buy your boat, but I am only paying £950?”. Peter doesn’t hear anything in response from John. Peter therefore writes a further letter to John stating “I’m still willing to buy your boat and will pay £1000”. However, John writes back stating that he has decided not to sell his boat.

John is also a cider maker and buys his apples from a number of orchards. He has sent circular to all the orchard owners with whom he has done business. The circular states that John would no longer buy any apples which have been treated with sulphur (used to keep insects away) due to associated environmental and health risks. George is an independent and experienced orchard owner and apple grower and supplier. John was later buying a consignment of apples from George. Whilst buying them John asked George if the apples had been treated with sulphur adding that if they had he would not buy them at any price. George said that they had not been treated with sulphur and John bought the apples but in fact some of them had been treated with sulphur. This has now come to light and John now has a large number of apples he cannot use.

John lives at Seaview Gardens is a square park in the centre of a big city.  The gardens are overlooked on all sides by terraced houses, many of which have been converted into flats.  As well as being a place of recreation and leisure, the gardens are used by pedestrians as a short cut to avoid the longer route around the exterior of the park.

One early afternoon in mid-Winter, a man, Kevin, was cycling through the park.  The surface was slippery as there had been a heavy frost the previous night which had not thawed fully during the day. Kevin, who was travelling at about 20 miles per hour, lost control of his bicycle on an icy patch and crashed into John whilst he was walking his dog.  John took the full force of the collision of a 70-kilogram man, and John immediately sustained a broken arm and fractured ribs and was knocked to the ground. John couldn’t work for following 8 weeks and suffered economic loss due to this.

Advise John by identifying possible contraventions of law that these scenarios pose and explain why?  

SUGGESTED STRUCTURE AND HOW YOU WILL BE ASSESSED.

INTRODUCTION [15 marks]

Identify legal issues and briefly outline all the issues in the introduction.

Issues regarding the boat

From the facts, it is not in dispute that Peter made an offer. Therefore, it is necessary to deal with pertinent issues as follows:

Was the offer terminated? Whether Peter accepted John’s offer, or he made a counteroffer. If Peter counter offered, what are the legal consequences of the counteroffer? Whether Peter’s further e-mail stating ‘I’m still willing to buy your boat and will pay £1000’ amounts to acceptance. Did John withdraw/revoke his offer?

Issues regarding apples

Did George breach a condition of contract?

What remedies are available to John, if any?

Issues regarding the bicycle accident

Is Kevin liable for negligence? Did Kevin owe a duty of care to John? Was the duty breached? What remedies are available to John? Can John recover economic loss?

MAIN BODY

Issues regarding the boat

Was the offer terminated? Whether Peter accepted John’s offer, or he made a counteroffer. If Peter counter offered, what are the legal consequences of the counteroffer? Whether Peter’s further e-mail stating ‘I’m still willing to buy your boat and will pay £1000’ amounts to acceptance. Did John withdraw/revoke his offer?

Now that you have identified legal issues as suggested above, discuss the rules of law concerning contract formation. Contractual agreement is analysed in terms of offer and acceptance. One party, the offeror, makes an offer which once accepted by another party, the offeree, creates a binding contract.

To amount to an offer, it must be shown that the offeror had the intention to be bound- Harvey v Facey [1893]; Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball co [1893]

An invitation to treat is not an offer: Fisher v Bell [1961]; An offer may be terminated.

Application: From the facts, there is no doubt that John made an offer to Peter. The key question is whether the offer was terminated. Proper advice can be given once that question is answered. Was the offer terminated? If so, how?

An offer may be terminated by: –

1)       Counter offer.

A counter offer is where an offeree responds to an offer by making an offer on different terms. This has the effect of destroying the original offer so that it is no longer open for the offeree to accept Hyde v Wrench (1840)

2)      Death of offeror or offeree (not applicable here)

3)      Lapse of time: An offer will terminate after a reasonable lapse of time. What amounts to a reasonable period will depend on the circumstances: Ramsgate Victoria Hotel v Montefiore (1866)

4)      Revocation: The offeror may revoke an offer at any time before acceptance takes place: Dickinson v Dodds (1876)

Apply the above rules and make a conclusion whether the offer was terminated. Explain the consequences of such termination.

Did Peter accept the offer?

Once a valid acceptance takes place, a binding contract is formed. It is therefore important to know what constitutes a valid acceptance in order to establish if the parties are bound by the agreement.

There are three main rules relating to acceptance:

1. The acceptance must be communicated to the offeree. (Entorres v Miles Far East, 1955)
2. The terms of the acceptance must exactly match the terms of the offer. (Hyde v Wrench, 1840)
3. The agreement must be certain. (Scammell & Nephew v Ouston, 1941)

Apply the law and reach a logical conclusion.

Issues regarding apples

Did George breach a contractual term?

What remedies are available to John, if any?

It is important to distinguish whether a statement made is a contractual term or a representation.

Discuss and decide whether it was a representation or a contractual term. A condition is a statement of fact or a promise which forms an essential term of the contract. (It goes to the root of the contract). If a condition is breached this entitles the innocent party to terminate contract and claim damages if they suffer loss. (Poussard v Spiers, 1876). A warranty is a statement that does not form an essential term of the contract. It is subsidiary to the main terms of the contract. If warranty is breached, no right to terminate contract but can claim damages if loss is suffered. ((Bettini v Gye, 1876)

Apply the law and arrive at logical conclusions.

Issues regarding the bicycle accident

Is Kevin liable for negligence? Did Kevin owe a duty of care to John? Was the duty breached? What remedies are available to John? Can John recover economic loss?

Discuss negligence and cover three elements as follows: duty of care, breach of duty of care and damage caused. Apply the law and make a conclusion whether Peter is liable for negligence.

To support your arguments, briefly discuss cases on duty of care as follows: Donoghue v Stevenson (1932); Caparo v Dickman 1990; Anns v Merton London Borough Council [1978])

•      1) Was the injury reasonably foreseeable? (Kent v Griffiths 2000)

•      2) Is there sufficient proximity between the defendant and the claimant. (Bourhill v Young 1943)

•      3) Is it fair, just and reasonable to impose a duty. (Hill v chief constable of West Yorkshire 1998; Anns V Merton LBC 1978)

MAIN CONCLUSION  

•      Make a short and focused conclusion to the Case Study essay.

•      Do a recap of the various conclusions reached in each section in the main discussion of issues.

REFERENCE LIST  

Cite all the cases you used in the discussion as suggested above.  (Full case citation)

Categorical marking in terms of the Module Handbook on Moodle.