Advanced Commercial Law 79018

SPRING 2023
Written Assessment Instructions
Objective
This assessment task focuses on problem solving, legal reasoning, and legal writing.
These are underpinned by sound case analysis and legal citation.

The objective of this assessment is to provide students an opportunity to apply:

1. the relevant law discussed in lectures, required readings, and tutorials; and
2. the IRAC approach to legal problem solving practiced in tutorials to the SOGA
question or any other problem style questions

to produce a written response providing legal advice in respect of a fact scenario.

In doing this, students will progress towards subject learning outcomes.

A complementary objective of this is assessment task is enabling students’

development of essential legal skills, e.g., acquisition of basic knowledge, reading
and understanding case law and legislation.

Skills applied and developed in this assessment will be applied again in the final
exam.

Task
Provide a written response which ultimately answers the question: eg did the
parties enter a legally binding agreement?

See below for specific questions and how to structure your response.

This is not a research assignment. The primary sources of law that you may rely on
are provided in your text books and the course materials. There is no need to go
beyond this material. If you do so that is optional.

You must identify, explain, and apply key legal rules and principles to various fact
scenarios. To do this successfully, basic legal knowledge and understanding of the
key case law is essential.
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Correct legal citation is essential to good legal writing. You are expected to read the
cases provided and provide pinpoint references for any propositions of law that you
state.

Questions and structure

Submission process
Completed assignments must be submitted through Canvas.

Word limit
2,000 words (+10% leeway).

Footnotes and cover pages are not included in the word count.
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Footnotes are only to be used to provide relevant cases and legislation, not analysis.
If analysis is in the footnotes, then it will be counted as part of the word count. No
marks will be awarded for analysis in the footnotes.

Format
Responses must:

• Use 12-point font size.

• Line spacing of 1.5 lines.
• Have properly defined margins.
• Use headings that clearly indicate the question being answered.

Cover sheet not required

A cover sheet should not be included.

Form of citation
Citation of legal authorities should be according to the rules published in the
Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed) (‘AGLC’). OR Harvard OR APA.

This includes, but is not limited to, correctly citing cases and legislation within the
body of the text, footnotes, and in subsequent references, the use of ‘ibid’, using the
authorised reports for case law, and correct grammar and punctuation.

Academic honesty
The work that you submit should be the result of your own efforts.

You are expected to read the cases that you apply and support rules and principles
of law by citing directly from those primary materials.

You are expected to write a response in your own words, with proper attribution of
primary sources when quoting or paraphrasing.

Copying from past assignments, example answers discussed in tutorials, and other
non-authorised sources such as other students’ work (past and present) and
websites selling law notes, assignment answers, and assignment answer-writing
services are not appropriate, or acceptable. Such action is student misconduct under
University and Faculty rules.
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Using Law in Your answers

Any answers here without reference to either statutes or cases will not pass. Without
reference to the law your answer is basically a personal opinion and holds no weight
at all in a law problem solving question.
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 Written Assessment Instructions

Questions
There are five questions.
Question one is compulsory and is worth 20 of the available marks of 50.

You are then to choose THREE ONLY of the other four questions. For clarity that will
leave ONE QUESTION you do not need to answer. Each of these chosen questions will
be worth 25% of the available marks.

Q1. Sale of Goods Act (worth 20 marks of the available 50 marks). COMPULSORY

Gezza had a particular interest in growing Bonsai plants in his spare time (when he was not
tending to his cotton crops). Gezza attended at the Savage Gardens nursery and stocked up
on extremely rare bonsai graftings from ancient Japan to satisfy his penchant for his desire to
have the most amazing Bansai plants in the Southern Hemisphere. Savage Gardens had
promoted themselves as experts in the bonsai world.

In May 2021 he purchased three particularly rare plants that were highly sought after in the
bonsai growing fraternity. He was chuffed indeed and knew at the next bonsai get together
soiree he could show off his new acquisition with pride and no doubt raise a hint of jealousy
from some of his colleagues.

However after only two days the plants started to wilt and looked like they might die. Gezza
was particularly concerned and took them to an arborist (for mini trees!). The arborist took a
look at them and declared that they would be dead within a week as they had painted on
foliage and had been planted in soil that was too high in salt and calcium for a Bonsai.

Gezza took the plants back to Savage Gardens nursery and demanded his money back.
What claim/s might Gezza have under the Sales of Goods Act against Savage Gardens. Limit
yourself to
the statutory sections studied in this course. Any reference to sections not considered in this
course will not attract any marks. What remedies are available to Gezza if there has been a
breach of the Sale of Goods Act?

Explain all relevant sections, their meaning and their application to this problem.

Support your discussion with relevant case law, if applicable and all relevant sections of the
Sales of Goods Act 1923.
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NB Q2 to Q5 are worth 10 marks each. You should only attempt THREE of these four
questions. Ie miss one.

Q2. Agency/Insolvency

When an individual is not able to pay their debts to creditors, as and when they fall due the
individual is considered insolvent.

Explain and discuss the three different options available for a debtor to consider when
insolvent. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each option.

Q3. Employment

James was a bike courier. He loved his job. He could hang out with the bike courier gang and
laugh a lot in between doing some deliveries.

James had a delivery to do in the city and he was feeling pretty good on the two wheels this
day. He was jumping up on footpaths and taking all sorts of crazy shortcuts. Then all of a
sudden on the footpath there was an elderly gentleman walking. James ran straight into him
and injured him badly. He was taken away in an ambulance to hospital for treatment.
Luckily his injuries he was able to recover from but he did miss a lot of work and incurred some
large medical bills. His name is Henry.
Henry wanted to sue James, the bike courier but realised that James probably had no money.
So Henry thought he would be better to sue the company that James did courier delivery work
for, SLICK Couriers. Henry can only do this if James is classified as an employee.

James wore a SLICK Couriers bike shirt when he was doing deliveries. This was supplied by
SLICK. James was responsible to do his own washing though. When James started work
each day he would go to SLICK head office and log on. He would then be given a list of jobs
for the day. He was paid weekly by SLICK, depending on the deliveries he had done. James
did not get any holiday pay or sick pay and was responsible for maintaining his bicycle.
However SLICK had provided the bicycle to James.

Determine whether James is an employee or a contractor to SLICK based on the facts given.
(7 marks)

If he is an employee (for the purposes of this second question) explain the principle which
would make SLICK liable for James’s actions. (3 marks)
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Make sure you support your answer with case law. Any answer without reference to case law
will not pass.

Q4. Bailment

Thorpie swam regularly at the Brighton baths swimming centre. The BBSC was run by the
local council.

Thorpie put his clothes bag in the clothes locker in the change room. You had to pay to use
the lockers a sum of $2.

While Thorpie was swimming, someone broke into Thorpie’s locker and stole his bag. Thorpie
was furious as his phone, wallet and a sentimental ring was stored in the bag.

Thorpie wanted to bring an action against the local council for negligence and sought
damages.

Discuss whether this is bailment and if so, what type of bailment. Discuss the elements of
bailment being the rights and obligations of both the bailee and the bailor. Make sure you refer
to case law to assist you answering this question. What are the likelihood of success by
Thorpie against the local council for a breach of bailment? Discuss. Make sure you reference
case law where applicable.

Q5 Property

Explain the difference between Real Property and Personal Property. (3 marks)

List five types of intangible property. Are they personal or real property? (2 marks)

Under what circumstances will personal property (chattels) be reclassified as real property?
Explain using case law to support your discussion. (5 marks)