HI6027 Business and Corporate Law Assessment
Task:
The questions to be answered are:
Question 1
Are ‘law’ and ‘justice’ one and the same thing? Discuss.
Question 2
While jogging around his suburb one morning, Pedro sees a speedboat parked outside a house. There is a sign posted on the boat’s windshield saying:
“For sale $9,000, Text Andres on 0409876543. Direct buyers only!”A boat lover, Pedro calls the number advertised and leaves a voice message saying that he’s happy to buy the boat for $7,000. He also leaves his return number.
Andres is busy all day, and only hears Pedro’s message the next morning. He calls Pedro back; he also leaves a voice message saying that Pedro’s price is too low, but he can get the boat for $8,000. That same day, however, another buyer sees the boat and makes a $9,000 cash offer to Andres on the spot. Andres takes the money, signs over the boat’s registration papers, and the buyer tows the boat away.
Pedro passes by Andres’ house and sees that boat is gone. Panicking, he listens to his voice messages and hears Andres’ message for the first time. He calls Andres right away and told him in no uncertain words that he accepts his offer. Pedro now thinks he has accepted Andres’ offer so they now have a contract.
When Pedro finds out that the boat has been sold to someone else, he gets very angry. He argues that he had already accepted Andres’ verbal offer, so he had no right to sell the boat to the other buyer.
Does Pedro have a valid contract with Andres and he entitled to the boat? Explain with reference to all the elements of a valid contract.
Question 3
Samuel Finley has two children, a daughter Lee and a son Keaton. Samuel has a lovely beach house in Palm Beach. Sam is terminally ill and has been told by his doctors that he has less than a year to live.
Lee knows that Keaton is their father’s favourite child and that he had been named in the latter’s will to inherit the beach house. Lee knew that since their father did not have long to live and that he was 90 years old and starting to become mentally-weak, she could pressure him to transfer the Palm Beach beach house over to her even though Samuel may not totally understand what he was signing over. So, for four months, using pressure and threats, but more often with gentle but devious tactics, Lee succeeds in convincing Samuel to sign a transfer of property transferring the Palm Beach beach house over to her.
As his last act, before he dies, Samuel wants to set aside the transfer of the beach house to Lee. Advise him of his legal position.
Question 4
Answer the following, citing relevant legislation and case law in your answer:
a) What is the parol evidence rule, and what is the court’s reasoning in applying the rule?
b) List and explain the exceptions to the parol evidence rule
