Freda ran a Large Cattle station in western Victoria. She habitually used horses for working the cattle because of the rough terrain and the frequent occasions when certain parts of station were impassable because of the wet. When Freda decided to purchase a new horse, she decided to take all precautions. The last three horses she had purchased has died within a year from various diseases, and the one prior to those had a heart problem, which had resulted in it being unsuitable for work.
Ryans down the road had mentioned that they had a good cattle horse for sale, and Freda went down to see it. She spoke to the foreman, since both Mr. and Mrs. Ryan were away. The foreman, Fred, told her that the price would probably be around $10,000. He said that the horse was three years old, and had been trained by Miss Holloway, the famous horse trainer. Fred said that the horse always worked well, but had to be sold because she had taken to biting other horses. Freda inspected the horse closely, then took her for a ride, and tried her out on some of Ryans’calves. The horse rode well and worked the calves well.
Freda was pleased with the horse, but told Fred she wanted to get it checked by a veterinarian before she committed herself. She asked Fred for few more details about the horse. He said he didn’t have all of the background because Mrs. Ryan usually purchased and looked after the horses. He said that he thought it had come from Thunder, a champion thoroughbred station which had been very successful on the show credits, and Rosebud IV, a well-regarded mare whose offspring had been sold in the United states and Ireland. He said that, to his Knowledge. It had never had any health problems, but cautioned that he had only been working there for a year and the horse had been there before him. Freda arranged a time for the vet to examine the horse and left Fred to his work.
The Vet found that the horse had a little bit of rubbing around the tail, but could otherwise find no problems with it. Freda sent Fred a fax offering $9000 for the horse. Fred wasn’t in; he had gone to town to fix a tractor. When Fred returned he read the fax and rang Freda back, saying he couldn’t accept less than $9500 for the horse. Freda said that she would buy at that price.
A few minutes later, the Ryans returned. Fred told them what he had just done. They pointed out to him that he shouldn’t really have been negotiating on their behalf for the sale of the horse, but that, since it was a good enough price, they were happy with the sale.
In the meantime, Freda had been doing a little investigation of her own and had discovered that the horse had not come from thunder, but from an inferior stallion. She was furious and wanted to get out of the Contract.
Using the IRAC Format, discuss Freda’s possible claims in relation to the law of contract and agency
