Relationship to other tasks and assessments:

This assignment focuses on the first two ‘themes’ of the unit, namely, contract formation and contract construction.

The deadline for the assignment is 11.59pm on Wednesday 13 June 2018.

The assessable quiz and non-assessable in class role-playing scenarios will traverse similar concepts and content.  However, the problem-based nature of this assignment requires a deeper understanding of relevant principles and ability to apply such principles to the facts of the hypothetical scenario.

Purpose of this assignment and ULOs assessed

The purpose of this assignment is to:

1. Test student’s knowledge and understanding of the principles relating to contract formation (sessions 1-3)
2. Test student’s knowledge and understanding of the principles relating to contract construction (sessions 4-6)
3. Require students to apply the ILAC methodology to address a hypothetical problem
4. Consolidate student’s learning on the first half of the unit generally.

The unit learning outcomes assessed are:

1. ULO1 – Identify legal issues in common business law scenarios, analyse and discuss the stakeholder’s legal rights and responsibilities.
2. ULO2 – Accurately articulate and explain the legal rights, duties and responsibilities of parties in a business context.
3. ULO3 – Research, apply and accurately reference the appropriate law from particular statutes and case law relevant to specified contexts.
4. ULO4 – Demonstrate a working knowledge of the law relating to contract issues by analysing problem scenarios and applying relevant legal principles to advise on likely possible legal outcomes; and
5. ULO5 – Clearly articulate individual interpretation of business law issues and application of relevant knowledge to others.

Scenario

You are employed by Events Management Ltd in the business acquisition and development department.  Events Management has been going through a heavy acquisition phase over recent months.  During this time you have been working closely with your departmental manager Samantha on the potential acquisition of Rigby Corporate Function Planners Pty Ltd.

As part of this process a number of emails have been exchanged between the parties which have resulted in the following key points being agreed to:

1. A purchase price of $750,000 has been agreed,
2. The owner / managing director of Rigby Corporate Function Planners will stay on in a consultative role for a period of 12 months, the terms of which will be contained in a separate agreement,
3. The date of business transition will be 1^st July 2018, and
4. All plant, equipment and staff will be transferred to Events Management on the transition date.

A number of items had yet to be agreed but discussions had taken place, these included:

1. Transition of staff leave liabilities,
2. Transfer of intellectual property, and the
3. Mechanism for informing Rigby Corporate Function Planner’s major clients.

As at today’s date a rough draft of a contract had been prepared by Events Management but had not been forwarded to Rigby Corporate Function Planners for review.

Samantha has just informed you via email that the Managing Director of Rigby Corporate Function Planners has just emailed to advise that they will be withdrawing from the proposed business sale.  Samantha explains that your company has spent considerable time and resources on this acquisition and wants to know what legal options may exist to force the conclusion of the sale.

You are required to write a letter of advice for Samantha to present to your company’s CEO.  This advice needs to consider the following:

1. Does a contract exist?
2. If not does the negotiations conducted provide sufficient certainty for a court to conclude that a contract did exist?
3. Your letter of advice should provide a reasoned conclusion on the status of the contract.

Instructions

1. Read the hypothetical scenario.
2. Answer each of the components of Samantha’s request.
3. Use relevant cases and if relevant legislation to support your answer.
4. Your answer should use citations and be formatted in accordance with the AGLC.
5. Footnotes do not count towards overall word count.

Assessment criteria

1. Demonstrated understanding of relevant legal principles.
2. Use of relevant case law and legislation to support conclusions.
3. Articulation of clear conclusions and advice as required.
4. General quality and clarity of written communication.