The Rule of Law with Reference to Relevant Authority - Essay Example

? ASSIGNMENT TWO - BUSINESS LAW Part A - Question Step I: Legal Issue The principle issue here is whether or not Peter and Burt are legally bound to purchase the Cadel Evans “GF” model bicycle from Sally. Step II: The Rule of Law with Reference to Relevant Authority The three prime elements necessary to constitute a binding contract are: intention, agreement and consideration. Two of these three conditions are assumed to be in existence i.e. intention and consideration.Sally would need to prove that there was presence of an agreement to buy struck between herself (as a representative of “tourbikes”) and both Peter and Burt. Under the element of ‘agreement’, several aspects must be established to activate demonstrate a consensus on some of the major terms of the exchange: 1. Offer. There must be an offer for sale under clearly stipulated terms which includes a full description of the item(s) of exchange.The offer must be complete. Ordinarily this would include a description of the item(s) for exchange, nature of the item(s), the cost or price and any other sale-related features such as payment details. 2. Acceptance. The parties involved in the intended exchange must accept the offer as stipulated and communicate this acceptance within the period in which the offer still exists. Acceptance of the offertory terms becomes invalid when a counter-offer is made and allowed by the parties involved. 3. Genuine consent. Parties to the contract must have contractual capacity an additionally must freely enter into the contract. Elements of duress, mistakes and misrepresentation may render the acceptance void and thus, the contract too. Step III: Applications of the Rule of Law to Case Facts 1. Offer. Sally’s initial offer is for a dashing green Cadel Evans “GF” model bicycle at a cost of $6,000 payable upon delivery. The offer’s duration has not been expressively stated. The offer terms change in subsequent communications between Sally and the two buyers; shifting downwards to $5,500 then to $5,000 and finally resting at $4,000. 2. Acceptance. Both Peter and Burt do not make initialacceptance to the offer. They counter-offer the price quoted by offering $4,000 and $5,000 respectively. Burt rejects the offer at $5,000 therefore his liability ends here as there is no valid contract in existence. Peter’s acceptance is conditioned on acceptance of his counter-offer and a communication thereof within the closure of business the following day. His liability becomes questionable at this juncture. 3. Genuine consent. By responding to the offer, both Peter and Burt are aware that they are entering into contractual obligations. There is however an element of duress on Sally’s part that may render her consent void. She hastens the delivery of the bicycle to Peter’s premises to make the amount duly payable for fear of foreclosure by the bank on her outstanding mortgage payment amounting to $4,000. 4. Contractual capacity. Their contractual capacity is valid as they have both attained the majority age. Conclusion Sally cannot draw a suit against Burt for any breach of contract since he expressly denied acceptance of the adjusted $5,000 for the bicycle and communicated it in reasonable time to sally.The contract therefore does not exist between the two individuals.She might have had a claim against Peter except that it might be proved that there was lack of a genuine intent by sally to provide reasonable time for Peter to communicate and finalize the sale agreement i.e. It can be interpreted that Sally only entered into the contract to transfer her liability from the due mortgage and foreclosure to Peter. At Law, no contract can be valid if it is entered into with malicious intentions. However, ignoring the performance of the contract, Sally can enforce legal action against Peter as per the $ 4,000 under the contract for sale since there was implied agreement through their email discussion that instructed the seller to make delivery of the bicycle as soon as his counter-offer had been accepted. Part A - Question 2 Step I: Legal Issue The principle issue is whether or not Peter can invoke legal action against sally for breach of contractual terms and sue for both a return of the principal paid as well as damages. Step II: The Rule of Law with Reference to Relevant Authority 1. Intention. The Court must be able to establish that there was the intention of creating legally binding relations between the parties through the signing of the contract. 2. Acceptance. a) Offer and Acceptance. There must be a complete offer of sale of underlined item(s) and a subsequent acceptance by the buyer and which is communicated within the reasonable time in which the offer still exists. A promise to sale does not constitute a contract of sale. b) Genuine consent. There must be a genuine convergence of thought between the parties to the contract. c) Contractual capacity. The contracting parties must be of majority age and whose contractual capacity must not be disqualified by any other reason apart from non-acceptance. 3. Consideration. There must be an exchange by the buyer for the item on sale. The court would need to examine whether the intended consideration is meant to be legally binding for the parties involved through the acceptance. Step III: Applications of the Rule of Law to Case Facts 1. Intention. There is an express intention by Peter and sally to create legally binding obligations through the sale of the bicycle. Although there is a presence of a disclaimer within the sale contract that obliterates any further liability on the seller (Sally) after the first 30 days following the purchase of the bicycle, it is not foreseen by the parties-at least not by Peter considering the product is a used item. The buyer anticipates that the legal obligations would bind the seller in the eventuality that the second-hand item does not meet its described thresholds. 2. Offer and Acceptance a) Offer. The conditional terms of the contract serve as actionable grounds since they are a fundamental part of the contract and influencing both the intent of purchase and contracting purposes. The description of a restored bike with new tires, new chain and a comfortable seat. All these conditions are violated as the bicycle’s gear system is not functioning well after a month; the tires are actually retreads from old tires and the buyer (Peter) does not enjoy the ride as advertised, eventually abandoning the bicycle.There are other warranty terms of the sale of the contract which do not attract legal actions such as the color description for the bicycle as dashing green and the promise of an ‘enjoyable ride’. b) Genuine consent. The burden of proof will lay with Peter in proving that the consent for entering into business was obtained through material misrepresentations. Sally’s mere offer of a 30-daywarranty is also a potential aspect for action. Conclusion Peter enters into the contract under the impression created via Sally’s material misrepresentations of the bicycle as fully restored and refurbished which is not the case. In actual sense only the painting, frame and spokes have been refurbished. The bicycle is actually uncomfortable for Peter to ride on.This leads to his inability to perform his courier job as well as creating difficulty for him to get home comfortably and safely following his late evening classes. The offer therefore is a false description of the product on sale. Having established that the contract was intended at creating binding legalobligations between the parties involved, Peter can therefore sue for both the principal and damages since the caveat emptor as seen through the disclaimer is inadmissible due to systematic misrepresentations about the product. Part B Judges are tasked with the role of implementing the Law as described by the Constitution of a country and other subordinate legislations. The role of making laws is left primarily to the members of the legislative assembly comprising democratically elected representatives of the citizens to government.Judges mainly use the constitution as the main reference material in determination of legal proceedings. It is the supreme law of the land. However, in addition to their rational interpretation of the law as prescribed and evaluating the evidence brought before them, there is one source of reference that is a profound feature of the legal fraternityreferred to as case law.So what exactly is case law and how does it come about in judicial proceedings? Case law refers to the reports on rulings made by judges in past cases. These rulings serve to set precedents which both advocate and magistrates look to in directing their judgments on present cases before them. However, this does not mean that case laws are blindly adopted to serve as an automated adjudication mechanism. Different judges may interpret same case laws differently therein furthering the scope and depth of this source. Moreover, they can look to resolutions created through international and regional declarations such as the Rome Statute for guiding local cases i9n countries that are signatories to such declarations. International treaties and pacts as well as practice by former colonial masters have also been alluded to in helping provide direction in court cases. Reference 1. Lambiris, Michael. First Principles of Business Law: Source Book. Victoria: Australian Law Courseware Pty Limited, 2008. Read More