Assessment Task
Unit Name: Business and Corporate Law
Instructions:
• Answer the following questions, citing relevant legal authorities (law and cases) to support your answer. Answers not supported by any legal authorities will not receive any credit.
• Legal problem-solving questions (Questions 2, 3, and 6) must be answered using the IRAC (Issue, Rule, Application and Conclusion) method.
• Reference sources must be cited in the text of the report (either in-text or footnotes AND listed appropriately at the end of the assignment in a Reference List following the AGLC (Australian Guide to Legal Citation) style.
• Plagiarism is borrowing the ideas or reproducing someone else's work without acknowledging or referencing the original source.
• Word counts for each answer are indicated after the question. Word count limits are strictly enforced. Your lecturer will not read anything over the word count.
• Question 1 and question 4: Must using textbook Fitzpatrick J, Symes C, Veljanovski, A & Parker, D – Business and Corporations Law 4th ed (2019), LexisNexis (Sydney) to support your answer.
The questions to be answered are:
Question 1 [from Week 1, 7 marks]
What is meant by the Doctrine of Precedent? (Maximum 250 words)
Question 2 [from Week 2, 11 marks]
Emily is 18 years old and has just graduated with a bachelor's in marketing degree from a well-known university. Even though she has not worked in a marketing job before and has no experience in a marketing role, she decides to apply as a part-time graduate assistant for Fido House, which is a charity dedicated to finding homes for abandoned dogs. Fido House agrees to pay Emily a nominal allowance of $1,000 a month, in view of her junior role and her lack of relevant job experience. Even though the salary is quite low, Emily decides to accept the job offer because she wants to work in a marketing role.
Soon after, some of Fido House's major donors do not contribute their normal donations in the new financial year. This results in significantly lower funding for the company. Emily's manager tells her that her role has been dissolved and her services are no longer needed. Fido House owes Emily about $2,000 in back pay. When Emily asks for payment, the company says they do not owe her any money because Emily was not an employee. They were only giving her work experience. Besides, they didn't sign a written contract, Fido House is a charity, and so it is not liable to Emily.
Does Emily have any rights to claim her back pay under contract law? Please explain your answer with reference to the essential elements for the creation of a valid simple contract. (Maximum 300 words)
Question 3 [from Week 3, 11 marks]
Lion Tree is a 13-year-old Australian junior golf champion. Everyone in the golfing circuit believes that he has what it takes to be world champion someday. His parents, Brent and Belinda sign a sports agency contract with Jenny Maguire Sports Agency Pty Ltd. The term of the contract is three years. Lion, on his own, also signed a contract to play golf with the Australian junior golf team. Lion also has an athletic apparel contract, which his parents also signed on his behalf, with PlusTwo Sportswear that requires him to wear only the company shoes exclusively for 2 years. As long as he abides by this term, the contract also stipulates that he would get PlusTwo shoes for free. On the other hand, if Lion does not abide by this condition, PlusTwo has the right to claim payment for all shoes given to Lion.
Now, Lion's parents want to terminate the contracts with Jenny Maguire Sports Agency and PlusTwo Sportswear because they are unhappy with the way both these companies are treating Lion.
What is Lion Tree's liability if he terminates both these contracts? Advise him, citing legal basis in support of your advice. (Maximum 650 words)
Question 4 [from Week 4, 7 marks]
When will the courts imply terms into a contract? (Maximum 150 words)
Question 5 [from Week 5, 7 marks]
(Maximum 200 words)
A court can award several alternative remedies to a plaintiff for a defendant's breach of contract. These remedies include specific performance and injunctions.
a) What is an action for specific performance and when will a plaintiff seek such an order from a court?
b) What is an injunction and when will a plaintiff seek an injunction as a remedy in a contractual dispute?
Answer each question a), and b) separately. Do not combine them into one.
Question 6 [from Week 11, 7 marks]
Katie Mcdermott is a retired entrepreneur. She holds a significant number of shares in Nimble Technologies Pty Ltd. Katie has been quite unhappy about the management of the company, particularly as it seems that directors have had pay increases each year, and seem to have significant benefits in the form of cars, trips and various other expenses paid on their behalf. Katie suspects that the directors are acting generally for their own benefit, and not in the interests of all shareholders. She is particularly interested in how certain shareholders have increased their holdings, and whether the company has been assisting a particular group of shareholders at the expense of the shareholders in general.
While Katie has asked various questions at company meetings, she is not satisfied with the answers she has received. She believes there may be a case for bringing an action against the directors under some part of the Corporations Act. Katie needs to gather some information so that she can determine whether to bring an action for oppression or perhaps a statutory derivative action against directors who are misusing their position.
Explain with reference to specific sections of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth): (Maximum 300 words)
a) What are the means that Katie might attempt to use to gather information about the company, in order to consider her options in taking action?
b) If Katie does find that the company is acting unfairly or prejudicially against some members, what type of action can he instigate?