logo

Business Law in Australia with a Particular Reference to Negligence and Misrepresentation- Assessment

   

Added on  2019-11-29

10 Pages2768 Words146 Views
kent institute australia

BUSINESS LAW2Under the common law jurisdictions, tort is usually referred to as a civil wrong undertaken whichresults in a party being harmed or bearing loss, which results in legal liabilities being raised forthe person indulged in such tortious activities. Tortfeasor is the term which is used for referringthe person who commits such a tortious act (Trindade, Cane and Lunney, 2007). In Australia,there are different torts which apply to the businesses and this includes the tort of negligence,misrepresentation, and the others. Upon establishing a successful case of tort, the injured or theharmed party is able to apply for damages as a manner of relief from the wrong done by the otherparty. The businesses have to be aware of these torts and have to take steps for avoiding anysituation where liabilities can be raised owing to indulgence in such torts (Lunney and Oliphant,2008). Thus, this discussion is concentrated on the different torts which apply on businesses inthe nation, with a particular reference to negligence and misrepresentation. In order to take steps to avoid being indulged in negligence, it is important for the businesses tounderstand the very meaning of negligence. Negligence is a situation where a party X doessomething which has the possibility of injuring or harming party Y due to the proximity betweenthe parties. And in such cases, party X owes a duty of care to party Y, which when breached,results in injury to the party Y, and resultantly attracts penalties owing to the negligence of partyX (Kennedy, 2009). It is crucial for the other party to prove that the elements of negligence werepresent in order to make a successful claim of negligence. These elements include obligation ofcare, its violation, a resultant loss/ injury/ harm, the risk being reasonably foreseeable, theremoteness of loss, the proximity between parties and direct causation. In order to prove a caseof negligence, the established case laws which were present in practical circumstances prove tobe of help (Kolah, 2013).

BUSINESS LAW3To show the proximity between parties and the duty of care the case of Donoghue v Stevenson[1932] AC 562 proves to be of help. In this case, Stevenson was the manufacturer who hadproduced thee ginger beer bottle which was consumed by Donoghue while she was sitting in thecafe. Donoghue fell sick due to the dead snail which was found in the beer bottle and claimed fordamages arising out of negligence. The court held the manufacturer liable as the dead snail wasdeemed as a breach of duty of care and the proximity in their relationship had the capacity ofaffecting each other. Hence, Stevenson was ordered to compensate Donoghue for her losses(Latimer, 2012). Another requirement for showing the presence of negligence is to show that the duty had beencontravened and that the losses had been substantial (Statsky, 2011). Paris v Stepney BoroughCouncil [1951] AC 367 is a case which helps in this aspect. In this case, the breach of duty ofcare was found as the council was aware that the plaintiff was already blind in one eye. And bynot providing him the safety goggles for the other eye, the council was held liable for negligence.The reason for holding the defendant liable also was due to the fact that the plaintiff was blindedwhich was taken to be a major loss (Martin and Lancer, 2013). Had the injury been remote aswas held in Overseas Tankship (UK) Ltd v Morts Dock and Engineering Co Ltd [1961] UKPC 2,the damages would not have been awarded (H2O, 2016). The loss has to be foreseeable in areasonable manner for the damages to be awarded for a case of negligence. And for the purposeof foreseeability, the view of a reasonable person has to be taken due to the ruling given in thecase of Wyong Shire Council v Shirt (1980) 146 CLR 40 (Jade, 2017). The last step is to showthat the injury was a direct result of the negligence of defendant (Turner, 2013). Misrepresentation, even though lies in the contract law jurisdiction, is also deemed as tort in thenation. This is because under misrepresentation, a person is forced/ induced into entering of the

End of preview

Want to access all the pages? Upload your documents or become a member.

Related Documents
Essay on Tort Law Related to Business
|10
|3109
|46

Commercial Law - volenti non fit injuria
|6
|1337
|343

BLAW2000 Law for Engineers | Case Study
|7
|3696
|351

LAW 6 qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuio
|6
|1082
|429

(PDF) The Standard of Care: Legal History and Definitions
|4
|783
|246

Law Assignment | Commercial & Corporation Law
|6
|1401
|86