Legal Opinion: Negligence Claim against CoolCasino
Added on 2019-09-18
2 Pages1072 Words286 Views
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LEGAL OPINION ASSIGNMENT Facts:It was getting to the end of Fall and Delilah was having a low day. “Here we go again – another six months of snow, slush and cold,” she thought. Just then, her friend, Jade, called and suggested they go out together and try out the new gambling casino, CoolCasino. Delilah had never gambled before. Even though she knew she had an addictive personality, she exclaimed, “Why not! It could be fun and I could make a bit of money.” After saying “See you later” to her husband, Abdul (who was so happy to stay behind and enjoy the return of hockey), she drove over to pick up her friend and they headed to the CoolCasino together. Once there, the flashing lights and excitement overwhelmed her. “This is going to be fun” she exclaimed, and proceeded to the slot machines. She barely noticed the sign above the entrance:“Welcome to the CoolCasino, the hottest place in town. We want you to have a good time, but you enter at your own risk.”She had several hundred dollars in cash with her and quickly went through it all, repeatedly losing at the slot machines. Jade suggested they stop, saying “You’ve lost enough.” Delilah responded, “I’m just getting started. This is so much fun.” After a few tries, Jade decided that she’d had enough. Her head was throbbing and she was meeting her partner for a dinner-dance.As soon as Jade left, Delilah decided to try her hand at Black Jack. She noticed that the bids were high and thought “Now I am really going to make some money.” She went to the bank machine, accessed the line of credit she sharedwith Abdul and withdrew $5,000. In her first try, she made $100, and thought, “I knew this game was for me”. A CoolCasino host came by with the drinks cart and offered a complimentary “virgin” punch (non-alcoholic) or she could buy a “real” drink (alcoholic). CoolCasino management didn’t want to be seen as encouraging alcoholic drinking even though it did help their profits. Delilah thought a “real” drink would enhance the thrill of the experience and had a gin and tonic. Unfortunately her luck took a turn for the worse and she proceeded to lose $5,000 during the course of the next hour or so. She had another “real” drink to calm her nerves. “Abdul is not going to like this,” she thought, “I’d better win our money back.” She withdrew increasingly large sums out of the joint line of credit and continued to calm her nerves from time to time with the odd “real drink” served by CoolCasino staff who noticed that she was indeed appearing increasingly nervous. At about mid-night, she tried to withdraw more money, when the cash machine showed that the $25,000 line of credit was depleted. She realized that Abdul was going to be really annoyed, but knew she had to head home and face the music.By the time she got home, she was so distraught at the loss of money that she mistook her neighbor’s driveway for hers and drove in. She intended to stop, but her foot slipped and hit the gas pedal. She drove right into the neighbour’s garage door. Harold, the neighbour, jolted awake and came out to see what was happening. He saw Delilah with her head on the steering wheel, sobbing. The car engine was steaming. He was able to reach in and pulled her out, dislocating her shoulder in the process. At that point, Abdul came out to see what was happening andcould only see Harold yanking Delilah out. “Let my wife go,” he yelled. “Calm down, Buddy,” said Harold, “She just destroyed my garage door.” Abdul was so distraught at hearing about the loss of money and Delihah’s experience that he lost several days of work.You are an aspiring young lawyer and obviously doing very well professionally, having taken Small Group Torts at the University of Ottawa. Abdul and Delilah have come to you for your legal advice. Delilah doesn’t say much. She is still in some pain with her shoulder. Abdul is fuming at the loss of salary and the debt they have incurred with the depleted line of credit. He wants to sue the pants off CoolCasino and anyone else they could sue. He wants to know if they have any chance of success. Assignment: Write a client letter to Abdul and Delilah providing your legal opinion concerning a potential lawsuit in negligence. Please focus on duty and standard of care. If you believe that material facts are missing, state whichfacts need to be investigated and how they could influence your analysis.
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