Contract Law Research Assignment

This assignment delves into the complexities of contract law and vicarious liability. It requires students to analyze different aspects of contracts, including offer, acceptance, consideration, and breach. Furthermore, the assignment probes the concept of vicarious liability, examining its application in scenarios involving group companies, intentional torts, and professional negligence. Students are expected to research relevant case laws and legal principles to provide insightful commentary on the chosen topics.

Aspects of Contract
and Negligence for
Business

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK...............................................................................................................................................1
1.1................................................................................................................................................1
1.2................................................................................................................................................2
1.3................................................................................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
2.1................................................................................................................................................4
2.2................................................................................................................................................4
2.3................................................................................................................................................5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................6
3.1................................................................................................................................................6
3.2................................................................................................................................................7
3.3................................................................................................................................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
4.1................................................................................................................................................8
4.2................................................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
A Justice is an agreement of expediency, entered upon to forbid the man harming or
being harmed. A contract is really very helpful in regards to business so as to preserve the rights
of business person and avoid any sort of liability that may arise in the future course of action.
The present research is conducted to analyse the and examine the understanding of the aspects of
contract and also the skills needed to apply the same in varied circumstances. The study covers
various aspects of vicarious-liability, tort and contractual liability. Certain terms as conditions,
warranties, innominate and exclusion clause (Hunter, 2015).
TASK
1.1
All the elements of a valid contract plays a very important role in protecting the rights of
the innocent parties. There are several such components that need to be considered while
forming a legal contract with the binding parties. As per the current case scenario wherein Peter
Abraham is a self employed building contractor. Before entering into any such agreement with
the respective parties, it shall consider the impacts as well as its effects on him. In addition to the
above, wrong or misleading information or transaction can bind the contractor into an obligation
and it becomes difficult for him to escape from the liability. Some of the essential elements of
valid contract and its significance have been demonstrated underneath: Offer and Acceptance: As per this element their shall be two parties involved in it, one
proposing the offer and the other showing a consent in the form of acceptance. This will
enable the contract to become a legal and valid as per the English Law (Slišković and
Penezić, 2016). In accordance to the current case scenario, Peter Abraham should ensure
that the proposed offer are accepted and then converted into a written format so as to
avoid any sort of consideration in the future. The relevance of the present element can
clearly be understood from the Harey v Facey case. Adequate Consideration: This can be deemed as sacrifice of certain amount of money,
goods or services in order to avail some another benefit. The English Law describes that
the consideration shall be nominal rather than being adequate. This is another crucial
element and its significance can be studied from the case Ward v Byham. In the present
case, Peter Abraham is required to pay a requisite amount to its suppliers in order to avail
the possession of goods from suppliers (Papaioannou and et.al., 2016).
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 Mutual Consent: It means that the the acceptance made by the party shall be without any
undue influence, coercion, fraud or misrepresentation. If any of the above enlisted
characters are present in the contract then it will be termed as void. The said contractor
must ensure that the proper and adequate information is being provided to the another
party and also he cannot force them to purchase the building. Bisset v Wilkinson case
provides a clear demonstration of misinterpretation conducted by the party (Hagenhoff
and et.al., 2014).
 Competency of parties: As per the English Law, Both the parties must be competent
enough to enter and form a binding contract. More briefly, Peter Abraham must assure
that the another party that is planning to form a legal contract is not a minor, of unsound
mind or disabled. Presence of any such character would lead to formation of a void
contract.
1.2
A contract or agreement can be formed in many ways and each of it has a consequent
impact on the binding parties. Peter Abraham a self employed contractor need to ascertain the
effects of these in the future course of action when any sort of misunderstanding arouse between
the binding parties. Some of these have been enumerated hereunder: Face to face: This is the most common and reliable form of entering into the contract.
Herein both the parties can decide upon the terms and conditions of the agreement by
putting forwards their views. Herein the parties can analyse the intention of the other one
by reading his facial expression (Arlen and Carney, 2012). In accordance to the present
case of Peter Abraham, he must make sure that all the norms shall be made clear and also
involve in forming a face to face contract. Written contract: This is the most effective means of entering into a contract. Written
contract forms an evidence which can be used in the future course of action. This is the
major disadvantage found in an oral or face to face contract. A written agreement can be
formed by enlisting all the terms and conditions on a piece of paper or simply printing it.
Peter being a self employed building contractor shall enter into a written contract only by
stating the norms in of the agreement in the printed form. This will enable him to make
clear cuts agreements as well as producing an evidence that could be used in future to
escape from the liability (Chamallas, 2014).
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 Distance Selling: Now-a-days, the use of internet or telephones is becoming viral so as to
make quick transactions. In order to increase its sales and transactions Peter can make or
enter in a contract via the means of emails, telephones calls or other means of internet
websites. All these will enable the contractor to facilitate easier proceedings. However,
the impact of these kinds of contract can be seen in the form of lack of trust as well as
disclosure of relevant information before the another party. Moreover, due top improper
connection, it may lead to unclear and uneven delivery of information (McLaren, 2014).
1.3
The analyse and effects of some of the terms have been discussed hereunder in regards to
the present case scenario: Conditions: These are the major clause present in the contract based on which the
agreement is being made. These shall not be breached by the parties. The impact of such
can cause the revocation of the contract or may even ask the defendant to compensate for
the same. Conditions last longer and are used by several contractors and business person
to preserve the rights. In accordance to the present case scenario, Peter shall understand
and impose a clear demonstration of the terms and conditions of a contract and the same
shall be followed by the binding parties (Morgan, 2015). A breach of condition and its
impact can be clearly cited from the case of Poussard v Spiers. Warranties: These are the less important or secondary clause of a contract. If the
warranties are breached by the defendant then the innocent has the right to claim for
damages or compensation from it. Although there is no right by the aggrieved to revoke
the contract on the breach of warranty. Bettini v Gye case provides a clear demonstration
of breach of warranty. In order to prevent liability from arising on part of peter, it can
include exemption clause in its contract. Innominate Terms: These are the norms that has not been clearly defined as conditions
or warranties by the binding parties. Therefore, at the time of dispute resolution the court
verifies the impact of each and the loss suffered by the innocent. Based on this decisions
are held as in the case of Hong Kong Fir Shipping v Kawasaki. Peter Abraham shall
make clear distinction between its warranties and conditions so as to avoid confusion in
the future (Tadros, 2014).
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 Exemption Clause: These are the norms that are used by the enterprises so as to transfer
the liabilities on another party. The said contractor can introduce the exclusion clause in
its contract but is shall be in norms with the Unfair Terms Act 1977. Moreover, he shall
clearly define these norms before the contracting party so as to avoid any sort of
confusion as it can be seen in the lawsuit of Thorton v Shoe Lane Parking (Chamallas,
2014).
TASK 2
2.1
Case 1- Agreement
The lawsuit depicts that Carol wanted to purchase a couch for its apartment. She saw an
online advert on Gumtree which states that “ a leather couch of nice brown colour is for sale at
£600”. After seeing this, she mailed the company, by using the details provided on the website.
As per the law states an advertisement cannot be deemed as an offer provided by the company. It
is a mere invitation to treat. However the proposal shall be made by Carol and the acceptance of
the Same of the particular company. Nonetheless, all other essential element of a valid contract
that is nominal consideration, competency of the parties are present in the proceedings yet the
absence of an another imperative element which is offer and acceptance is missing in the current
scenario. Therefore, it can be termed as a void contract as per the English Law (Scott, 2013).
Case 2- Consideration
In accordance to the current proceedings, Devi wanted a Job in the George, Smith &
Fogarty Inc. On April 12, 2015 he received an acceptance letter from the owner. Devi did not
inform about this to his Father Preston, as he does not want any sort of interference from him.
Later, Preston unaware about the this proposed to George that he shall pay him £150000, if he is
ready to provide a job to his son. In the present case, the consideration cannot be termed as valid
as it is form of bribe provided by him and it is illegal as per the English law. Moreover, the
contract cannot be termed as legal as Devi has already received a job and there is presence of
unlawful object (Campbell, 2016).
2.2
Case 3- Exclusion Clause
In accordance to the present case scenario wherein a couple went to the London
Restaurant and the man the handed over his court to the attendant at the entrance. He then
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provided him with a ticket. Later on after consuming the meal, the man realised that he had left
the wallet in his Jacket. He went back to the attendant and he showed the ticket which has
exclusion clause printed on it which confers that “No liability shall be born by the restaurant in
case of any lost or stolen items from the jackets. It is the responsibility of the visitors to take care
of their valuable things.”. This is an exclusion clause introduced by the Restaurant owner so as to
transfer the liability on another party (Hart, 2016). The exclusion clause was printed was an
unfair practise conducted by the owner. The couple has the right to avail the compensation for
the stolen item. Moreover, the attendant did not demonstrated anything about the clause when he
handed over the ticket nor at time of table booking.
Case 4- Implied Term
In regards to the prevailing case, Zehphra the owner of the house rented the same to
Aaron. The building was in poor condition and in order to stay the renter made significant
changes in it. The owner stated that he will not increase the rent of the adobe till the next 5 years.
Later on after the death of the Zehphra, yeti was the inherent receiver of the property. She
increased the rent of the house consequently sue to the increasing demand of the house. Aaron
refused to pay the raised prices and claims that the owner has promised him not to change the
rent till the next 5 years. From the above scenario it can be clearly stated that it was just a mere
promise not a valid contract. Therefore, Yeti is not entitled to pay any sort of compensation due
to the presence of implied term in the current scenario (Stevenson, Rowbotham and Lowther,
2015).
2.3
Case 5
The prevailing case demonstrates that a policyholder has made insurance of his motor
car. The documents presents a question which states that “have you even been involved in can
sort of theft or accidental case?” The holder replied to the question with a no. Later on it was
derived that the holder has stolen the car 5 years ago and a theft claim has been disclosed. The
insurance company refused to make payment at times claiming the requisite amount (Dickinson
and Nicholson, 2015). He confers that the holder has breached the condition on which the entire
insurance policy was based. This can be clearly cited from the Madame Poussard v Spiers case.
The breach of conditions lead to revocation of the contract. The insurance company has the right
to void the contract.
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Case 6
The present case describes that the insurance company has requested the policyholder to
provide a correct information on the following two questions. It depicts that “Whether the holder
of the policy has made any alterations or modifications in the present car and has he been
involved in any sort of accident. Later on it was revealed that the wife of the holder provided a
misleading information to the insurance company as the car was has oversized alloy wheels fitted
in it. Moreover, he has already made two claims previously. The lady confers that she was
unaware about the alterations that has already been made by his husband. With reference to the
Bisset v Wilkinson case, it is a form of misrepresentation made by the policyholder and the
insurer has the right to void the contract from the starting (Born and Karl, 2015).
TASK 3
3.1
Contrasting Elements Contractual Liability Tort Liability
Relationship Both the parties are bound by the
terms and conditions of the contract
(Arlen, 2016).
There is no binding relationship
between the two initially. The
law proceedings give rise to a
relationship.
Obligations The liability arises due to the
breach of conditions by the
defendant.
Due to negligence or carelessness
on part of the legitimate caused
him to bear the respective
obligation.
Damages The amount of damages that need
to be born by the party shall be the
value of loss incurred by the
another. Case Reference: Addis v
Gramophone 1909.
The damages, injuries or harm
caused due to negligence by the
Plaintiff is the amount of
compensation made by the
defendant (Hersch and Viscusi,
2014).
Duties Both the parties are entitled to
make due consideration to the
terms and conditions of the contract
Each of the citizens of UK are
respected to undertake a
reasonable care and concern to
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and they shall not undertake any
actions which lead to revocation of
contract (Porter, 2013).
protect the life of others. Case
Reference Vaughan v Menlove
1837.
Examples Hadley Baxendale case is the
leading example wherein the breach
of conditions leads to occurrence of
damages.
Donoghue v Stevenson is a major
example whereby carelessness on
part of the manufacturer caused
harm to plaintiff.
Similarities:
There are certain factors that are alike in both the cases. The prime similarities between
the two are:
 Both the contract give rise to a significant liability which needs to be born by the two.
 These are not established so as punish the defendant rather to protect the rights of the
individual.
 Both the liabilities occur due to the breach of duty.
 The repudiation of the same leads to damages or compensations that needs to be born by
the defendant (Thomas, 2014).
3.2
Tort liability is likely to arise when one person fails to take the reasonable care that he is
expected to be taken in regards to safeguard the interest of the others. English Law describes that
any loss, harm, injury or damages incurred to any individual due to the failure on part of the
prudent gave rise to tort liability. This can be clearly cited from the case of Donoghue v
Stevenson case. The various factors that needs to be proved by the claimant in regards to avail
the requisite amount of compensation by the defendant has been enumerated below; Duty of care: It is relevant that the claimant must prove that the prudent owed him a
reasonable duty of care. Certain test were introduced to show that faulty party cod a
responsibility to protect the life of other. Caparo Industries PLC v Dickman is the major
example of proving the duty of care (Williams, 2012). Breach of Duty: Moreover, after proving the above point, it is also necessary to put
forward the evidence that their was a revocation of duty on the part of the defendant.
Vaughan v Menlove is the best example of the current case wherein the breach of duty
has been taken place is explained clearly.
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 Damages: Last but not the least, the claimant needs to establish that the breach of duty
gave rise to harm, loss, injuries or damages to the him. After proving this successfully it
can claim the requisite compensation from the prudent as in the case of The Wagon
Mound no 1.
3.3
Vicarious liability is an proceeding or lawsuit introduced by the court whereby the
employers are held responsible for the any of acts conducted by its employees. The business can
be deemed liable in such cases of fraud, cheating, discrimination, assaulting, etc. Therefore, the
supervisors or the head must ensure that each and every thing is in place at the workplace and not
other people is getting affected or harmed by the same (Chow and Chuma, 2016). Moreover, it
dictates that there shall be employer employee relationship between the two person no matter the
person is working temporarily or on permanent basis. Additionally, any of the misleading acts
shall have occurred in the course of employment. A clear example of it can be derived from the
Hesley v Lister case wherein the Hesley was a hostel and its warden used to sexually assault and
threaten the students. This has caused a severe and emotional impact on the students. After
complete analysis it was stated that the employers are held liable for the acts pursued by its
employees. Even more they have not taken any actions to minimise the same. Along with it, the
owners are required to make sure that fair and trade practises are conducted in the company so as
to avoid any sort of vicarious liability arising in the organization (Christ, 2014).
TASK 4
4.1
Case 7
As the present case depicts, Mr Brown was feeling unwell and went to Goodmayes
Hospital for a check-up. A nurse attended him and asked him about the problem pertaining. She
then dialled the doctor on duty and asked him about the solution. The medical man has asked to
provide him some pain killers. Later on it was found that the man died due to the intoxicated
mould in his house (Hamid, 2013).
a) The hospital can be held irresponsible on the part of the doctor's negligent behaviour. He
cannot provide a high doze pain killers to the person without even testing him. This is a sort of
carelessness on part of the physicians. Therefore, in this case if the man would have died due to
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the consumption of medicines then the tort liability can successfully be imposed in the present
case.
b) From the above discussion it is clearly stated that the man died due to the dirt or dust present
in his house. There is no mention about the irresponsibility of the doctors. Furthermore, in the
investigation it has incurred that the man died due to pneumonia. Therefore, vicarious liability
cannot be applied in the present case as the reason behind his death was different (Doyle, 2016).
4.2
Case 8
Vicarious liability as discussed above is a lawsuit where the employers are held liable for
the actions of its employees. As per the present case scenario, the Chauffer company hired a
driver to pick up his clients from the airport. While in the mean course, the car operator drank a
few glass of liquor. After returning back to the hotel, the driver lost his control and crashed a
lamp post. The client had to suffer a serious injuries. Therefore in the present case vicarious
liability can successfully be applied as the driver was the executive of the company. Moreover,
the act has occurred when the said person was carrying out his job. It can be said that the client
has the right to claim for the damages and injuries by imposing the vicarious liability on the
company (Hong, 2015).
Case 9
In accordance with the prevailing case, Mr. Jones was working with the Essex company.
On fine day he was loading the truck with the pallets and accidental slipped on the tail gate. The
pallets fell on the colleagues which were present at that moment and caused serious injuries. He
had a torn rotator cuff which requires further surgery and rehabilitation for months by the
physiotherapist. The co-worker is now making a claim against the company imposing vicarious
liability. The firm states that the responsibility of health and safety of the employees were
transferred to another company. Therefore, the claim of the colleague is wrong ad vicarious
liability cannot be imposed in those cases wherein the employers have taken relative actions to
preserve and protect the workers (Hunter, 2015).
CONCLUSION
The present research report can be summarized by conferring that all the elements of the
contract play a crucial role in deriving to an accurate conclusion. Several cases have been
illustrated in the above report which needs clear description of the amount of liability of each
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party. Based on these scenarios recommendations have been made to impose the respective laws
in different cases (Slišković and Penezić, 2016).
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Arlen, J. and Carney, W. J., 2012. Vicarious liability for fraud on securities markets: Theory and
evidence.
Arlen, J., 2016. Economic Analysis of Tort Liability for an Imperfect World.
Born, P. H. and Karl, J. B., 2015. Do Tort Liability Reforms Affect Trends in Medical
Malpractice Insurance Market Conditions?.
Campbell, M., 2016. Somerville v Harsco Infrastructure Ltd: Transferred Intent and the Scope of
Vicarious Liability. Edinburgh Law Review. 20(2). pp.211-216.
Chamallas, M., 2014. Two Very Different Stories: Vicarious Liability Under Tort and Title VII
Law. Ohio St. LJ. 75. p.1315.
Chamallas, M., 2014. Vicarious Liability in Torts: The Sex Exception.Valparaiso University Law
Review. 48(133).
Chow, M. H. and Chuma, K., 2016. The Washington Conference Undone: The Impact of the
Japanese Exclusion Clause. In The Turning Point in US-Japan Relations (pp. 173-208).
Palgrave Macmillan US.
Christ, A., 2014, April. Low-power exclusion clause for wireless devices operating at close
distances to the human body. In The 8th European Conference on Antennas and
Propagation (EuCAP 2014) (pp. 2628-2630). IEEE.
Dickinson, J. and Nicholson, A., 2015. Supreme Court closes another vicarious liability
loophole: Woodland V Swimming Teachers Association.European Journal of Current
Legal Issues. 21(2).
Hagenhoff, B. and et.al., 2014. The Practical Aspects of ToF-SIMS Analysis in the Industrial and
Contract Laboratory Setting. Microscopy and Microanalysis. 20(S3). pp.2098-2099.
Hamid, S. A. A., 2013. The exclusion clause in government standard form of construction
contracts.
Hart, T., 2016. Recent Cases on vicarious liability. CILEX Journal.
Hersch, J. and Viscusi, W. K., 2014. Assessing the insurance role of tort liability after Calabresi.
Law & Contemp. Probs. 77. pp.135.
Hunter, H., 2015. Modern Law of Contracts.
McLaren, W. M., 2014. Endangered Theory: Vicarious Liability under the Endangered Species
Act, An. Envtl. L. 44. pp.1203.
Morgan, P., 2015. Vicarious liability for group companies: the final frontier of vicarious
liability?.
Papaioannou, A. I. and et.al., 2016. Combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema: The many
aspects of a cohabitation contract. Respiratory Medicine. 117. pp.14-26.
Porter, E. G., 2013. Tort Liability in the Age of the Helicopter Parent.Alabama Law Review.
64(3). pp.533-87.
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Scott, J., 2013. Vicarious Liability for Intentional Delicts-The Constitutional Factor Clinches
Liability. JS Afr. L. pp.348.
Slišković, A. and Penezić, Z., 2016. Testing the effects of different aspects of contract and on-
board internet access on seafarers’ satisfaction and health. Arhiv za higijenu rada i
toksikologiju.
Stevenson, K., Rowbotham, J. and Lowther, J., 2015. Reparation for Betrayal of Trust in Child
Sexual Abuse Cases: The Christian Duty of Care, Vicarious Liability and the Church of
England. Australian Feminist Law Journal. 41(2). pp.253-270.
Tadros, V., 2014. Orwell's battle with Brittain: vicarious liability for unjust aggression.
Philosophy & Public Affairs. 42(1). pp.42-77.
Thomas, L. W., 2014. Effect of MUTCD on Tort Liability of Government Transportation
Agencies (No. NCHRP Project 20-6).
Williams, O., 2012. Preference for Innominate Terms: The Good, the Bad Bargain and the Ugly,
A. Southampton Student L. Rev. 2. pp.155.
Online
Doyle, J., 2016. What Is the Difference Between a Bilateral Offer & a Unilateral Offer in
Business? [Online]. Available through: <http://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-
between-bilateral-offer-unilateral-offer-business-33129.html>. [Accessed on 18th
November 2016].
Hong, C., 2015. What are the elements of a contract?. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.hillhouse.com.au/legal-question/what-are-the-elements-of-a-contract/>.
[Accessed on 18th November 2016].
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