TRIMESTER 1 2020 FINAL EXAMINATION

TRIMESTER 1 2020 FINAL EXAMINATION
STUDENT NAME:
STUDENT ID:
SUBJECT NAME: Business Law
SUBJECT CODE: MCR009
TIME ALLOWED: 2 hours
PERMITTED MATERIALS:
 This is an Open Book exam.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR STUDENTS:
 You do not require a separate answer booklet. Please type your responses in the spaces
provided.
 Type your full name and ID at the top of this page.
 This test consists of six compulsory questions.

MCR009 Final Examination Trimester 1 2020
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Question 1 (15 marks) 2-3 pages
Luke works as a food courier for a company called “2 Your Door “. He delivers the meals on a
bicycle.“2 Your Door” gives training to new couriers about the road rules including informing
them that it is an offence to ride a bicycle on a footpath if you are 18 years or over. Luke is
delivering a meal at 10 o’clock at night on a busy road so he uses the footpath. As he is riding
along the footpath Elton who has been drinking walks from an unlit laneway and collides with
Luke’s bicycle and breaks his arm. Luke was travelling at a normal speed but failed to see Elton
emerge from the dimly lit laneway.
a) Does Luke owe a duty of care to Elton? If yes explain why?
b) Has he breached his duty of care?
c) Can Elton or Luke join “2 Your Door” to the proceedings? On what basis?
d) Does Luke or “2 Your door” have any defences?
e) What cases assist your arguments?
[Answer here]
a) Luke does owe a duty to Elton on account of Elton being the neighbour in
accordance with Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] UKHL 100. Clearly, the footpath
is meant for the pedestrians and not for the bicycle riders. However, Luke took
the footpath as the road was too full. Thus, there was a reasonable and
foreseeable risk of either him or the pedestrian getting injured if he did not pay
attention. Considering the proximity, and the fact that decision to be attentive or
reckless had impact for pedestrians such as Elton, hence, there does arise a duty
to care on part of Luke directed towards Elton.
b) In order to establish negligence, it is essential that duty to care ought to have
been breached by Luke. For discharging the duty to care, it is imperative that all
reasonable measures need to be taken by the defendant considering the nature
and likelihood of risk for the plaintiff. This has been indicated in
Australian Safeway Stores Pty Ltd v Zaluzna (1987). In the given case,
reasonable precautions were not taken by Luke since he could have made some
kind of horn or ensured that where there was no light he could take the main
road instead of footpath. As a result, there is breach of duty by Luke.
c) Elton can join "2 Your Door" to the proceedings since the company is the
employer of Luke. This is based on the principle of vicarious liability whereby the
employer would be held responsible for the actions taken by the employee while
discharging his/her duties. It is evident that Luke is doing his duties under
employment contract and hence any damage done by him during this may lead
to liability of the employer. As a result, Elton can bring damages against the
company for Luke's potential negligent conduct.
d) Luke can potentially cite "voluntary assumption of risk" since Elton decided to
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drink water in an area that was unlit. However, this argument is unlikely to
sustain since the footpaths are not meant for bicycles but for pedestrians. Foe
the same reason, the defence of " Contributory Negligence" on part of Elton
would not hold ground.
Question 2 (15 marks) 2 pages
Sylvia is an ex model and writes a column every two weeks for an online magazine called “Stay
in shape” She has a contract for three years.One of the terms of her contract is that her column
will be the first story listed in each edition. All of Sylvia’s stories are to include a photo of her
when she was modelling.The editor of the online magazine had an exclusive interview with
Nicole Kidman, an Australian actress based in Hollywood. Sylvia’s column was moved to
number three to make room for the interview with Nicole Kidman. There also was a recent
photo of Sylvia rather than the younger photo that had been agreed.When Sylvia saw the
published edition she was incensed and complained that “Stay in Shape” had breached her
contract and she was now going to write for another online magazine called “50 is the next 40”.
The CEO of “Stay in Shape” magazine seeks your advice as to whether Sylvia can terminate
the contract as he would like to retain Sylvia’s services.
a) Has there been a breach of the contract by “Stay in Shape”?
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