Master of Professional Accounting/Master of Accounting Studies

Business and Corporations Law /Commercial Law Assignment Term 3 2011

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Acknowledgements Barron, M.L. Fundamentals of Business Law, 6th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2009 Gibson, A Commercial Law in Principle, 3rd ed, Lawbook Co, 2005

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Instructions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Assignment must be typed and students should use double spacing between lines Leave a margin on one side big enough to allow examiners comments Leave room at the end of the assignment also for examiners comments Include a bibliography which is a list of all sources used Students should reference all sources used in the assignment. Information on how to reference is available from Kaplan. Please ask for this 6. Word limit is 1500 words

Assignment
James decided to buy a new kitchen from The Kitchen Wizard. This business specialized in making pre-fabricated kitchens that could be installed to replace old and worn kitchens. As James had an old kitchen that was falling apart he felt that he needed a kitchen that was modern and would be able to handle a lot of use as he had a large family and meal times required a lot of preparation. James went to The Kitchen Wizard on a wet Saturday afternoon. He met with the salesperson and explained what he wanted. This included a new oven with a range hood, and a big kitchen bench and lots of cupboards. He requested the Old Colonial model that had lots of wooden cupboards and a large bench for food preparation. James was presented with a written contract that specified the value at $15,000. The contract contained an exemption clause that said that The Kitchen Wizard would not be responsible for any failure of the installers of the kitchen in installation. This included a failure to properly fit the cupboards within the defined space of the kitchen. James queried this but was told that this type of exclusion clause is just standard for these contracts. Before signing the contract James specifically asked the salesperson whether there was a new oven included in the sales price as it was not written into the contract itself. The salesperson replied that it did. As James was a little hesitant still to sign the contract the salesperson (who was keen to finalize the deal) said that if he signed now he would throw in a marble top bench instead of the agreed formica bench. The installers of the kitchen did not do a very good job. The cupboards did not fit into James kitchen and were loose and the doors did not close properly. There was no oven and there was also no marble top bench. When James complained he was told that the exclusion clause applied and there was nothing further they could do. He was also told that there was nothing about the oven or the marble bench in the written contract. James urgently seeks your advice. Advise James as to his position under contract law. Make appropriate reference to case law in your answer and place emphasis on his legal position under contract law given all the things that have gone wrong. In other words explain to James whether contract law can help him in any way. 3