Common Law Assignment
School of Law
LST2BSL Introduction to Business Law and Ethics
Common Law Assignment
INSTRUCTIONS
1. This assignment is worth 20% of your final mark for this subject.
2. Your assignment must be submitted by 11.59pm on Sunday 4
th September 2016.
3. All questions must be answered.
4. This is not an essay – just answer the questions individually. Please read the ‘Top 10 common
mistakes’ & ‘Tips and Advice for the Common Law Assignment’ documents on LMS prior to
commencing this assignment.
5. With regards to formatting, your assignment must be typed with 1.5 or double spacing, and with
margins of at least 2cm on all sides. Size 12 font must be used.
6. The task is a common law assignment, so you are not required to discuss any legislation at all. It is
essential that you cite relevant authorities (cases) to support your reasoning in each answer.
7. Your work must be appropriately referenced, using footnotes. Where you state a legal principle
which comes from a case, you must provide a citation to the relevant case. You are not expected to
read the cases themselves: as long as a case is summarised in the textbook, you can cite the case
itself. If you are stating a legal principle that is covered in the textbook or lecture and which does
not have a relevant case provided in the textbook, you should cite the textbook. You are not expected
to use any materials beyond the lectures and the set textbook. But if you do, you must provide
appropriate citations. No bibliography is required.
8. Your assignment must be 1,500 words or less, excluding footnotes. This word limit is strict. There is
no 10% leeway. You must state the word count on the front page of your assignment. (If you fail to
provide this, the examiner will be forced to estimate the word count, and this may lead to penalties.)
9. You must also state the details of your seminar on the front page of your assignment. This includes
the day and time and location of your seminar, and the name of your seminar leader.
10. Assignment submission is electronic only, via the link on LMS: the link is accessible from the
same folder where you downloaded this document. The electronic file must be Word or PDF format
only. Other file formats will not be accepted or able to be uploaded. Do not email your assignment
to your tutor or the lecturer. Your assignment will not be marked unless and until you have
completed electronic submission.
11. You must not plagiarise. To avoid plagiarism, make sure you acknowledge all your sources with
appropriate citations. You may discuss the questions with other students, but all written work must
be your own: do not show anyone your written work for this assignment, and do not view anyone
else’s. Academic misconduct is taken extremely seriously at La Trobe University. Further information
about plagiarism and academic misconduct is provided in the Subject Learning Guide.
12. Further information about policies on late submission, applying for an extension, etc. is
available on the LMS, and in your Subject Learning Guide.
PROBLEM
Samantha is a high school drama teacher responsible for organising the end-of-year school drama
production. This year Samantha wishes to present her own comedy play – ‘Smurfs in Space’. Samantha
is responsible for all aspects of the production including costuming, catering and set up. She has been
encouraged to access volunteer resources where possible – including the school’s‘Parents and Friends
Association’. Samantha only has two weeks to get it all organised.
Samantha is aware of a 16 year old student – Julie – who has set up her own catering from home project
– preparing cakes and sandwiches for school events. Samantha speaks to Julie after class and asks
whether she can prepare cakes and sandwiches for 100 people.
Julie says ‘Yes I can. I will need one weeks’ notice and the price/charge will be $5 per person, so $500
in total’. Samantha says ‘I will need to think about it for a day or two.’ Julie says ‘send me a Facebook
message if you want me to proceed. I have a Facebook page – Awesome Cakes and Catering – where
I take all our orders’. Later that week Samantha sends a text message to Julie’s phone, that says ‘go
ahead with the cakes and sandwiches as we discussed’.
Julie uses ingredients out of her parents’ household fridge and cupboard to make the sandwiches and
cakes. Julie’s mum Martha asks Julie to pay her back for the ingredients and Julie refuses. Martha
contacts Samantha directly and says ‘Julie has used all my ingredients – you need to give me $100 out
of the $500 Julie is to be paid to reimburse me’.
Samantha also needs costumes so she looks online and finds a website for ‘Outrageous Costumes’.
She sends an email to Dave saying she needs three Smurf space suits, with extra silver and blue. Dave
writes an email back saying that he can do this for her – he just needs to know the size of the costumes
required. Dave also writes ‘Silver and Blue material is extra expensive. I rarely use it and will have to
order it in specially’. Samantha immediately writes back and says ‘please go ahead and order the
material – I will provide the measurements the week before the production’. Samantha also writes
‘we don’t have much time to get this all organised’. One week later Dave rings Samantha and leaves
her a message, saying he has received the material, and unless he hears back from her, he will go
ahead and start making the costumes. Samantha hears the message but ignores it, as a parent from
the ‘Parents & Friends Association’ has offered to make the costumes for free. Two days before the
school production, Samantha remembers she hasn’t spoken to Dave and rings him up to cancel the
order. Dave is upset as he has nearly finished the costumes and will not be able to reuse them.
On the morning of the play Samantha realises she has no-one to assist with setting up. Samantha sends
an email out to all parents saying ‘Attention all Parents – we need some volunteers to help set up for
tonight’s play. The first 10 parents to arrive at 12.00 pm today to assist with the set up will receive
two free tickets to tonight’s performance.’ Will is the older brother of a student who is performing in
the play. Will sees the email and decides he wishes to watch the play. Will is amongst the first 10
people to arrive and assists with the setup of the play.
1. Is there an enforceable contract between Samantha and Julie? (6 marks)
2. Assuming there is an enforceable contract between Julie and Samantha, does Samantha need
to pay $100 to Julie’s mother Martha? (3 marks)
3. Is promissory estoppel relevant to Samantha’s dispute with Dave from ‘Outrageous
Costumes’? (6 marks)
4. Is Will entitled to two free tickets for helping set up for the school play? (5 marks)
format:
issue:xxxxxxx
relevant law:xxxxx
application:xxxxxx
conclusion:xxxxx