RECENT ASSIGNMENT

LAWS20058 – AUSTRALIAN COMMERCIAL LAW
TERM 1, 2018 – ASSESSMENT 1 – INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
Marks: 40% of the overall assessment for the course
Submission: Online via Moodle
Format: One file in .doc or .docx (MS Word) format.
Submissions in any other file format (e.g. .zip) will be treated as a non-submission.
Your file should contain:
Cover sheet – Contains your name, student number and word counts for Questions 1, 2 and 3.
Part A – Answer to either Question 1(a) OR Question 1(b)
Part B – Answers to Questions 2 and 3
Part C – Link to YouTube video.
References should be footnoted, using the Australian Guide to Legal Citation. There should be no need for a concluding Reference List or Bibliography.
Due date: 11.45pm, Thursday 3 May 2018 (Week 8)
Word limit: Word limits are set out below for each question.
Extensions policy:
The university policy on extensions of time will be strictly enforced. Extensions will only be considered if made via the online system and must be based on medical or compassionate grounds. Any extension application should be made before the due date for submission. Medical conditions should be supported by a medical certificate, and, since students are expected to start the assignment early, temporary or last-minute conditions are usually not grounds for an extension. Professionals are expected to manage their time to meet their obligations, so work or personal commitments are insufficient grounds for an extension.
Plagiarism:
The university’s plagiarism policy will also be strictly enforced. If plagiarism is found, a minimum penalty is likely to be zero marks for the assessment. It could be worse.
PART A (10 marks – 600-800 words)
You must choose ONE of the following questions:
EITHER:
Question 1(a)
Provide a summary of the constitution that your tribe developed in Workshop 1, Tasks 1 and 2, explaining how it addresses the requirements for Hart’s 3-part legal system. Then compare it to how the Australian legal system addresses the same requirements.
OR:
Question 1(b)
Research a legal system of a foreign country and explain how it addresses the requirements of Hart’s 3-part legal system. Then compare it to how the Australian legal system addresses the same requirements.
NOTE: In either of these questions, you can assume that the marker knows what Hart’s 3-part legal system is, so you do not have to explain it – you just need to apply it correctly.
PART B (20 marks)
Barry was sick of his day job, and wanted to buy a business so he could become his own boss. He saw that a fruit and vegetable store was up for sale at his local shopping village. The owner had posted an advertisement on the notice board at the shopping village as follows:
Highly profitable venture in bustling suburban shopping centre with turnover of $20,000 per month. No competitors. $250,000 plus stock-in-trade. Ring Angelo on 0434 123 456.
Barry telephoned Angelo and asked about the store. He asked what the expenses of the business were, and Angelo told him that they were $8,000 per month. Barry liked what he had heard, so he decided to check out how busy the shopping centre was. On the weekend, when he wasn’t working, he went to the shopping centre a few times and noticed that it was open all day Saturday and Sunday and was busy most of that time. He negotiated with Angelo and eventually agreed to buy the business for $200,000. To save money, he did not hire a lawyer, and signed a contract which included the following term:
The sale includes the following plant and equipment:
Item Value
Delivery van $15,000
Loader $2,000
Barry paid for the business and took over running it on 1 January 2018. When he took over the store, he discovered the following problems:
(a) Although the shopping village was busy on the weekends, it was very quiet during the week. In the first two months the turnover was only $13,000 per month.
(b) There was a grocery store in the shopping village that sold a wide range of fruit and vegetables.
(c) After six weeks, a man from a finance company arrived at the shop and repossessed the delivery van. It turned out that the van was only leased by the previous owner, and since Barry had not made the lease payments, the lease was in default. Barry’s expenses at the shop had been below $8,000 per month, but if he had paid the van lease, the expenses would have been on average about $8,500 per month.
(d) The loader, which was a small motorised machine for putting pallets on and off the back of the van, was broken down and could not be fixed for less than the cost of replacing it.
You are providing a written report to your supervising partner. To impress him, you want to show that you worked hard at university by demonstrating your knowledge of law and your ability to use it. You need to provide a written report providing the following advices.
Question 2 (10 marks, about 800 words)
Advise how Barry might challenge the validity of the contract on the basis of the statements made by Angelo before the contract was entered into. You should consider both common law and statute law.
Question 3 (10 marks, about 800 words)
Assuming Barry does not get out of the contract, advise on the possibility of an action for breach of contract.
NOTE: These are questions where the focus is on your reasoning processes, so you should use the IRAC method. You do not need to repeat the facts unnecessarily, so only refer to the facts of the case to support your argument. Also, only refer to cases to illustrate or support the legal points you are making or the argument you are putting. If you do refer to cases, you need to demonstrate how they are relevant to the facts or argment. Your supervising partner will not be impressed by you simply reciting law without purpose.
PART C (10 marks – YouTube video no more than about 6 minutes in length)
In this part, your task is to take the advices you gave to your supervising partner in Questions 2 and 3 and present them to your client, Barry, in a way that he can understand. You DO need to explain to him what the law is and how it leads to your recommendations, but it must be presented in a way that a client without legal training can understand. The report must be done as a YouTube video and the link for the video must be included in your assignment. The video must be set so that the marker can view it. If the link does not work for the marker, you get no marks for this part.
Your face must appear in the video. You should not be reading from a script, but you can use notes to prompt your talking.
MARKING
All parts of the assignment will be marked in accordance with the university’s Grades procedure (which can be accessed via the Unit Profile). The following marking rubric incorporates that procedure.
THE MARKING RUBRIC IS ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE
GRADE MARK GRADING APPROACH for assessing
problem-solving skills, critical thinking and information literacy
HD 85%+ Demonstrates imagination, originality or flair, based on proficiency in all the learning outcomes of the unit; work is interesting or surprisingly exciting, challenging, well read or scholarly.
COMMENT: Here, the student will have done everything well, provided some original insights, and formulated their answer in a tight, efficient, thoroughly professional manner. Their explanations and arguments will have a strong logical flow and be convincing. Their research, particularly in Part B, will be thorough.
D 75-84% Demonstrates awareness and understanding of deeper and less obvious aspects of the unit, such as ability to identify and debate critical issues or problems, ability to solve non-routine problems, ability to adapt and apply ideas to new situations, and ability to invent and evaluate new ideas.
COMMENT: The student will demonstrate this by achieving all the outcomes for a Credit, but also some of the imagination, originality or flair required for a High Distinction. In Part A, the student will show some insight in comparing the two legal systems. In Part B, the student will demonstrate strong adherence to the IRAC method and some insight in the analysis of the problems. In Part C, the student will demonstrate a high level of skill in translating their legal advice into user-friendly terms for the client.
C 65-74% Demonstrates ability to use and apply fundamental concepts and skills of the unit, going beyond mere replication of content knowledge or skill to show understanding of key ideas, awareness of their relevance, some use of analytical skills, and some originality or insight.
COMMENT: Learning involves not only knowing principles or concepts but also the ability to apply them to a real-life situation. In Part A, the quality of the comparison and contrast of the legal systems will show this. In Part B, the ability to IRAC in a consistent and competent manner is required. In Part C, a clear and concise oral advice will be necessary to achieve this grade.
P 50-64% Demonstrates the learning outcomes of the unit, such as knowledge of fundamental concepts and performance of basic skills; demonstrates sufficient quality of performance to be considered satisfactory or adequate or competent or capable in relation to the learning outcomes of the unit.
COMMENT: Students who get a mark in this range usually demonstrate some knowledge of principles and concepts, but do not explain or apply them accurately. Answers often look like general descriptions provided with little thought or insight. In Part C, the advice to the client would be unclear and/or confusing in parts, but satisfactory.
F 40-49% Fails to demonstrate the learning outcomes of the unit.
COMMENT: Students in this range usually make some effort to perform the assignment task but fail to achieve what is prescribed for a Pass.
Low F 40% COMMENT: Students in this range usually fail to properly carry out the instructions or fully perform the tasks specified in the assessment.