| BAF5BLA: Business and Company Law |
SECTION ONE
Questions
- Explain the origin and importance of the following sources of law to those people working in a business environment.
* Acts of Parliament
* Caselaw - Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of the system of judicial precedent and the doctrine of stare decisis, and comment upon the circumstances where judicial precedent might not be followed.
- In relation to the law of contract, explain the ways in which an offer can come to an end.
SECTION TWO
Mary, a local resident of Southbank, made a joint New Year’s resolution with her friend Hannah who also lives in Southbank, to eat more healthily and do more exercise in the new year.
In January, Mary picked up a flyer left on the tables in a local leisure centre called Southbank Leisure Centre. The flyer included details of a “Special New Year Offer”, stating that any local resident joining the lecture centre’s gym before the 31st January, could sign up and pay for a fixed term of 12 months “premier membership” at the same price as the “off-peak membership”, with no administration charges for joining. The flyer also states that local residents joining the membership must provide two forms of proof of address, such as council tax payment letter, bank statement and TV licence payment letter. On the back of the flyer, it added that those joining under the special offer would also receive a free sports bag. The fees were then set out as follows:
Mary and Hannah went to the gym with the proofs of their addresses on the 30th of January to join up and take advantage of the special offer of the Premier Membership. As the staff were extremely busy, Gary, the Manager, came out of his office to deal with them. He gave them a couple of Premier Membership forms to fill out and sign that included a direct debit form. Gary asked them to fill out their bank details on the direct debit form and said that he would fill in the rest of it later. He booked them in for their free induction on Saturday and said they could pick up their membership cards from the desk when they came in.
Mary and Hannah turned up for their induction and picked up their membership cards on the 2nd of February. They forgot all about the free bags. Two weeks later they noticed that both their bank accounts had been debited with £180.00. Mary telephoned the gym to ask why her account had been debited by £180.00 instead of £120.00. Ruth who works at the club explained that her membership was processed on the 1st of February after the special offer had expired. When Mary asked to speak to Gary, the manager, she was told that he left the club on the 7th of February and no longer works there.
Questions
- Set out the relevant law relating to an offer and acceptance and then apply it to the above situation.
- Explain and illustrate what is meant by the phrase ‘intention to create legal relations and apply your explanation to Mary’s situation.
- Discuss whether the consideration given by Mary must be of equal value.
- Depending on the terms of any contract that might exist between Mary and the gym at Southbank Leisure Centre, what remedies may a court impose in the event of a breach of contract?
