Commercial Law Main Examination-Murdoch University Bachelor of Business

Murdoch University Bachelor of Business

Bridging Intake 14B

Commercial Law Main Examination

Date of Examination : 6 February 2021 Exam Duration Time

: SIX (6) hours : 6.00pm to 12.00am

Weightage : 50% Total Score : 100 marks

Instructions:

1. This is a remote open exam book examination. Any student found to have plagiarised (e.g. copying directly from the source without making attempts to write in your own words) with their answers, will be deemed to have committed an academic offence leading to penalties.

2. Answer all the questions in Sections A, B & C. This paper carries a total score of 100 marks.

• Section A – THREE (3) Essay Questions (40 marks)

• Section B – TEN (10) Multiple Choice Questions (20 marks)

• Section C – FIVE (5) Short Answered Questions (40 marks)

3.

This examination paper consists of SIX (6) pages (including this cover page). Check that you have all the pages.

No part of this document, whether image, text or otherwise, may be copied, reproduced, published, adapted, modified, distributed, transmitted,

communicated and/or stored in any form

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Page 2 of 6

Section A: THREE (3) Essay Questions (40 marks) Instructions: Questions 1, 2 and 3 are case study questions. Answer ALL questions and please cite relevant case law or statute. Question 1 carries 20 marks and Question 2 and 3 carries 10 marks each.

Question 1 (20%) Arthur and Bill negotiated a business deal over a supply of special teak wood from Malaysia for an agreed price of S$100,000. Arthur is the Singaporean buyer and Bill is the Malaysian seller and had at their final business meeting in Singapore on 2nd January 2020 signed the contract and agreed that the date of delivery to Singapore shall be on the 18th March 2020. Before the wood could be delivered, the wood had to be sorted out and selected from its vast stock of timber kept in its warehouse. After selection, they must be marked, packed and loaded up onto a specified container designated for Singapore (Arthur) before 1st March 2020. When the cargo of wood was in transit at the border of Johore, the Malaysian government as a counter measure to an outbreak of the Co-Vid pandemic declared several measures on 18th March 2020 (called the “MCO”). One of these was to ban all vehicles, cargoes and goods to be exported out from all its land, sea and air ports. The period of the MCO was indefinite and uncertain. Hence, this cargo of teak wood could not cross the Johore border into Singapore. Bill then quickly texted Arthur and said that the contract was discharged because of the MCO. Arthur was furious as he had planned to sell this stock for S$400,000 to an interested buyer and insisted that Bill must find another alternative way to transport the cargo of teak wood to him within one week or else he threatened to sue Bill to make him a bankrupt! Required: i. Explain all the requirements for a valid contract. (8 marks)

ii. Discuss if Bill can discharge himself from the contract. (6 marks) iii. Applying the Sales of Goods Act, supposing the MCO was declared on the 1st March 2020, which party would have the property or title in the stock of wood? Would your answer be different if the MCO was declared on the 18th March 2020? (6 marks)

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Question 2 (10%)

Last week, Edwin went to a football stadium to watch a football match. Having bought the football match ticket at the entrance, Edwin went to the toilet in the stadium. Right outside the toilet, Edwin saw a sign which read: “The Stadium shall not be responsible for any loss, injury or damage suffered by the spectators.” By reason of the carelessness of the Stadium’s authority, Edwin suffered personal injury when he fell on the slippery toilet floor as a result of small puddles of floor detergent left unwiped after it was washed by the Stadium’s cleaners. Required: i. Explain whether the stadium could be liable for the damage suffered by Edwin under the law of negligence, if there was no such exclusion clause? (6 marks) ii. State any two methods by which an exclusion clause may be incorporated into a contract. (4 marks) Question 3 (10%) With the many incentives given by the Singapore government to encourage entrepreneurship, Charlie and Doris who are friends and colleagues in the same company decided to leave their regular salaried jobs to open a food business. As both of them love to cook local and Western food, they have decided to operate a business selling fusion food. Both decided to put in $50,000 each into the business but as this was to be their first business venture, they had some specific concerns. Charlie was afraid of being personally liable for the debts of the business and also wanted his family to inherit his share of the business should he die. Doris on the other hand, wanted something that was easy to form and less costly to manage annually and did not want to submit too many information to ACRA as she wants the personal details of the business to be secret, if possible. Both of them have now asked you to advise: i. The merits of forming a Partnership under the Partnership Act; (5 marks) ii. The merits of forming a Company under the Companies Act (5 marks)

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Section B: Multiple Choice Questions (20 marks) Instructions: Questions 1 – 10 multiple choice questions. Answer ALL TEN (10) multiple choice questions. Each question carries TWO (2) marks.

1) Which of the following forms part of the ‘statutory laws’ of Singapore? a. Custom b. Case law c. Tradition d. Subsidiary legislation 2) Peter, an owner of a car, sent an email to a Paul, a potential buyer with the following message, “Dear Paul, My Honda Car (SJA 1234 B) is for sale to you at $68,000 only. Please reply within 2 days from the date of this email. From Peter”. Which of the following is true? a. The email is an invitation-to-treat. b. The email is an offer c. The email is only a query and has no legal effect d. The email is an advertisement. 3) Mrs. Latif wants to claim $120,000 in compensation for personal injuries caused by another person’s negligence. In which court should she bring her action to? a. The Magistrate Court b. The District Court c. The High Court d. The Court of Appeal 4) When reading case laws in Singapore, which of the following defines the “obiter dicta” of a judgement? a. The decision in a previous case b. The opinions said by the way c. The legal reason for deciding the case d. The special considerations as stated by the Chief Justice at the start of the legal year. 5) John, a car salesman made an untrue statement that the car was 2 years old (when actually it was 5 years old) which induced Peter, his customer, to enter into the contract to buy the car. Which one of the following describes the nature of the false statement? a. A representation b. An innominate term c. A condition d. A warranty

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6) What is the consequence of breaching a warranty? a. The innocent party may terminate the contract b. The innocent party may claim for damages only c. The innocent party may refuse to carry out their obligations d. The innocent party can terminate and also sue for damages. 7) Which remedy awarded by a court compels a defendant to carry out a specified action in relation to the enforcement of a term of the contract? a. Injunction b. Community Work Order c. Damages d Specific performance 8) Under the Small Claims Tribunal’s jurisdiction, it does not have the power to handle only one of the following: a. Insurance contracts b. Contracts for the sale of goods c. Contracts for hire purchase d. Contracts for leasing and repair of goods 9) Which one of the following is not implied under sections 12 to 15 of the Sale of Goods Act: a. Seller’s right to sell b. Correspondence with description c. Satisfactory quality d. Buyer’s right to demand passing of title upon payment of goods. 10) What is the similar characteristics between the torts of passing off and trademark? a. Both deal with the same type of defendants b. Both deal with the same amount of damages c. Both deal with intellectual property d. Both can be enforced under statutory law

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Section C: FIVE (5) Short Answered Questions (40 marks) Instructions: Questions 1 – 5 short answer questions. Answer ALL FIVE (5) short answered questions. Each question carries 8 marks. Please cite relevant case law or statute where necessary. Each answer should be between 150 – 180 words, estimated, though it may be possible to exceed this.

1) What are the main differences between civil law and criminal law? 2) What is meant when the Judge applies the “Mischief Rule” when interpreting a statute? 3) In consideration, what is meant by the rule that consideration must be provided by the Promisee and it need not flow to the Promissor? 4) Briefly explain any 2 duties an agent owes to his/her principal. You are to give an example and cite the relevant case laws. 5) What is meant by the “Nemo Dat” principle under the Sale of Goods Act? Explain with an example and cite the relevant section of the Act.

End of Paper

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