LA1040 October B1
CertHE COMMON LAW
LLB
BSc DEGREES WITH LAW
GradDip COMMERCIAL LAW
Contract law
Monday 11 October 2021
BLOCK 1 Available at: 06:00 UK time on Monday 11 October 2021
Submit before: 11:00 UK time on Monday 11 October 2021
You have FIVE HOURS in which to write your answers and upload them in the
required .doc or .docx format to the VLE. You are not expected to spend more
than FOUR HOURS writing your answers. The remaining hour is for
downloading, uploading, and to take short rest breaks.
You must answer FOUR of the following EIGHT questions. You must answer
all parts of a question unless otherwise stated.
The word limit for this examination is 4,500 words. Any words beyond this limit
will not be read by the examiners.
© University of London 2021
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1. (a) ‘A unilateral offer cannot be withdrawn after the offeree has begun
performance of the stipulated act.’
Discuss.
(b) Loaves Ltd emails Baking plc asking about the possibility of
ordering five commercial bread ovens. Baking plc writes back
offering “to supply five commercial bread ovens as per the
enclosed specification for £20,000 each, subject to the return of
the enclosed order form”.
Loaves Ltd emails back, ignoring the order form, saying, “We wish
to order five commercial bread ovens as per your specification
and price. Please only confirm acceptance using our enclosed
order form.”
Baking plc begins to assemble the ovens and emails Loaves Ltd
to tell them. However, a week later Baking plc receives another
email from Loaves Ltd saying they are sorry but now want to
withdraw their offer and cancel the order.
Advise Baking plc.
2. ‘The law concerning the availability of rescission for misrepresentation
is easy to state but hard to justify.’
Critically evaluate the statement above.
3. ‘It is with regret that the Supreme Court in MWB Business Exchange
Centres Ltd v Rock Advertising Ltd [2018] 2 WLR 1603 did not clarify
the law on consideration. For too long, this area of law has been beset
with inconsistencies.’
Discuss.
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4. Raghu offers to sell “his motorbike” to Sienna for £10,000. Sienna
agrees to buy it. Advise Raghu in the following alternative
circumstances.
(a) Raghu owns two motorcycles. Both are identical Mark 1 Aprillias
manufactured in the same year, but one is red and the other is
blue. Sienna wanted to buy the red motorcycle but Raghu only
wants to sell the blue one.
(b) Raghu owns two motorcycles. Both are identical Mark 1 Aprillias
manufactured in the same year, but one is red and the other is
blue. Sienna wanted to buy the red motorcycle but Raghu only
wants to sell the blue one which he was sitting on when he made
his offer to Sienna.
(c) Raghu owns one motorcycle, a 2000 Mark 2 Triumph. Raghu and
Sienna think it has a powerful 200 horsepower engine. In fact, it
only has a 100 horsepower engine.
(d) Raghu owns one motorcycle, a 2005 Mark 2 Ducati which Sienna
has seen Raghu riding many times. Unknown to Raghu when he
spoke to Sienna, there had been a fire at his home and the
motorbike was destroyed.
(e) Raghu did not in fact own a motorcycle at the time of his
conversation with Sienna. Raghu’s Uncle Imran had recently died
and Raghu believed his Uncle had left him his motorcycle in his
will. In fact, Imran had left Raghu his cricket bat in the will.
5. Solomon, the lead singer in a popular boyband called Boyz, is
approached by TenFlix, an English streaming service, with the proposal
that he be the subject of a fly-on-the-wall documentary. TenFlix’s
producer, Hermione, tells Solomon that the documentary will “introduce
to the world the important environmental work that you do” and “ensure
that your popularity soars”. Solomon is interested in participating in the
show. He has been concerned about his diminishing appeal with his
younger fans, and believes that the broadcasting of his environmental
work will appeal to this particular fanbase. He also thinks that the show
will help him pay off some debts. He tells Hermione that he will think
about it. On returning to the TenFlix offices, Hermione is informed that
the show will only film the scandalous aspects of Solomon’s lifestyle.
Hermione does not think to inform Solomon of this. The next week,
Solomon agrees to the show. When it is aired later in the year, Soloman
realises that TenFlix have omitted all of his environmental work and
focused purely on scandals in his personal life. Solomon’s reputation is
seriously damaged and his next solo album sells very badly. In addition,
Boyz tell him that because of the documentary they no longer want him
to join them on their European tour.
Advise Solomon.
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6. ‘The Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act 1943 clarified the law of
frustration and balanced the rights of the parties in a fair way.’
Critically evaluate the statement above.
7. Greta has recently given up her job in finance and decides to do some
voluntary work for an environmental charity, BluePeace. Over a period
of several months, Greta becomes deeply involved with the activities of
the group and forms a close friendship with the founder of the charity,
Donald. Greta spends a lot of time with Donald and his young children
and regularly babysits for them. She is in awe of the incredible work that
Donald undertakes for the objectives of the charity. One day, Donald
becomes incredibly upset and informs Greta that BluePeace is in serious
financial difficulty and that the work of the charity will shortly cease if they
do not find some extra finances. Donald asks Greta if she will offer her
house as security for a £500,000 loan from the bank, Fine Antz Ltd.
Greta rings her daughter, Yolande, for advice. Yolande has just finished
a law degree and tells Greta that she “would be absolutely crazy” to offer
her house as security for the loan. Greta, however, is desperate for the
charity to keep running since both the work and Donald’s friendship
gives purpose to her life and prevents her from feeling lonely. She
agrees, therefore, to Donald’s request. The next day, Greta meets
Donald at the bank to sign the forms. Donald snaps at Greta saying,
“Hurry up and sign, I haven’t got all day” and stands close behind Greta
with his hand on Greta’s shoulder. Sajit, the Manager of Fine Antz Ltd,
asks Greta if she is sure about her decision and whether she wants to
speak to someone for legal advice. Greta ignores Sajit and signs the
forms. Six months later, BluePeace has missed several repayments on
the £500,000 loan and Fine Antz Ltd commence proceedings for
possession of Greta’s home.
Advise Greta.
8. ‘In Cavendish Square Holding BV v Makdessi [2016] AC 1172 the
Supreme Court has considerably broadened the traditional
understanding of the penalty clause rule which had been established by
previous case law. It is difficult to understand why the Court did not
instead choose to abolish the penalty clause rule.’
Discuss.
END OF PAPER
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