As part of the formal assessment for the programme you are required to submit a Contract Law assignment. Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of the programme assessment scheme and general information on preparing and submitting assignments.
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the module, you should be able to:
1.Define and explain the main principles of contract law.
2.Demonstrate an awareness of the practical consequences of the formation of a contract.
3.Identify breaches of contract and the appropriate remedies for parties.
4.Apply the principles of contract law to authentic scenarios to reach logical and well-reasoned conclusions.
Graduate Attributes: Effective Communication
5.Communicate knowledge and understanding in written form using appropriate legal terminology.
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means, including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
Guidance
Your assignment should include: a title page containing your student number, the module name, the submission deadline and the exact word count of your submitted document; the appendices if relevant; and a reference list (see referencing section below). You should address all the elements of the assignment task listed below. Please note that tutors will use the assessment criteria set out below in assessing your work.
You must not include your name in your submission because Arden University operates anonymous marking, which means that markers should not be aware of the identity of the student. However, please do not forget to include your STU number.
Maximum word count: 2500 words
Please refer to the full word count policy which can be found in the Student Policies section here: Arden University | Regulatory Framework
Please note the following:
Students are required to indicate the exact word count on the title page of the assessment.
The word count includes everything in the main body of the assessment (including in text citations and references). The word count excludes numerical data in tables, figures, diagrams, footnotes, reference list and appendices. ALL other printed words ARE included in the word count.
Please note that exceeding the word count by over 10% will result in a 10-percentage point deduction.
Assignment Task
You are a trainee solicitor for Arden LLP, your supervisor, Meghan Barratt, is away at a conference for the next few days. Meghan has received instructions from an existing client, Benjamin Wilson, who would like advice on multiple contract issues (explained at a-c below). Meghan would like you to read the client instructions, identify the issues, apply the law to the facts and draft a letter of advice to Benjamin Wilson. Meghan will give you feedback on the letter when she returns from the conference.
Client Instructions
The client is Benjamin Wilson of 14 High Street, Arden Town A47 6LT. Benjamin is a businessman who owns a car hire company and a skip hire company. The date is
today’s date. The file reference is MB/BW 446467.
(a)On April 1st, Max places the following advertisement in the Arden Town Newspaper: ‘A complete set of portraits by Albert Einstein for sale at £3,000. In perfect condition. Please write to Max by the 15th of April’.
Benjamin sends a letter to Max on 2nd April explaining that he is interested in buying the portraits for £2,500 and Max should email him and states that ‘if I do not hear from you, I will assume that the portraits are mine at this price’. On receipt of Benjamin’s letter on April 3rd, Max immediately emails him stating that he will not accept the offer of £2,500. Max then receives Benjamin’s out-of-office message, which states: ‘Benjamin is not at home at present but will access his emails on his return’.
Tia sends a letter to Max on 11th of April stating that she will buy the portrait for £3,000 but the letter is lost because she uses the wrong address. Worried at the lack of a response, Max on the 14th of April, sends a friend to Benjamin’s house stating that he is no longer interested in selling the portraits. Tia has been waiting for Max to respond, unaware that her letter did not reach Max and that he is no longer interested in selling the portraits.
Analyse i) if there is a contract between Max and Benjamin and ii) if there is a contract between Max and Tia.
(b)Benjamin owns a car hire company and decides to buy new cars for his business. He telephoned Reed Company Ltd, who are sellers of brand-new cars, and asked them to quote a price for 10 brand new Ford cars.
Reed Company Ltd sent a quotation for a price of £20,000 per car. Benjamin telephoned Reed Company Ltd and agreed to buy 10 cars for the price stated. The cars were delivered to Benjamin a few days later.
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means, including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
Benjamin is not happy with the cars as his customers have complained of noise while driving the cars. When he telephoned Reed Company Ltd about this, they referred to a clause on the back of the quotation stating that:
‘Reed Company Ltd will not be liable for any faults or defects in cars supplied unless such faults are reported in writing within one week of delivery’.
Benjamin tells you that he did not notice the clause and did not report the fault within the time specified.
He wants to know the following: (i) Whether there are implied terms in the contract (ii) Whether the exemption clause is reasonable (iii) and whether he can return the cars.
(c)Benjamin is the owner of Dev Skip Hire. Ella, a regular customer, hires a number of skips from Dev Skip Hire, as she has done on six previous occasions in the past year.
On each previous occasion she received an invoice from the delivery driver which stated on the reverse:
‘Dev Skip Hire undertakes no liability for death, injury damage to property or financial loss’.
On this occasion when the skips are delivered, the driver fails to give Ella an invoice and, as he is unloading the skips, he drops one of the skips on Ella’s van. The van, worth £10,000, is damaged beyond repair and Ella, who is standing nearby, is injured by flying glass from the van. As a result of her injuries, Ella is admitted to hospital.
Dev Skip Hire admit breach of contract but seek to rely on their exemption clause to escape liability.
Advise the parties on the following issues:
I.Significance of Ella being a regular customer of Dev Skip Hire.
AI.Significance of the exemption clause and whether Dev Skip Hire can rely on it to escape liability.
III.Whether Ella is entitled to damages under contract law.
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means, including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
Draft a letter of advice addressed to Benjamin Wilson from Meghan Barratt which advises Benjamin on each of the contract issues set out at (a)-(c) above. Each part of the task (a-
c)should be clearly labelled. The letter should follow the formal conventions of letter writing and include sub-headings where appropriate. The letter should be written in plain English and must be fully referenced using OSCOLA referencing style.
(2,500 words)
(100 marks)
(LOs 1,2,3,4 &5)
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means, including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
Formative Feedback
You have the opportunity to submit a plan of your letter of advice to receive formative feedback.
The feedback is designed to help you develop areas of your work and it helps you develop your skills as an independent learner.
If you are a distance learning student, you should submit your work, by email, to your tutor, no later than 2 weeks before the actual submission deadline. If you are a blended learning student, your tutor will give you a deadline for formative feedback and further details.
Formative feedback will not be given to work submitted after the above date or the date specified by your tutor – if a blended learning student.
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means, including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
Referencing Guidelines
For students studying the LLB (Hons) Qualifying Law Degree
You MUST underpin your analysis and evaluation of the key issues with appropriate and wide-ranging case law and ensure this is referenced using the OSCOLA system. The My Study Skills Area contains an OSCOLA Referencing Interactive Tutorial. You must use the OSCOLA referencing method in your assignment.
For students studying the LLB (Hons) Qualifying Law Degree
You MUST underpin your analysis and evaluation of the key issues with appropriate and wide-ranging case law and ensure this is referenced using the OSCOLA system. The My Study Skills Area contains an OSCOLA Referencing Interactive Tutorial. You must use the OSCOLA referencing method in your assignment.
Follow this link to find the referencing guides for your subject: Arden Library
For students studying the BA Joint Honours programmes
You MUST underpin your analysis and evaluation of the key issues with appropriate and wide ranging academic research and ensure this is referenced using the AU Harvard system (See “Referencing Guide‟ in the Study Skills Guide in My Resources).
Follow this link to find the referencing guides for your subject: Arden Library
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means, including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
Submission Guidance
Assignments submitted late will not be accepted and will be marked as a 0% fail.
Your assessment can be submitted as a single Word (MS Word) or PDF file, or, as multiple files.
If you chose to submit multiple files, you must name each document as the question/part you are answering along with your student number ie Q1 Section A STUXXXX. If you wish to overwrite your submission or one of your submissions, you must ensure that your new submission is named exactly the same as the previous in order for the system to overwrite it.
You must ensure that the submitted assignment is all your own work and that all sources used are correctly attributed. Penalties apply to assignments which show evidence of academic unfair practice. (See the Student Handbook which is available on the A-Z key information on iLearn.)
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means, including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
Assessment Criteria (Learning objectives covered – all)
Level 4 is the first stage on the student journey into undergraduate study. At Level 4 students will be developing their knowledge and understanding of the discipline and will be expected to demonstrate some of those skills and competences. Students are expected to express their ideas clearly and to structure and develop academic arguments in their work. Students will begin to apply the theory which underpins the subject and will start to explore how this relates to other areas of their learning and any ethical considerations as appropriate. Students will begin to develop self-awareness of their own academic and professional development.
Grade Mark Generic Assessment Criteria
Bands
First 80%+ Outstanding performance which demonstrates the ability to analyse the subject area and to confidently apply theory whilst showing
(1) awareness of any relevant ethical considerations. The work shows an outstanding level of competence and confidence in managing
appropriate sources and materials, initiative and excellent academic writing skills and professional skills (where appropriate).
The work shows originality of thought.
70- Excellent performance which demonstrates the ability to analyse the subject and apply theory whilst showing some awareness of any
79% relevant ethical considerations. The work shows a high level of competence in managing sources and materials, initiative and excellent
academic writing skills and professional skills (where appropriate). The work shows originality of thought.
Upper 60- Very good performance which demonstrates the ability to analyse the subject and apply some theory.
second 69% The work shows a very good level of competence in managing sources and materials and some initiative.
(2:1)
Academic writing skills are very good and expression remains accurate overall. Very good professional skills (where appropriate).
The work shows some original thought.
Lower 50- A good performance which begins to analyse the subject and apply some underpinning theory.
second 59% The work shows a sound level of competence in managing basic sources and materials. Academic writing skills are good and
(2:2)
Expression remains accurate overall although the piece may lack structure. Good professional skills (where appropriate).
The work lacks some original thought.
Third 40- Satisfactory level of performance in which there are some omissions in understanding the subject, its underpinning theory
(3) 49% and ethical considerations. The work shows a satisfactory use of sources and materials. Academic writing skills are limited and
there are some errors in expression and the work may lack structure overall.
There are some difficulties in developing professional skills (where appropriate). The work lacks original thought and is largely imitative.
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means, including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
Marginal 30- Limited performance in which there are omissions in understanding the subject, its underpinning theory and ethical considerations.
Fail 39% The work shows a limited use of sources and materials. Academic writing skills are weak and there are errors in expression and the
work may lack structure overall. There are difficulties in developing professional skills (where appropriate). The work lacks original
thought and is largely imitative.
Clear 29% A poor performance in which there are substantial gaps in knowledge and understanding, underpinning theory and ethical considerations.
Fail and The work shows little evidence in the use of appropriate sources and materials. Academic writing skills are very weak and there are numerous
below errors in expression.
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means, including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
