Help with contract law...

saviourgirl

Hello,

Could anybody help me with this, I'm doing a marketing thesis and law isnt my strong point.
A few pointers would be good.

Thanks

Scenario:

Rock Bottom is a recording studio whose equipment is becoming quite dated. New recording desks and microphones are urgently needed.

Rock Bottom’s managers have asked both Digital Music Ltd. and Microtune Teo. to provide them with their price list. As the studio was planning to purchase a lot of equipment a good discount could be anticipated.

Digital Music’s prices for the items required were given by phone on the 10th of March. During the conversation, Rock Bottom’s manager mentioned that the mics would be used for Pop/Rock style of music. The salesman at Digital Music then told him: “these mics are the model used by U2 on their last album”.

Microtune’s order form was received on the 19th of March, with a letter mentioning that there were only a few remaining desks left at that discounted price and that they were likely to go very quickly.

On the 15th of March an order for twenty desks and thirty microphones was sent to Digital Music Ltd, together with a cheque for the full amount. The goods were sent via postal services on the 20th, accompanied by a delivery note that contained a list of terms and conditions, some of which excluded Digital Music Ltd from liability for “any loss or damage caused by any failure of the equipment”. Delivery took place on the 23d of the same month.

However after Microtune’s very competitive quote, Rock Bottom sent a letter to Digital Music, dated 19th of March, asking them to disregard the order and not to lodge the cheque. This letter reached the company on the 21st of March.

On the 19th of March Rock Bottom also emailed Microtune, who were unavailable on the phone, asking them to make sure to keep twenty desks and thirty mics for the studio. An answer was immediately sent by email but due to a network failure, the message was only read on the 25th. It stated: “we are delighted to ship to you the requested items, please lodge the money for the full amount to our bank account, the details of which are set out below”…


1)To whom is Rock Bottom contractually bound?

2)Assuming that Rock Bottom is using Digital Music’s equipment, some of the items are clearly faulty and cannot be used to their full potential. The seller is refusing any refund, reminding the studio of their terms and conditions. Has Rock Bottom got any possible redress?

3)It is later established that the microphones that do work have never actually been used by any known band. Is there any legal route open to Rock Bottom?

4)Does the development of electronic commerce introduce an unacceptable level of uncertainty into the Law on the formation of contracts?

walrusgumble

saviourgirl wrote:

Hello,

Could anybody help me with this, I'm doing a marketing thesis and law isnt my strong point.
A few pointers would be good.

Thanks

Scenario:

Rock Bottom is a recording studio whose equipment is becoming quite dated. New recording desks and microphones are urgently needed.

Rock Bottom’s managers have asked both Digital Music Ltd. and Microtune Teo. to provide them with their price list. As the studio was planning to purchase a lot of equipment a good discount could be anticipated.

Digital Music’s prices for the items required were given by phone on the 10th of March. During the conversation, Rock Bottom’s manager mentioned that the mics would be used for Pop/Rock style of music. The salesman at Digital Music then told him: “these mics are the model used by U2 on their last album”.

Microtune’s order form was received on the 19th of March, with a letter mentioning that there were only a few remaining desks left at that discounted price and that they were likely to go very quickly.

On the 15th of March an order for twenty desks and thirty microphones was sent to Digital Music Ltd, together with a cheque for the full amount. The goods were sent via postal services on the 20th, accompanied by a delivery note that contained a list of terms and conditions, some of which excluded Digital Music Ltd from liability for “any loss or damage caused by any failure of the equipment”. Delivery took place on the 23d of the same month.

However after Microtune’s very competitive quote, Rock Bottom sent a letter to Digital Music, dated 19th of March, asking them to disregard the order and not to lodge the cheque. This letter reached the company on the 21st of March.

On the 19th of March Rock Bottom also emailed Microtune, who were unavailable on the phone, asking them to make sure to keep twenty desks and thirty mics for the studio. An answer was immediately sent by email but due to a network failure, the message was only read on the 25th. It stated: “we are delighted to ship to you the requested items, please lodge the money for the full amount to our bank account, the details of which are set out below”…


1)To whom is Rock Bottom contractually bound?

2)Assuming that Rock Bottom is using Digital Music’s equipment, some of the items are clearly faulty and cannot be used to their full potential. The seller is refusing any refund, reminding the studio of their terms and conditions. Has Rock Bottom got any possible redress?

3)It is later established that the microphones that do work have never actually been used by any known band. Is there any legal route open to Rock Bottom?

4)Does the development of electronic commerce introduce an unacceptable level of uncertainty into the Law on the formation of contracts?

hi.

first you got to look at the concept of offer and acceptance. merely asking for an estimate does not constitute an offer. furthermore there is such thing as invitation to treat. check out raymond friel's contract book. it is really really helpful and does a good chapter on e commerce. i am sure the college libruary can get you it on loan if they dont have it.

as for the mics. they siad they were modelled on a band and not used by bands. maybe an issue of misrepresntation but one has to prove that one realied on the statement when deciding to buy.

some of the main issues are
1.whether or not there was an offer and an acceptance which makes up an agreement.offer must match the acceptance and visa versa.then ther must be sufficent consideration ie money, rockbottom and the supplier agrees on a price for the supply of the equipment. next ther must be intentions to be legally bound (contract or statement or invoice)

rockbottom enqueried for a price list and both suppliers at this point duely supplied this.AT THIS POINT THERE IS NO OFFER OR ACCEPTANCE (agreement). its an mere enquiry or invitation to threat and neither can constitute an agreement.think of advertising/goods on display, a seller has the right to refuse to sell his goods to somebody eg a customer (who offers to buy) picking up cans of beer in a fridge and going to the counter, the clerk (who will accept the offer buy taking the money and putting it in the till) may refuse to sell cause they are underage.

it will be rockbottom who makes the offer to buy equipment and the suppliers to accept it. however if the suppliers offered rockbottom the equipment for a certain pricem(by expressing that they would sell the equipement to rockbottom at €100) and rockbottom accepted that offer for that and the price then there maybe an agreement.(remember an oral offer and acceptance may legally bind someone as it is very common eg going into a shop)

2. the postal rule comes into play which determines when a letter is deemed as received by the two suppliers. linsdell v adams or adams v linsdell (sorry) (1870ish) note this rule does not apply to electronic communication. tiny bit rusty with this rule bu contract books will sort you out.

3. e- commerce introduce an unacceptable level of uncertainty?. THIS IS WERE YOU WILL GET YOUR GOOD MARKS. the answer should be NO. check out the irish e-commerce act 2002ish (cant remember date sorry) there are a few sections (around sections 8-14) that actually deal with when an electronic communication ie when email is deemed as being received by the receipant and sent by the sender. (language is pretty clear on this) further, there are many european directives and regulations which have been incorpated or should have been into irish law. so on the contray, legislation has been put in place to that strengthen the safety of e-commerce eg passwords and obligations of suppliers. in fact, if a supplier uses an isp service, he is under law to provide in clearl writing in his web the terms and conditions, prices, conditions as to delivery, etc.bascially the e-commerce act and various instruments have been enacted to ensure that there is consumer protection. furthermore by checking the first couple of sections in the act you will see that electronic communications ie email and phone (i think phone not sure but check sec 2 for definition) can be equivalent paper ie contract.

(check out a web site like dell computers to see how detailed they are).

i suggest that you check out consumer protection websites. the eu in every member state has an agency to ensure this. ireland has one in dublin. sorry i am not more specific as this is from the top of my head and i have been outta college for a year.either way this part of your essay or assignment you would get plenty of material, one would give students an essay on your q 4 on its own. remember normally one is given a certain amount of days to decide that they do not wish to keep the products and within reason return the products and money

4. next issue concerns description and conditions of products for sale. check out the supply of goods and services act 1980. and sale of goods act 1890ish. companies are entitled to have exclusion clauses and exemption from liability clauses. however they must be reason able as a consumer expects to buy a marketable and product of saleable condition. consumer does get a lot of leeway

i hope this thread is helpful.but please note that these are only pointers on avenues to discuss.
check the following:
www.bailli.org, for acts and caselaw, possible links to journals and articles,
www.acts.ie for acts and statutory instruments
www.europa.eu - eu web, go to consumer section, link the european consumer protection groups and eu directives and regulations in relation to e-commerce
raymond friel - law of contract - this is a great book because the layout is easy to read and understand.
your college may have access to lexis-nexis.com/professional (pay law site) or irish times for articles on e-commerce.
various consumer rights sites. start with citizens information, link in www.irlgov.ie
irish law society montly gazzette - see www.lawsociety.ie, there is a link to law all arcives of past editions. there is a lot of artiles on contract and e commerce

i am sure i dont need tell a marketing student, but dont underestimate the power and needs of the consumer and the need for companies to be consumer friendly (ie accessible websites, methods of payment and safe procedures in paying) and legislation to protect consumers. i am sure once you get your head around contract law (think of each element like a jig saw puzzle, honestly it helps) maybe you could compare the situation in other european countries and maybe america. for instance us, the uk and usa are common law, whilst most other eu countries are civil law, so there are different procedures. there is defintiely an article in law gazzette that talks bout who irish contract law is in need of a real shake up to met standards of other countries. (sorry cant rememer which edition but if patient you will find it) the journals and articles in newsppers will be helpfully in giving a good balance view on q4 as finding some faults in e-commerce and whether legislation is there to fix the problem

feedback would be good to see what you think, i hope this was useful. maybe head to legal thread an get a few tips an more experienced legal eagles.

saviourgirl

Walrusgumble, your a legend and I appreciate it, thanks for that.
So basically Rock Bottom are only contracually bound to Digital Music not Microtune?

walrusgumble

ah that is for you to figure out. not meaning to be a d*ck just you know yourself ya gotta do the work. def get that contract book i mentioned cause it is one of few i could think of that make life easier when studing contract. it actually makes the subject interesting, cause we make contracts every day.

dont take my word for it. and these are strictly only pointers on which issues to look at. but, rigt now it appears rock bottom made an offer which the first supplier accepted. the letter to ignore the order came 1 day after. defintely check adams v linsdell (or linsdell v adams cant remember) but see friel or any other authors comments as to whether or not the rule applies today, bailli.org may give you precedent from recent cases.

however, even if there appears to be a contract in existence, ya gotta check if it is legally enforceable by law and ultimately by the court.one could not imagine a contract been allowed by law to remain in existance if its unfair (i cant think of the proper title right now but there is def an act or eu legislation soley dealing with unfair terms and conditions act or it is called the unfair contracs act, either way there is def legisaltion on that issue)

a solicitor would examine this carefully, to see if rockbottom could get out of this possible contract. please check the books and cases to ensure your going on the right road and not rely on this reply on its own, cause some of these issues might not be relevant to your case.

look at whether or not there is a case for misrepresentation or misdiscription. the mics were wanted for pop sound. they said that their mics were modelled on u2, which were a type used on their last album (mics rockbottom got were never used themselves and the supplier never said that) maybe rockbottom can say that they got a clear statement from the supplier who said that / or if their statement said the mics were modelled on u2 stuff but actually were not. if they can prove that the statement was the reason they bought the mics and if it was a statement intended by the supplier to entice rockbottom to buy there might be a case.. success means the contract maybe rescinded either as void (no contract ever made) or voidable (parts maybe ok, there was a contract but can now be rescinded by court). if there was misrep rockbottom can contract with the second supplier if they wished.def sse caselaw and books

next look at rockbottoms consumer rights. see sales and supply of goods and services act and any other instruments in relation to consumers. see the issue of liability clause, whether or not the first suppliers limiation of liability was reasonable. and rights of consumers to change their minds even after paying


your lecture doesnt seem to want to give a straight forward case study, he wants to see do ye have a good grasp of what issues maybe relevant in relation this contract issue. fecker!

i would assume seen its a thesis stuff like i outlined needs to be discussed, because (this is my opinion) once you get the head around the basic elements of contract law, you maybe have a better aprecciation for the legislation, which in an ideal world is there to ensure that e-commerce is in line with contract law.

i not saying this is how you should answer your work. but in law esssays the easiest way to start them is to point out the number of possible issues there are (always more than one). disect each issue seperately. then use case law similar to the case, and also in your situtation to explaine each issue better. then apply both to your case study given.

then the next section/chapter deals with da e-commerce question. this would be more pratical.use legislation to support your idea or to criticise the safety/reliance/consistencey of e-comm. see articles from newspapers, check out the risen trend of online shopping, which as a marketing student you will be aware of. once the law stuff is done, then you will be grand with your marketing environment.

you know yourself you will be expected to see the down side of e-comm if any. europa.eu and other consumer protection sites will have articles on concerns consumers may have in relation to e-com. europa or its links will have data on statistics on the number of complaints each member state gets with regard to companies from them member states. note the difference between say 5 years ago and now. i am also sure as a marketing student you might do something original and do a survey between people you know or around the college for their views on e-commerce safety or trust in buying online. see what they buy. compare it with older people.

concluded the thesis with something like up with "is this the death of the corner shop?" if you believe e-commerece is safe or at least getting there. check out supermarket chains like tesco and their attitude to buying on line. tickermaster (dodgy)

out of interest how many words is needed.