Federation Business School BULAW 1502

A (Contract)

On her way to work and in a hurry, Annie saw the following advertisement in a shop window for Desert Island Discs. “Today’s special offer: Beyonce songs and albums. These normally sell for $12.99 each, now $2.99 or five for $12.99.” Quickly, Annie chose five differently titled discs and took them to the counter, handing over her credit card to pay. On the counter there was a sign that said “you can choose for your pleasure for ever”.

The shop assistant swiped the card and Annie punched in her PIN number without looking at the screen. When she arrived home that evening, Annie was horrified to find that she had been charged $12.99 for each disc.  She also found that only one genuine Beyonce recording was included on each disc, the rest of each being taken up with cover versions of her songs (sung by unknown singers) or with songs from other artists. She also found that despite the different titles, three of the discs had exactly the same songs included on them.
When she rang the next day to complain she was told “the sign in the window should have read $12.99. The advertising agency for the distributor of the discs gave us the advertisement and they rang us this morning to tell us of the mistake. We have now corrected it. We cannot help what’s on the discs, you should have looked before you bought them.”
When Annie asked for her money back she was informed that the sign on the counter was perfectly clear. It obviously meant the discs could not be returned.
Required:
a.    Discuss any grounds on which Annie could take legal action to recover the money she has paid for the discs.                
b.    Discuss defences Desert Island Discs may have to such a legal action.

B (Property)

Dodo and Pina own a vacant lot together with vague plans to build a house sometime in the future. Dodo lives in Queensland while Pina has been renting a house in Melbourne next door to the vacant lot. Over the last few months, and with the rising cost of renting, Pina had the brainwave of building a shack on the lot out of materials he found at the local landfill. Being short of money, he borrowed from the Victoria State Bank to connect services such as water and electricity. The bank insisted on a mortgage so Pina forged Dodo’s signature. Last month, Pina moved into his new abode but much to his dismay, neighbours complained to the Council about this eyesore and the Council served both Pina and Dodo with a notice to demolish and remove the shack. As this was not done by the specified deadline, the Council has now removed the shack from the property.
Pina has no money and no income. Dodo is now being chased by the bank (for the mortgage repayments) and by the Council (for the costs of removal of the shack). He is furious with Pina and sees no reason why he should be responsible for either debt.
Required: Discuss whether Dodo is responsible for these debts.