Part A – Essay
Word Limit 1,250 words
“Where an agreement falls into the domestic and social category, the court will assume the parties do not intend to create legal relations, but this presumption can be rebutted by evidence that they did”
Using case law, analyse how the law relating to intention to create legal relations has developed.
Part B – Problem Question
Word Limit 1,250 Words
Aanya runs her own business designing and selling furniture – she designs and creates individual pieces, each of which is unique. Aanya sells her furniture in her shop in Battersea, London and via her website. Clive was interested in buying a gold coloured sofa he had seen on her website, one of the designs in her latest collection. On Monday Clive emailed Aanya regarding the gold coloured sofa. Aanya answered Clive’s email the same day and told Clive she would sell him the sofa for £12,000. Clive replied to Aanya’s email on Tuesday saying he would pay her £9,500 for the sofa. Aanya sent an email in reply on Wednesday saying this was not enough. Clive emailed Aanya on Friday to say that having looked around, he has not found another sofa that matches his new gold wallpaper. Clive said that he is therefore prepared to pay Aanya £12,000 for the gold coloured sofa after all. Unfortunately, Aanya no longer has the gold coloured sofa as on Thursday, Caroline visited Aanya’s shop and bought it. Aanya sold the gold coloured sofa to Caroline for £10,500.
Aanya has been married to her husband Viraj for 20 years. To celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary she decided to treat the family to a luxury holiday. They decided to go on a week’s holiday to Cornwall to stay in a brand new 5-star luxury hotel, the Bayside Retreat, on an “all inclusive” holiday with their two adult sons Deepit and Joshit. They decided to stay at the Bayside Retreat because it looked excellent in the brochure. The brochure stated that there was a waterpark at the hotel and high-quality nightly entertainment would be provided, including a cabaret night and a jazz evening. Aanya reserved the hotel online, and on arrival paid the £10,000 fee. However, the holiday was very disappointing – the water park had not yet been built. There was no cabaret night and the “jazz evening” consisted of one pianist playing very basic songs. The whole family were disappointed.
To make things even worse, Aanya slipped on a loose tile in the hallway where the flooring had not been properly fitted and sustained a serious injury, fracturing her ankle. The Bayside Retreat hotel have stated that the notice on display at reception means that they have no liability to Aanya for the injury she suffered due to the incorrectly fitted floor. The notice displayed at reception states “The Bayside Retreat hotel accepts no liability for death or personal injury due to negligence”.
On her return home from holiday, Aanya discovered that her ankle required surgery and a lengthy period of rest and rehabilitation after surgery and that she would not be able to work or travel for 18 months whilst receiving treatment. Her husband, Viraj, who works as a city trader, had been about to transfer to a new job in Hong Kong, but Aanya was unable to accompany him due to her injury. Viraj therefore promised to pay Aanya £500 each month. After six months Viraj stopped making the payments to Aanya. Viraj then emailed Aanya to say that he will not be paying the money in future and will be seeking to divorce her.
Using relevant case law and/or statute advise Aanya ONLY in relation to the following four points:
whether she is contractually bound to sell the gold coloured sofa to Clive for £12,000;
whether she can claim damages for the disappointing holiday;
whether the notice excluding liability for personal injury due to negligence is effective to exclude liability in her contract with the Bayside Retreat hotel; and
whether Viraj is legally bound to pay her £500 per month.
