Description
Wei had just bought a new motorbike to celebrate passing his motorbike test. It was the first time he rode his new bike on a public road.
When approaching a pedestrian crossing, he looked down to check his speed. At that moment, he failed to notice that Sean had started to hurry across the crossing, whilst the traffic lights were still green. Wei looked up but it was too late to avoid hitting Sean.
Sean suffered serious injury to his arm. The contents of Sean’s shoulder bag – including his Android tablet and a bottle of champagne – were smashed in the collision.
Wei was also taken to hospital, where tests confirmed that he was not seriously injured. While at the hospital, he heard that the bottle of champagne was for Sean’s wife, Mary, to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Feeling remorseful, he went to a local corner shop on his way home from the hospital to buy a bottle of champagne for Sean. Janice, the shop assistant, did not realise that the shop was not licensed to sell alcohol. She sold him the bottle of champagne.
a. Advise whether Wei is likely to be held liable in civil law for Sean’s physical injuries and damaged property.
b. Explain whether Janice is guilty of selling alcohol without a licence. You are not required to consider any defences she might have.
Your answer must be written in the third person.
It is important to write in your own words. This means that you should explain the content of the module materials by reformulating the words within them.
Your answers to all the questions must be written in complete sentences arranged in paragraphs. Every sentence in your TMA must contribute to your overall answer.
You must demonstrate the ability to find and select relevant material.
It is very important that you are clear about exactly what you are being asked to do, and you must address the questions.
This question requires you to apply knowledge that you have gained from your study of Unit 14. You should use your knowledge of civil liability and strict liability, and apply these to the factual scenario.
The problem-style questions require you to use the IRAC method to identify the legal issues, define and explain legal rules and principles, apply the rule/legal principle to the facts in question and reach a reasoned conclusion that sums up the advice you are giving.
Part (a) asks you to advise Wei whether he is likely to be liable for the physical injuries and property damage he caused to Sean. That means you need to identify, explain and apply the test for the civil wrong that Wei may have committed. You should not discuss any potential criminal liability for Wei.
Part (b) requires you to explain what is meant by strict liability in criminal law and apply this to the facts to decide whether Janice may be guilty of an offence. You should not discuss the advantages or disadvantages of strict liability, nor should you consider any potential defences.
You should not carry out any additional research for this question. All the information that you need can be found in Unit 14.
