Category: Law

The assignment questions must be worked on in groups and submitted as one
piece of work.  The intention behind group work is that you learn from each
other.    Discussion of work allows for a deeper understanding and better
memory retention.    You should, therefore, decide as a group, what the
answers are.  In your groups you could decide who you would like to be the
person who writes the answers up, you may choose to share this task.
Whichever way you do it, the answers themselves should be the consensus of
you all and not the work of 1 individual.  In other words, you should not decide
to tackle 1 question each.
In addition, each individual will complete a learning assessment feedback
sheet, which will consider their own involvement in the writing or researching
of the assessment answers (a learning diary), as well as, their opinion of the
participation of each of the group’s other members.  10 marks are available to
each student for their learning diary and a further 10 based on the assessment
from their colleagues.
The assignment
This assignment consists of 4 parts; please answer them all as succinctly but
comprehensively as possible, with no more than 2,500 words for the whole
assignment.
NB there is no need for a bibliography.    All appropriate references should
appear in the text of each answer and should be cases, legislation or clauses
from the JCT contract only.  If you choose to use direct quotations, you must
also explain in your own words in order to benefit from marks.

Page 2 of 5
Part 1.
Berwick Construction Ltd and Airways Hotels Ltd were negotiating a contract
for the refurbishment and extension of a hotel.    Negotiations dragged on
because the parties could not agree the amount for liquidated damages, the
extent of the variations clause and the adjudication procedure.
Airways Hotels sent a letter of intent headed “Subject to contract”, instructing
Berwick Construction to start work pending agreement of a formal written
contract.    Negotiations continued, with various correspondence and several
meetings, but no final contract was ever agreed.
During these negotiations, Berwick carried out the work as requested and
Airways Hotel made monthly payments to them.
When the work was complete, Airways Hotels claimed that some of the work
was defective.    Berwick said they were not responsible because no contract
existed between the parties.
a) Advise Berwick Construction Ltd of their legal position; and
b) Would it make a difference if there had been no monthly payments
made?
20 marks
Part 2.
Please explain the legal significance of each of the following cases in relation to
tendering:
Key information
Parts 3 and 4 are to be answered in the context of the JCT Standard Building
Contract Conditions with which you have been issued (JCT SBQ 2011).
Part 3.
During the construction of a prestigious office block in the City, the Contractor
misread the architect’s specifications and installed quartz flooring, instead of granite,
to the main reception area.
The Employer has noticed the error, on a site visit during the construction phase,
and has asked for your advice about what remedies it has under the JCT SBQ 2011
contract, regarding this error.
20 marks
Part 4.
You are Contract Administrator. The Contractor says that since you have
granted an Adjustment of the Completion Date of five weeks, he is entitled to
five weeks of Direct Loss and/or Expense.
Explain whether the Contractor is right?
20 marks
Total 80 marks
Remaining 20 marks will be allocated in accordance with the learning diary /
peer review

Preparation of Answers
Write no more than 4,500 words (including footnotes and headings). There is no need for a separate bibliography if all books and articles are referenced in footnotes.

Assessment Criteria

assessed on the basis of:
1. research skills in identifying and accessing appropriate legal sources, where appropriate using electronic resources;
2. knowledge and comprehension of the subject;
3. ability to analyse and evaluate relevant legal materials, including international conventions, statutes, case law and standard form contracts;
4. ability to apply sea carriage principles, with appropriate legal authorities, in the solution of complex practical problems in their commercial context;
5. ability to draft sound legal advice based upon such problems, using word processing in formal work; and
6. ability to display clarity and objectivity in their writing

 
Case study (mid-term paper):
One Italian firm COTONI PREGIATI SRL and one US firm (New Jersey Inc.) are separate and independent corporate entities. They conclude a distribution contract, where the US Company is granted the exclusive right to distribute the Italian knitwear produced with the Italian high quality cotton, in the US, Spain and parts of Latin America/Caribbean.
The contract between the two companies contains set as law of the contract the Law of New Jersey and includes an MED-ARB clause.
After a while, COTONI PREGIATI SRL starts suffering profit losses allegedly due to delays in the distribution activity of the US distributor. On the other hand, the US firm claims that the products delivered by the Italian company are defective and rejected by the US and Spanish clients.
 Provide a brief description of the basic elements that such a contract should have included,
 Analyze the possible dispute resolution methods and remedies available to the parties 
beforehand, in the light of the specific features of the case,
 Explain why the firms preferred to include those clauses in the contract. 
Aims of the Course:
1. achieve a basic understanding of the international business law environment;
2. examine legal aspects of international business with particular reference to the formation of business contracts, the sale of goods, the international commercial arbitration, the intellectual property, the distribution, the corporations;
3. offer a comparative approach so as to understand how legal problems are treated in different social and cultural environment;
4. enable students to identify the key legal risks of engaging in international business and to make business decisions necessary to operate a business in the international legal environment;
5. achieve a critical understanding of global ethical concerns and corporate responsibilities of international business. 
Please bear this in mind when you are writing your midterm assignment.
General Instructions:
The assignment has been designed to marry the theoretical analysis and practical application of the concepts of Business law. This assignment will therefore require students to show a critical understanding of the different issues at stake (categories of contracts, category of transaction and risks thereto, remedies and drafting techniques).
The report should display a coherent structure i.e. title page, contents page, introduction, analysis, findings, conclusions, recommendations, referencing and appendices. Depth, relevance and variety are the crucial elements of quality research. (Wikipedia is not considered to be a relevant source of information).

 
I. Introduction, Research Question, and Hypothesis: This section shall provide an overview of the topic that you are writing about, a concise synopsis of the issues, and why the topic presents a “puzzle” that prompts your research questions, which you will include. This section will be 1-2 pages. This section can be preceded by an epigraph that creates interest in the topic. Ensure that you follow proper format for epigraphs!!

II. Review of the Literature: All research projects include a literature review to set out for the reader what knowledge exists on the subject under study and helps the researcher develop the research strategy to use in the study. A good literature review is a thoughtful study of what has been written, a summary of the arguments that exist (whether you agree with them or not), arranged thematically. At the end of the summary, there should still be gaps in the literature that you intend to fill with your research. It is written in narrative format and can be from 3-5 pages depending on the scope and length of the paper.

As a literature review, this section should identify the common themes and theories that the prior research identified. In this section what you do is look at the conclusions of prior research and identify what the common themes are you see in those conclusions. You then identify those themes.
III. Methodology and Research Strategy: This section provides the reader with a description of how you carried out your qualitative research project, and the variables you identified and analyzed. It describes any special considerations and defines any limitations and terms specific to this project, if necessary. This section can be brief or more complicated, depending on the project, written in 1-2 pages.

IV. Analysis and findings are not the same as conclusions. In the analysis component of this section you identify how you analyzed the data. The second part is the finding you got from your analysis of the data. The findings are the facts that you developed, not your interpretation of the facts. That interpretation is conducted in the conclusions and recommendations section of the paper. Findings will come from the prior research you examined and your analysis of those prior findings to create new findings for your paper. While there may be some facts that are such that they will stand and translate to your paper, the intent is to create new knowledge, so you will normally analyze the data to create your own findings of what facts that data represents.

V. Conclusions and Recommendations is the section where you give your interpretation of the data. Here you tell the reader what the findings mean. Often the conclusions and recommendations sections will mirror the findings in construct as the researcher tells the reader what that researcher sees as the meaning of that data, their conclusions. Then, drawing on those conclusions, the researcher tells the reader what they believe needs to be done to solve/answer the research question. This section may include recognition of any needs for further research and then finishes with a traditional conclusion to the paper as a whole.

VI. References (or Bibliography): This section will contain all references, cited in Turabian Parenthetical format and alphabetically arranged. Entitle this section as “References”.

 
Paula has sought your advice concerning a recent property purchase and certain associated matters. Two weeks ago Paula and her husband, John, exchanged contracts to purchase a property known as ‘Oakwood’ in Prestown. This was a large detached house with extensive grounds and a registered title. The seller was Vera, who had been recently widowed and who wished to move to a smaller property.

On looking over the property before exchange of contracts, Paula and John had been attracted by the large grounds with mature oak trees. There was a large tree house resting on the branches of two of the trees. Vera explained the tree-house had been built for her own children, being professionally planned, constructed and precisely installed to fit the trees. Paula thought it would be wonderful for her own children. John liked the extensive cellars at the property which contained a beautiful large, oak wine cabinet, decorated with intricate carvings of oak leaves and grapes. Vera said the wine cabinet had been especially commissioned by her late husband, Jacques, who was French and very fond of wine.

Since completing their purchase, John and Paula have now sought your advice on several matters.

Firstly, they were shocked to discover that the wine cabinet had been removed from the cellar, with only the brackets that secured it to the wall being left behind. Also, to their dismay, the tree house had been removed. (A neighbour has told them that workmen spent a whole day disassembling the tree house, before taking it away in a lorry, the day before the sale of Oakwood was completed).

Secondly, just as it was when Paula and John first viewed the property, a large bedroom at the house is still full of antique French furniture; paintings of France and photographs of an elderly, white-haired lady. Monique, a French lady matching this description, who currently lives in the nearby ‘Prestown Home for the Elderly and Disorientated’ (The Home), has now contacted John and Paula to explain that this is her room. She explained that although Oakwood was registered in the names of Jacques and Vera, she is the mother of Jacques and that she provided much of the money for the purchase of Oakwood by her late son and her daughter-in-law, Vera. Monique says that although she has been living in The Home for several months, she had always intended to return to Oakwood after recuperating from the illness which had caused her to go into the Home. About a month ago, Monique was visited in The Home by Vera and Vera’s solicitor, who came to take instructions from Monique for her Will. The solicitor did ask Monique whether she had any interest in Oakwood, but Monique never responded as she felt uncomfortable discussing the matter in an environment where either Vera or members of staff at The Home might overhear her.

Thirdly, Oakwood has the benefit of an easement (a right of way) across land belonging to a neighbouring farm. While recently taking a walk over this neighbouring land, Paula noticed a metal object on a newly-ploughed field. She took the object to Prestown museum who have advised her that it seems to be a piece of medieval armour, known as a wrist guard. It appears to be made of bronze with finely-worked silver decoration. Its historical value and rarity combine to make it very valuable.

Paula seeks your advice whether Monique could have an interest in Oakwood which may be binding on Paula and John (you are not required to advise on any rights Paula and John may have against Vera); whether Paula and John have any right to the return of, or compensation for the removal of the wine cabinet and tree-house; and whether they are entitled to keep the object Paula found.

Advise Paula

( please can you make sure you use cases and act relate to land law and rigester and use books. Don’t forget the footnote and bibliography. Thanks . One more thing please just write 1500 words no more

This paper it will have 30 pg all together. You already did the Literature review 8 pg and I will wanted to ask you if you can work on the “research design” portion of your answer. Skip everything else and just work on that section for now. Design a research study to evaluate the proposed policy described in the question. I will attach all the info and if you have any questions please let me know. I will also attach your previous work for you just to see and make the correction, what it is in red

 
1 STATE and 1 FEDERAL Law other than the Affordable Care Act. Need power point slides with summary notes and references given. 10-12 slides I believe are stated.

Grading rubric and assignment instructions sent earlier today

 
Question:
LLB EUROPEAN UNION LAW
Word Limit: 2,500
‘The establishment of direct effect and the supremacy of EU law was a mistake. The various rationales employed by the Court of Justice to justify their development have been seriously flawed. The principles governing the supremacy of EU law are far too strict while the principles governing direct effect are an incoherent mess. Yet these problems can be resolved easily.’

Critically discuss this statement with reference to relevant treaty articles, decided cases and academic opinion.

(word limit:2500, use OSCOLA style, footnote, numeric system, including Bibliography)

 
� Optional Statement on Diversity: Describe an experience of yours that speaks to the possibilities and challenges of diversity in an educational or a workplace setting.
� Optional Statement on Obstacles Overcome: Describe a setback or a failure in your life. What did you do to overcome that obstacle? What did you learn about yourself from that experience? If this situation happened again, would you do anything differently?
� Optional Statement about Your Academic Record or Standardized Tests: If you believe that your academic record or your results from standardized tests, like the LSAT, does not accurately reflect your ability to succeed in law school, tell us about this.
� Optional Statement Regarding Disability: If you believe that you have a disability that prevented your college GPA, LSAT, or other credential from accurately reflecting your ability, and you would like these disability-related circumstances to be considered, identify your disability. Please provide a statement that tells us how the disability prevented or hindered your academic performance, and the following information: (a) The date of onset or discovery of your disability; (b) the effects of your disability on your past academic performance and on standardized tests; (c) what, if any, accommodations you received in elementary, high school, college and graduate school; (d) any improvements in your academic performance after receiving accommodations; and (e) the ways in which your performance reflects your high achievements despite your disability.

Please write a maximum of 750 words.

 
• 500 words for each question
• It will be submitted in turnitin
• Q refers to question
• No references need it
Director Liability Law/ Fiduciary Duty/ Breach Of Duty Care & Loyalty
Q1) Ethan, Joshua and Daniel are all directors of quality sofa & bed Ltd. The company desperately needed to purchase a warehouse. At a board meeting, Daniel successfully persuaded Ethan and Joshua that on particular warehouse was perfect for the company and that it was worth $140,000. Ethan and Joshua later discovered that Daniel was the owner of the warehouse and it was worth $145,000.
Daniel who is a chartered accountant, is in charge of insuring the company’s warehouse against burglary and fire. He signed an insurance form without checking the content of its policy. The warehouse was burgled and the company suffered a loss of $30,000. The insurance company claimed that the insurance policy did not cover burglary and therefore refused to pay.
Ethan and Joshua recently found out that Daniel offered a cheaper price to a company’s client, Paul Ltd, from which he obtained a personal benefit of $3,000.

Advise Ethan and Joshua as to whether Daniel breached any of his duties as a director of Quality Sofa & Bed. Discuss duty of care and duty of loyalty 350 words
Financial Crisis & Corporate Governance
Q2) The current financial crisis has shown that corporate governance failed to adhere to its objectives. Discuss the failures that were exposed in the prevailing corporate governance practices.

Q3) One of the attributes to the current financial crises is the failure of corporate governance principles and practices. Discuss

Rentier State Theory
Q4) Discuss how external rent influence the business behavior in a rentier state.
Q5) Discuss the impact of rentier economies on business environment.
Q6) Rentier State is an obstacle for business growth and development. ( Discuss )
Q7) The fact that Kuwait is a rentier state is impacting the business environment negatively.

Model of Professional Board
Q8)Legal systems and regulations can have a negative or positive influence on business. Discuss

Case Samples
Case 1
On October 25 2011, the Chairman and directors of Petrotin (a Trinidad based oil company) was called on by the lawyers of the Ministry of the Attorney General to pay damages totalling $1.2 billion (US$190 million) within 28 days. The lawyers are alleging breach of duty of care in the GTL project, which in September had a project cost of US$136 million and the costs have now escalated to US$240 million. The board are accused of making decisions to continue the project by approving 33 payments related to a guarantee of the project without due diligence to determine if the company could afford the payments or if the project can be finished on time. This decision was taken despite enough warnings of the cost escalation dangers. The case also claims that there was no “proper and detailed front end engineering design and clear development verification of the process” which clearly pointed to a breach of the board’s responsibility to apply due diligence in its handling of risk.
Q9) What is the lesson learned from the cases
Case 2
An article that appeared in the Washington Post on January 9 2005 reported that former directors of both Enron and World.com agreed to settle shareholders lawsuits out of their own pockets. WorldCom directors paid $18m and Enron’s paid $168m. These lawsuits claimed that the directors failed to “properly supervise executives” as an independent investigation concluded that even though the directors were unaware that the financial records were false, they “rarely challenged top executives or inquired seriously into the details of major transactions”. This case is significant because it set a strong precedent in relation to the minimum duty of care expected from directors to shareholders. The article stated that in the past, directors were protected from legal responsibility for bad decisions or frauds done by managers as long as the directors depended on the advice of gatekeepers. The settlement by these directors is regarded as legal exposure that will affect the ability of companies to attract and keep good directors.
Q10) What is the lesson learned from the cases

Case 3
News Corporation is another major multinational company that is faced with questions about the lack of oversight by its directors. This case also involves the issue of separation of control from ownership as its CEO Rupert Murdoch is also the chairman of the group. In July of 2011 the group was faced with the scandal of phone tapping where it was found that victims of phone tapping had been “paid off” in 2007, but the CEO claims he did not about these illegal phone tapping activities. As well as this scandal, there is another law suit against News Corporation’s board for approving a $618m acquisition of a film production company wholly owned by the daughter of Rupert Murdoch. The article explained that the board’s role is a monitoring one and that it is the responsibility of the board to make sure there are systems for risk management and that the News Corporation’s board has “failed to discharge this duty”. The article also explains that the structure of the board may be a problem at News Corporation and needs to be changed. While they have started 3 separate enquiries into the phone hacking scandals, their actions are seen as “too little, too late”,
Q11) What is the lesson learned from the cases

Case 4
Delaware Supreme Court created the “entire fairness” test almost 25 years ago for analyzing transactions where the controlling stockholder is involved as a party in both sides as a buyer and a seller of a transaction. In this case the transaction was the acquisition of a subsidiary that is wholly owned by the controlling stockholder . This test requires a controlling stockholder to show fair price and dealings. The responsibility of proving entire fairness shifts to a plaintiff under special circumstances where the transaction was approved by
a) the majority or a special committee of independent directors or
b) an informed vote of a majority of minority stockholders.
Applying the “entire fairness test” in the recent decision by the Delaware Chancery Court in relation to Southern Peru Copper Corp, the court found that the company’s “controlling stockholder breached its fiduciary duty when it forced a publicly traded company to pay for the controlling stockholder’s over priced subsidiary.” The court ruled for the payment of damages of $1.263 billion which is the second largest ever in the USA and the largest in the history of Delaware fiduciary duty cases. Despite the company’s poor performance i was found that the special committee and accountant worked hard to justify the inflated price of the acquisition of the subsidiary at the level originally demanded by the controlling shareholder. This case shows that a controlling stockholder’s proposal must find a balance between getting a fair value in this type of transaction without breaching its fiduciary duty.

Q12) What is the lesson learned from the cases