Introduction to Business Law (Ravi) Tutorial Questions

Tutorial Tu torial Questions Chapter 1 1.

Why do you you thi think nk as as a bus busin ines ess s stu stude dent nt you you nee need d to have have some some kno knowl wled edge ge of of the the law law? ?

2.

What What are are the the maj major sour source ces s of of law law in Si Singap ngapor ore? e?

3.

What What are are som some e of the the mai main n diff differ eren ence ces s betw between een civ civilil and and cri crimi minal nal proc procee eedi ding ngs? s?

.

!n the the fol follo lowi wing ng sit situat uatio ions ns cons consid ider er the the typ type e of pro proce ceed edin ings gs the the par parti ties es may may fac face" e" a.

#lan #lan tak takes es $oe $oe%s %s han hand d phon phone e by pick pickin ing g the the lock lock on on $oe% $oe%s s lock locker er and and sel sells ls itit to &im.

b.

#fte #fterr a nigh nightt of dri drink nks s Shar Sharin in dri drive ves s home home and and whi whils lstt driv drivin ing g knoc knocks ks dow down n a cyclist. Sharin panics and drives home.

c.

' (te &td orders a container ner load oad of roses in anticipation of demand and on )alentine%s *ay. $ohn ordered a large bou+uet of roses for his fianc, to be delivered on )alentine%s *ay. -he roses arrived on the morning of the 1th of  /ebruary. ' (te &td could not make the delivery to $ohn%s fianc,0 who promptly called off the engagement. -he rose supplier demands payment and $ohn is furious.

.

What What are are the the some some meth method ods s of of res resol olvi ving ng civi civill dis dispu puttes? es?

.

*isc *iscus uss s what what the the part partie ies s may may do in in civi civill proc procee eedi ding ngs s in the the fol follo lowi wing ng sit situa uati tion ons" s" a.

$ane $ane len lent 10 10  to 4ike 4ike who who prom promiised to re repay pay the the 10 10  wit within hin thre three months. -hree months have lapsed and although $ane demanded payment 4ike has not paid. $ane wants to take legal action.

b.

Simon comm ommenced an action in the *istrict 5ourt against his renovation contractor. -he -he court dismissed the claim. Simon is unhappy with the decision.

c.

$ack $ack com comme menc nced ed an an acti action on in in the the 6igh 6igh 5ou 5ourt rt aga again inst st his his for forme merr part partne nerr. -he -he tri trial al date is three months away. Simon is in two minds about having to testify in court0 cross e7amine his former partner who used to be a close friend and bringing into open court the dealing within the partnership.

d.

$)S $)S &td is a larg arge shi ship8bu p8buiilding ding com company pany.. !t enter entered ed into into a cont contrract act for for the construction of a super tanker0 built and delivered the tanker. -he -he ship8owner now claims the tanker did not meet the specifications stipulated in the contract. $)S &td disagrees. $)S &td feels that if the matter goes to court the court may not appreciate the technical process involved in building a tanker and would have little or no understanding of the meaning and effect of the specifications in the contract.

9.

:ame :ame some some of the the met metho hods ds of enfo enforc rcin ing g civ civil il judg judgem emen ents ts..

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Introduction to Business Law in Singapore: Instructor’s Manual 

;.

#li #li was was rece recent ntly ly mad made e a bankr bankrup upt. t. *is *iscu cuss ss som some e of the the rest restri rict ctio ions ns he he may may face face as as a bankrupt and how he can get out of the bankruptcy. bankruptcy.

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Tutorial Questions

Chapter 2 1.

What are the four elements that have to be satisfied so that a contract will become enforceable?

2.

#re there enforceable contracts in the following situations? a.

entering the turnstile at the 4 Sons sent a fa7 to 6ero7 &td and ($ &td to +uote for three copier cum fa7 machines. =oth companies +uoted the same price. -an > Sons then sent a similar fa7 message to each company stating that the other company had offered them a  discount and asked if the company could better their offer by offering a more competitive discount and asked it to respond within seven days. 4eanwhile the media reported that the $apanese yen is on the rise. :either company responded. -an > Sons0 fearing that prices may rise0 sent a fa7 to 6ero7 &td agreeing to accept its offer. 6ero7 &td refused to supply. -an > Sons wants to take action against 6ero7. #dvise -an > Sons.

.

4ike and @ill go to #ngelo%s Sons enters into a contract with C to buy goods which are lying in C%s warehouse. -he contract price is 2 per kilo. #fter the contract is signed0 and owing to a government control on imports0 there is a shortage of this type of goods in the market. C wants to use this opportunity to ma7imiDe his profits and doubles the price. &im > Sons needs the goods as they are already committed to third8party buyers so they agree to pay the increased price under protest. Bnce the goods are delivered0 &im > Sons only pays C0 2 per kilo. #re they obliged to pay the balance?

A.

/oo employs Cahid as a public relations e7ecutive. -he contract is silent on bonuses. !n *ecember 230 he promises C two months% bonus. !n $anuary 20 /oo tells Cahid that there was an error in the accounts and that the company has suffered loss0 and therefore0 no bonus will not be paid. 5an Cahid sue /oo for the bonus?

1.

5hong entered into a contract with -an to renovate his house. 5hong wants to take a si78 month holiday in 5hina and wants to get his son and another sub8contractor who has been with him for some time to take over the contract. 5an 5hong transfer the contract to his son and his sub8contractor? !f -an does not want the contract to be sub8contracted0 how could he have protected himself?

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Tutorial Questions

Chapter 3 1. &im0 a 4alaysian0 wants to work in Singapore and enters into an employment contract with ( &td. -he working hours are ; a.m. to 1 p.m. daily e7cept for Sundays and public holidays. -he salary is 109 per month with no entitlement to overtime pay. Bther  companies in Singapore usually pay 209 for a similar position and their employees generally work only from ; a.m. to  p.m. #fter working for si7 months &im feels that he is unfairly treated and he wants to challenge his employment terms. !s he entitled to do so?  #fter a few months0 ( &td completely stops paying &im his salary as it is facing financial difficulties. 4ust &im continue working for ( &td? 2. $)' has written a book entitled Students’ Guide to Economics. Seven out of 12 chapters in the book are copied from $ansen%s book called Econs Made Easy . $)'%s book is published by #ppleson (ublishers. $ansen sues #ppleson (ublishers for breach of  copyright. 5an #ppleson (ublishers sue $)' for breach of contract? 6ow could #ppleson (ublishers have protected its rights better? 3. -an goes to (iDDa )ille0 which advertised that it would deliver all orders to the table in 2 minutes. 6e orders a large piDDa and some garlic bread and drinks. /orty8five minutes have passed and the food has not arrived. 5an he walk out of the restaurant without paying? .

a.

E is an employee of F 5ompany which specialises in house removals and which has a fleet of vehicles. E0 usually a hardworking employee0 forgot to attend a meeting with an important client on a particular occasion. 5an F 5ompany terminate his services?

b.

E has been using the company%s vehicle to transport goods after office hours without the company%s knowledge. Since E offers cheaper rates than F 5ompany0 he has been diverting business from F 5ompany to himself and has been making huge profits. 5an F 5ompany terminate his services?

. E 5ompany ordered computers from C 5ompany to be delivered on the 1st of $une. C 5ompany arrives two days late to deliver the computers. #dvise E 5ompany. . $ill drives her car to a car park at a shopping centre. She presses for a ticket and a ticket is issued. -he ticket states in Gnglish that the management is not responsible for any loss or theft and injury to customers. #s $ill returns from her shopping another customer steps on $ill%s foot. $ill who was wearing high8heeled shoes stumbles and falls. She picks herself up and limps to her car. #n overhead pipe becomes dislodged and falls on her just as she is about to reach her car and she is injured. When she reaches her car she finds that her car had been broken into and her cash card and stereo have been stolen. 5an she sue the car park management for the injuries suffered and valuables lost? Would

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Introduction to Business Law in Singapore: Instructor’s Manual 

your answer be different if there was also a notice at the entrance e7cluding liability in similar terms? Would any of your answers be different if $ill is illiterate or cannot read Gnglish? 9. E is a transport company. F0 another big company0 engages it to transport goods to -hailand. -here is a clause in the contract0 which limits liability for damaged or lost goods to 13 a kilo. F was given an option of agreeing to a larger limit of liability by paying an additional sum of money. F did not take up this option. -he goods are transported and some of the goods are damaged in the process of transportation. !s the limitation clause valid?

6

Tutorial Questions

Chapter 4 1. $amie recently won some money on -oto and wants to invest it to get ma7imum returns. 6is friend told him that the easiest way was to lend money to persons who cannot get credit from financial institutions or licensed money lenders as they are prepared to pay substantially higher interest rates and he could easily double his money in no time. $amie decides to try his hand at it although he does not have a money8lending licence. 6e lends  #h 6eng 20. #h 6eng does not pay up when the loan becomes due. 5an $amie sue  #h 6eng? What if instead of lending money $amie sold #h 6eng pirated 5*s on credit terms and #h 6eng now refuses to pay? 2. *onna has a pet food shop in 6olland )illage selling pet food. She is tired of the hot weather  in Singapore and decides to migrate to :ew Cealand. -herefore she sells her business together with all the stock for 0 to Cenna. -here is a clause in the contract of sale which states that *onna will not for a period of ten years after the sale0 set up any other  business dealing with pets or pet foods or pet grooming in the 6olland )illage or =ukit -imah vicinity. #fter si7 months *onna is bored of :ew Cealand and decides to come back to Singapore and set up a pet shop in 6olland )illage. #dvise her whether she can do so. 3. $ing joins 5oral 5ompany as a marketing e7ecutive after graduating from a local polytechnic. 6is employment contract provides that $ing is not to work for a similar business anywhere for two years after he leaves 5oral 5ompany. $ing resigns after giving notice and joins Calte7 5ompany as an accounts e7ecutive. 5oral 5ompany is refusing to pay $ing%s last month%s salary because it says $ing breached the terms of the employment contract.  #dvise $ing. . #dvise the parties in the following situations" a.

=illy is a 28year8old polytechnic student. 6e bought a hand phone which was advertised to be the latest model with all kinds of new features. 6e thinks it is a great buy and shows it off to all his friends in the polytechnic. -wo weeks later the manufacturer unveils an improved model. =illy is furious and wants to get out of  the contract on the ground of his infancy. 5an he do so?

b.

!f =illy had obtained 38day credit terms from the shopkeeper and had not paid for the phone and now refuses to pay can the shopkeeper sue him?

c.

#t about he same time =illy ordered a suit Hhis firstI to be made for his sister%s wedding. 6is sister decides to cancel the wedding and =illy has no use for the suit and decides to cancel the order. -he tailor is furious and wants to sue him. 5an he do so?

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Introduction to Business Law in Singapore: Instructor’s Manual 

d.

=illy works part8time as a waiter in #ngelo%s Sons is annoyed when they discover what 4eng is doing and seeks your advice.

.

&im works for #lbright !ntellectual Services (te &td as accounts e7ecutive. -he company provides head hunting services. 6is contract states that he cannot work for a competitor  or set up a competing business in Singapore for a period of five years if he leaves his employment. &im resigns and sets up a business. =efore leaving he made copies of   #lbright%s client list and their computations of market salaries for certain categories of 

16

Tutorial Questions

workers. When his former employers find out that he is setting up a business they threaten to enforce the restraint clause. &im seeks your advice. .

!n the following situations consider the duties of the employer" a.

$inny worked as a housekeeper in 4r Wong%s house for the last 12 years and recently retired. She recently found out that 4r Wong never paid 5(/ contributions for her.

b.

4ike works the night shift at a factory. 6e usually works on weekdays and gets Saturday and Sunday off. -he factory has an unusually large order to fulfil and the supervisor asks him to work on Saturday and take Sunday and 4onday off. 4ike is angry as Saturday is the day he plays football and then goes for drinks.

c.

4ark has worked with the same company for seven years. 6is contract makes no mention of annual leave. 6e wants 21 days but the company says he is only entitled to 1 days.

d.

4artia joined -F< &td as secretary si7 months ago. She now discovers that she is pregnant. She wants maternity leave but her employer is reluctant to let her go as they need her services.

e.

'ay is  years old and is the oldest person in the company. 6er boss is half her  age and thinks older works are inefficient and urges her to resign as otherwise the conse+uences will be bad for her. 'ay is distressed.

9.

-he hobby of #nthony0 a dentist0 is to make jewellery. Some of his patients have similar  interests and he decides to get four of them to spend their evenings in a back room making jewellery. 6e pays them 1 per hour and they have a lot of fun together. #nthony usually sells the jewellery made to a hobby shop at Suntec 5ity. Bne of the patients is slightly injured whilst welding some jewellery. -he patient%s son complains to the authorities that #nthony did not provide a safe place for work. #dvise #nthony.

;.

4ani is a foreign worker working at a construction site. 6e starts work at 9 a.m. and has an hour%s lunch break between 12.3 and 1.3 p.m. 6e has a +uick lunch and joins his friends for a game of cards in one of the sheds at the site. # concrete slab strut falls off  the building and onto the shed0 injuring 4ani. 4ani loses two fingers as a result of this accident. 5an he get any compensation for his injuries?

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Introduction to Business Law in Singapore: Instructor’s Manual 

Chapter 9 1.

&im orders goods on behalf of Cero (te &td. #dvise the company whether it is bound to honour the contracts entered into by &im if

2.

a.

&im is the managing director of the companyN

b.

&im is a non8e7ecutive director of the companyN and

c.

&im is an accounts e7ecutive in the company.

$oan runs a small hotel which is named $oan%s 6otel. FF &td purchased $oan%s business but retained the name of the hotel. FF &td also retains $oan as its manager. 6owever0 FF &td strongly believes that tobacco is detrimental to health and prohibits the hotel and $oan from selling cigarettes in the hotel. $oan who used to sell cigarettes when she was the owner of the hotel continues to buy cigarettes on credit terms and sell them without the knowledge of FF &td. 5an the supplier of the cigarettes sue FF &td for the price of the cigarettes purchased by $oan as manager of the hotel?

3.