Reference no: EM134008194

Assignment:

1. What kinds of representations are prohibited by s 29 of the ACL?
2. What are the consequences of a business displaying a sign that says 'no refunds'?
3. What are the consumer guarantees given to consumers?
4. What are the consequences of non-compliance with a consumer guarantee?
5. In what circumstances will a manufacturer be liable to a consumer under ACL Part 3-5?

Legal Hypotheticals:

Question 1

Which of the following buyers would be classified as consumers within the meaning of s 3 of the ACL?

• Sam purchases a laptop for $75 000.
• Kareem purchases an industrial vacuum cleaner for $175 000.
• Ramesh purchases 20kg of coco power to bake chocolate cakes that are to be sold in his shop.
• Tomki purchases a printer to be used in his office.
• Nina gets a plastic surgery from a reputed saloon for $200,000.

Question 2

Jack wants to buy some carpets for the apartment and goes to Carpet Depot to purchase carpets for his large living area. Jack tells the salesperson that he has parties most of weekends and wants to buy a durable carpet that can withstand heavy traffic. Also, he does not want to spend too much time cleaning the carpet, and the carpet should be machine washable. The salesperson recommends a carpet with a heavy-duty rating, which he says is the best to meet Jack's needs. Jack takes his advice and purchases the carpet with the heavy-duty rating for $42,000. Unfortunately, within a few months, Jack notices that there are multiple rips and tears on the carpet. When he washes the carpet, it results in fading colors. Jack returns to the store and tells the salesman the carpet is useless and is not at all suitable for his purposes. The salesperson tells him nothing can be done and points to a sign above the cash register that says, "The consumer guarantees do not apply to this store." Advise Jack whether he has any action open to him under provisions related to consumer guarantees provided in the ACL. In your answer consider the following questions:

• Is Jack a consumer?
• Is this a sale of goods or services?
• Which guarantees are breached?
• Can the guarantees be excluded?
• What is the likely remedy?

Question 3

ProFit advertises its FitnessMax exercise machine to be the best in quality and price of all exercise machines available on the market. Rahim buys a FitnessMax exercise machine from ProFit and then discovers that the exercise machine is overpriced. Furthermore, ProFit imports all its exercise machines from overseas and then changes packaging to sell them in Australia. The goods are labeled "Product of Australia". What would happen if Rahim were to make a claim against ProFit?

Question 4

Brian received a bicycle as a gift from his partner Clara. The bicycle was made by Penny Farthings Pty Ltd, an Australian manufacturer based in Victoria, and is sold by various retail outlets throughout Australia. Clara bought this bicycle from ParraCycles in Parramatta. The bicycle does not comply with the relevant product safety standards, which require lights on the front and back of the bicycle and reflectors on the wheels. Neither Brian nor Clara know much about bicycles so they do not realise that this is a problem. Several weeks later, Brian was knocked off the bicycle by a car when riding home from work in the early evening. Brian has a broken leg and has been unable to work for several weeks. Clara, who is a freelance writer, has had to decline several jobs in order to care for Brian during his recovery.

a. What should ParraCycles do if Clara complains to them about Brian's injuries?

b. What steps could the government take to prevent others from being injured by this particular make of bicycle?

c. Does the bicycle have a 'safety defect'? Explain your answer.

d. Is Penny Farthings or ParraCycles liable for the injuries to Brian? Why or why not?