Legal Cases in Hospitality and Tourism Industry

Personal Injury Claims

A.Mason, Ying and Kenny are international students studying for a Hospitality and Tourism degree in Sydney. They are keen beachgoers and having never been to Australia before, depart from Sydney during the semester study break and travel west, visiting many major beaches along the way. However, things do not go to plan….

When they arrive in Adelaide they head to Glenelg and excitedly head into the water. Mason decides to body surf, however he gets dumped by a wave and is thrown on his head on the ocean floor near the shoreline, sustaining several injuries which render him a tetraplegic. 

Ying and Kenny continue their trip. In Perth at Cottesloe Beach, Ying is body-surfing between the flags, some 60 or 70 metres from the beach when she is struck in the neck by a fibreglass surfboard.  She is hospitalized for 5 days and requires intensive physiotherapy.

Kenny stays in Perth and travels to Rottnest Island. He visits the very famous “Basin” (known by Kenny because in his home country, the Basin is promoted as a tourist attraction in Perth) and dives into the water but hits his head on a partially-submerged rock-ledge. There were no visible signs warning of any danger. Kenny suffers serious spinal injuries and is now a quadriplegic.

Required

Starting with similar cases from the prescribed textbook as well as materials available on LMS, undertake thorough research beyond the prescribed textbook[ Do not forget to correctly reference all of your sources!] and advise Mason, Ying and Kenny with respect to the below issues:

a)Mason wishes to sue the City of Glenelg for his injuries as the City failed to warn of the hidden danger of “dumpers”.

b)Ying wishes to sue the Town of Cottesloe for the cost of her physiotherapy and other treatments necessary for rehabilitation as the Town allowed surfboards in the designated area only meant for swimming.

c)Kenny wants to sue the Rottnest Island Board for his injuries. He claims that he would never have dived into the water had there been a warning sign about partially submerged rocks.

B.Cindy is a recent graduate of Murdoch University having majored in Hospitality and Tourism.  She applies for a job as a Restaurant Manager at a salary of $55000 per annum at a well- known international hotel in Perth city after seeing the position advertised on SEEK. 

After two weeks, Cindy is contacted for an initial interview after which she is short-listed for the position along with five other applicants. Cindy is advised that if she is successful, she will receive an offer via Australia Post mail. She eagerly checks her letterbox every day and finally on the 31 March 2020, she is delighted to receive an offer of employment from the hotel. She studies the paperwork, signs on the dotted line for acceptance and posts the letter back to the hotel at 2pm on the 2nd April 2020. The hotel receives Cindy’s acceptance on the 4th April at 10am.

Unfortunately, due to the inexperience of one of the hotel’s administrative staff, another offer of employment for the same position was posted by mistake to one of the other short listed applicants, Henry. Henry received his offer by post at 10am on 2nd April 2020 and was so excited that he signed acceptance and hand delivered it back to the hotel the same day at 4pm! As soon as the hotel received Henry’s acceptance, it realised the mistake that had been made and sent a letter to Cindy advising her that the offer of employment to her was withdrawn.  

Cindy is of course extremely upset to receive the withdrawal letter in the mail and wonders if there is anything she can do legally about this.

Required

Start with readings from the prescribed textbook, as well as any supporting materials on LMS. Then undertake thorough research beyond the prescribed textbook[ Do not forget to correctly reference all of your sources!] and advise Cindy whether a valid contract (agreement, consideration and intention) has been entered into between herself and the hotel and whether the hotel’s withdrawal is effective.

C.Stephen purchased a ferry ticket from Ultimate Excursions (Ultimate) to visit the Taronga Zoo in Sydney. He regularly travelled by ferry with Ultimate, visiting attractions throughout Sydney.   The sign at the entrance of the ferry terminal contained a clause exempting Ultimate from liability for claims arising from any accident or incident where a passenger occupied a seat on the ferry. While travelling to Taronga Zoo, Stephen got out of his seat to retrieve his mobile phone which he dropped on the floor. He tripped and fell causing injury to his head. Stephen sued Ultimate for breach of contract but Ultimate argued reliance on the exclusion clause.

Required

Explain what an exclusion clause is and how they operate. Will Ultimate be successful in arguing that the exclusion clause is included in the contract?