Constructed-Response Questions for Law Exam

Enter your responses in one word processor file (.docx format) and one spreadsheet file (.xlsx format).

Rebus Clarke, a lawyer in Ottawa, was contacted by the Law Society of Ontario due to a conduct complaint made against him. Rebus has never had a conduct complaint against him and is not sure how this may impact his legal career.

Required:

a) Explain to Rebus four penalties that lawyers may receive when they are found guilty of misconduct. (2 marks)
b) In addition to penalties from the provincial law society, explain to Rebus what else may result from a lawyer’s misconduct. (2 marks)

Claire Cheung was jogging along a quiet trail beside a river when she met Samantha Sage coming the other way. Claire stopped to talk to Samantha, and in conversation, accused Samantha of stealing and shoplifting from Claire’s store. Samantha was appalled by the accusations, became irate and struck Claire in the face. Claire was injured, suffering a broken nose and significant bruising. After some time, another jogger came along on the trail and broke up the fight. Claire sued Samantha for battery, and Samantha sued Claire for defamation.

Required:

Explain the likely outcome of each lawsuit. (3 marks)

Tom Higgins is complaining about the carelessness of his neighbour, Massimo Brollo, and wonders if he could sue Massimo for negligence and win.

Required:

a) Explain what a plaintiff must prove in order to sue successfully for the tort of negligence and have the defendant pay 100% of his loss. (2.5 marks)
b) Explain under what circumstances the defence of remoteness can be used in a negligence action. (1 mark)

Consider the following independent situations:

1. Moe Durgs drove his car to a shopping mall and parked it there to go to a movie. A sign at the entrance where Moe drove in designated the place where he parked as a one-hour parking space. There were many similar-looking signs around the shopping mall stating that people were parking their cars at their own risk. The sign at the entrance was the only one that was different and stated that the time limit for parking there was one hour, and that as a term of the contract anyone parking over this one-hour limit would have to pay a fee of $60. When Moe returned to his car from the movie, he found a ticket on his car (a demand for payment of the $60). Moe refused to pay and was sued.

2. Kea Dalaw started a small business and agreed to pay Haley Dalaw, his wife, $1,700 per month for her bookkeeping services. This was primarily a method of income-splitting for tax purposes. Unfortunately, the business was NOT as successful as they had imagined, and Kea could not afford to pay Haley that much money from the business. The marriage deteriorated, and after separation, Haley brought an action against Kea demanding back pay for the last 11 months, as well as compensation for loss of future earnings.

Required:

a) Explain what Moe’s defence is, and use case facts to support your response. (3 marks)
b) Explain what Kea’s defence is, and use case facts to support your response. (2 marks)

Mickey Julere has been friends with Pat Purell for many years and often accompanied Pat as he sailed his classic yacht. Mickey had mentioned to Pat many times how much he would like to own the yacht. On Thursday, a friend told Mickey that Pat had suffered some business losses and was going to have to sell the yacht. Mickey immediately wrote Pat a letter offering to purchase the yacht for $125,000. Unknown to Mickey, Pat had written Mickey a similar letter offering to sell the yacht for $125,000. These two letters passed in the mail. Mickey received Pat’s letter at 12 p.m. on Saturday, and Pat received Mickey’s letter at about 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Required:

a) Explain whether Mickey and Pat are bound in contract. (3 marks)
b) If the mail is a reasonable means for accepting an offer, explain whether a contract is formed when the offeror drops a letter of revocation in the mailbox at the very same moment that the offeree drops a letter of acceptance in the mailbox. (2.5 marks)

James Brusher owned a speedboat and agreed to trade it to Troy Wiwchar for a specified amount of cocaine. Troy took the speedboat and, three days later, before he could deliver the cocaine to James, the cocaine was seized by the police and Troy was arrested. James is now bringing an action claiming that he’s entitled to have the speedboat returned.

Required:

Explain what arguments are available to James and the likelihood of the speedboat being returned to him. (4 marks)

Justus Vu repaid Ingrid Wicker for an outstanding debt of $50,000 by giving her 10,000 five-dollar bills. Ingrid refused to accept the payment.

Required:

Explain the legal positions of both Justus and Ingrid. (3 marks)

Harpreet Brar is a salesman for Harry’s Fine Cars Ltd. Harpreet had been told specifically that he does not have authority to make any sale, take a trade-in, or otherwise deal with the vehicles without the manager’s express approval of every deal. Angus Donald, a customer, came in wanting to buy a used car and agreed to pay the $16,000 asking price. Unfortunately, the manager had left the lot, and so Harpreet took it upon himself to write up the agreement. When the manager returned, he liked the deal and realized that the customer might change his mind when he realized that the salesman did not have the authority to bind the seller in contract.

Required:

Explain what the manager of Harry’s Fine Cars Ltd. could do under these circumstances. (2 marks)

Jill Davenport had been working for Donna Gundersen in a supervisory position for 14 years when Donna called her into the office and told Jill that there was no work for her. Jill was told that she could expect to be off the job within 10 days and that the employer- employee relationship would be terminated at that time. During Jill’s 14 years of employment, Jill had worked in a number of positions, but when she assumed her most recent supervisory position one year prior, she had signed an agreement stating that she was entitled to only one week’s notice. This agreement also provided Jill with a substantial raise.

Required:

a) Discuss the legal positions of the two parties. (3 marks)
b) Explain what kinds of restrictions there are on an employer’s right to dismiss an employee. (2 marks)

Kany Innes wrote a short story that he is extremely proud of and wants information on what he needs to do to have his short story copyrighted.

Required:

a) Explain what Kany needs to do to have his short story copyrighted. (2 marks)
b) When an author assigns their copyright to a purchaser, explain what rights they still have in relation to the work. (2 marks)

David Sloane borrowed his neighbour Keith Joshie’s lawnmower. At the same time, Keith asked David to look after a valuable camera for him while he was on vacation.

Required:

Identify which of these items David has a higher duty to be careful to, and explain your response. (2.5 marks)

Kinston Fancir has just completed his first purchase with a new local business that sells custom furniture and other unique décor. Kinston has read that the Sale of Goods Act places certain obligations on the seller with respect to conveying good title.

Required:

Explain the obligations on the seller with respect to conveying good title. (3.5 marks)