Case Studies of Business Law and Business Structures

HOLMES INSTITUTE FACULTY OF HIGHER EDUCATION

HI6027 Business and Corporate Law Group Assignment T3 2020

Assessment Details and Submission Guidelines Trimester T3 2020

Unit Code HI6027

Unit Title Business and Corporate Law

Assessment Type Group Assignment

Assessment Title Case Studies of Business Law and Business Structures

Purpose of the assessment (with ULO Mapping)

The purpose of the Group Assignment is to provide students with an opportunity to

work in a collaborative environment in solving two case problems by citing the relevant

legal rules and cases and applying these to the facts of the case.

In this Group Assignments, students are required to:

- Understand the basic principles of Contract Law and the Law of Tort and apply them

in business circumstances. (ULO 2)

- Analyse the legal environment in which business structures operate and evaluate their

use in a commercial context. (ULO 3)

- Apply correct legal methodology, specifically to apply the IRAC (Issues, Rules

Argument, Conclusion) framework to solve legal problems. (ULO 5)

Weight 40% of the total assessments

Total Marks 40%

Word limit Group Written Report of maximum 2,000 words

Due Date Week 10

Submission Guidelines

• All work must be submitted on Blackboard by the due date along with a completed Assignment Cover Page.

• The assignment must be in MS Word format, no spacing, 12-pt Arial font and 2 cm margins on all four sides of your page with appropriate section headings and page numbers.

• Reference sources must be cited in the text of the report, and listed appropriately at the end in a reference list using the AGLC style.

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HI6027 Business and Corporate Law Group Assignment T3 2020

Assignment Specifications

Purpose:

The Group Assignment aims to provide students with an opportunity to work in a collaborative

environment in solving two case problems by citing the relevant legal rules and cases and applying

these to the facts of the case.

Students are to form groups, with a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 students per group. The

assignment consists of a 2,000-word written report.

Instructions: Please read and re-read carefully to avoid mistakes.

Group Report

1. This group assignment consists of 2 parts. Part A is a question on Contract Law, and Part B is a

question involving Business Structures. Both questions must be answered. Each question is worth

20 marks.

2. The total word limit for the group report is 2,000 words (+/- 10% allowed) with each part having a

maximum word count of 1,000 words. Word count limits are strictly enforced. A deduction of two

(2) marks will be imposed for every 50 words over the word count for either part of the report.

Anything over the word count will not be read by your lecturer.

3. The total word count for the report as well as each part must be clearly written on the cover sheet

of the assignment. A paper will not be marked if the word counts are not written on the cover

sheet.

4. The group report is worth 40% of total marks in this unit.

Important Reminders:

• You must form your groups by self-enrolment in Blackboard. Please refer to the document “Group

Assessment Self Enrolment Tutorial” that has been posted in Blackboard (under announcements

and also in “Assessments” folder). This document will assist you with the process of self-enrolling

in a group to undertake an assessment task in Blackboard Ultra.

• All group report submissions must be de done online and run through SafeAssign. No hard copies

are to be submitted. Only one group member needs to submit for the whole group.

• You must attach as the official Holmes Institute cover sheet to your group report and upload on

Blackboard.

• Group report must be submitted via SafeAfssign on Blackboard and show a similarity percentage

figure. Any group report that does not show a SafeAssign similarity percentage will not be marked

and be required to re-submit.

• Late submissions will be subject to Holmes Institute policy on student assessment submission

and late penalties (please refer to subject outline and Student handbook).

• All reports are expected to observe proper referencing in accordance with the Australian Guide

to Legal Citation (AGLC). A copy of the AGLC has been posted in the Week 2 tutorial folder.

You may also download a copy for free via this link:

https://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/3181325/AGLC4-with-Bookmarks-1.pdf

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HI6027 Business and Corporate Law Group Assignment T3 2020

• In general, for written reports, a SafeAssign similarity percentage of 25% or below is acceptable.

Regardless of the similarity figure, all group reports must use in-text citation and observe proper

referencing rules.

• All assignments are expected to strictly follow Holmes Institute’s Academic Conduct and Integrity

Policy and Procedures. A copy of the Policy is available on the Holmes Institute home page.

(About Holmes > Policies) This policy is also explained in your Student Handbook.

• Plagiarism and contract cheating in any form will not be tolerated and will have severe

consequences for the groups found committing the same, including receiving zero (0) for the entire

assignment and possible failure in the unit.

• Any group assignment that is found to contain fake or bogus references or references that are

clearly irrelevant to the subject matter of the assignment will receive an automatic zero (0) mark.

• IMPORTANT: Identification of individual work. To ensure that all students participate

equitably in the group assignment and that students are responsible for the academic integrity of

all components of the assignment, each group must complete the following table which identifies

which student/students are responsible for the various sections of the assignment:

Assignment section Student/Students

This table needs to be completed and submitted with the assignment as it is a compulsory

component required before any grading is undertaken.

Marking criteria Weighting (%)

Group Report

- Identification of material facts involved in problem question 8%

- Identification of legal issues / legal question and relevant law 10%

- Thorough yet succinct application of law to material facts 10%

- Citation and referencing 8%

- Professional quality 4%

TOTAL Weight 40%

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HI6027 Business and Corporate Law Group Assignment T3 2020

Assignment Questions

Part A: Contracts Law Question (20 marks)

• Read the Contracts Law question below.

• In 1,000 words (+/- 10% is allowed), answer your chosen question using the IRAC method.

• Your answer must be supported by relevant principles of Australian law and cases decided by

Australian courts (preferably the High Court) and/or scholarly articles. A minimum of 3 genuine

and relevant references are required for this part of the report.

• The full citations for all sources cited in your answer must be listed in a Reference list at the end

of the Part A question.

• In addition, any online sources cited in your answer and listed in your Reference List must include

a valid hyperlink that allows access to the full text of the source.

Wilona was married to Wilbur for 40 years. She was devastated when he passed away. She

had been very reliant on him and left all their business matters to him. She had always been

a religious person and turned to her faith for solace.

She was visited by her local priest, Father Devout. She talked about her situation with him

and concluded that she should sell her matrimonial home and move into a small unit. Father

Devout was himself looking for a new home after the church had informed him that it would

be selling the bungalow adjacent to the church building in which he currently lived as a cost-

cutting exercise. He mentioned this fact in passing and Wilona insisted that she sell her house

to him. When he asked how much she would want for the property, she said she had no idea

of its worth. However, she had heard a neighbour say that a house in the street had sold for

about $200,000, but, because she knew that her house would go to someone deserving, she

would sell it to him for $100,000. This was in fact half its true value. She wouldn’t take no for

an answer and Father Devout knew her to be someone who would obstinately insist on

something once her mind was made up.

Wilona needed a bridging loan to purchase her unit. She does not trust banks and instead

approached Sly, a fellow parishioner. Sly was a wealthy businessman, who told her he would

give her the necessary funds if she signed a receipt for it so he ‘would have something to

show the taxman’. In fact, the “receipt” was a basically-worded loan document, which

provided that she was liable for interest at twice the rate that she could have obtained from a

bank. Wilona signed the document without reading it because she thought Sly, as a fellow

churchgoer, was “a good man”.

Wilona’s son and daughter have just flown in from their respective homes overseas and

discovered what Wilona has been doing. They seek your advice on whether she can undo

what she has done.

Advise Wilona’s children, discussing all available grounds for relief under Australian contract

law.

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HI6027 Business and Corporate Law Group Assignment T3 2020

Part B: Business Structures question (20 marks)

• Read the questions below on Business Structures.

• In 1,000 words (+/- 10% is allowed), answer the chosen given question.

• A minimum of 3 genuine and relevant Australian legal references are required for this part of the

report. Examples of relevant references for this question include the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth);

the Australian and Securities and Investment Commission’s (ASIC) website (www.asic.gov.au),

the website of the Australian Business Register’s (ABR) website (www.abr.gov.au).

• The full citations for all sources cited in your answer must be listed in a Reference list at the end

of the Part B question.

• In addition, any online sources cited in your answer and listed in your Reference List must include

a valid hyperlink that allows access to the full text of the source.

Congratulations! You have secured a graduate position with a large firm of corporate

advisers. Jessica, a partner in the practice, asks you to attend an 8 am meeting on Monday

with herself and Julian Harris, a longstanding client of the firm. You will be required to take

notes and prepare answers to Julian’s queries.

Julian Harris is married to Samantha Patel. They have one child, Pauline, who attends a local

private school. Julian is very entrepreneurial and has been running a second-hand and

vintage clothing business in Dandenong, Victoria, by himself as a sole trader for the past five

years under the business name of Retrofit. A lot of Julian’s customers are other businesses,

both local and overseas. Turnover was $285 000 in the first year and has now grown to over

$3 million per annum.

The business operates from rented premises, but Julian would prefer to buy a building.

Currently, Retrofit employs eight staff. Julian has plans to expand the business further. He

also wants to diversify into food and catering in the near to medium term.

Julian’s mother, Bev, is a retired accountant and he regularly asks her for advice. Bev

suggested recently that Julian should structure his business as a company. Julian is unsure

about this. He makes an appointment to see Jessica.

Prior to the meeting, you review Julian’s file and note that he and Samantha have the

following assets.

• A family home in Hawthorn with a market value of $1.25 million. There is a mortgage

on the property of $561,000. The house is owned by Samantha. The house was

previously owned by Julian and Samantha, but when Julian started up his business, it

was decided to transfer the house solely to Samantha for asset protection reasons.

• A share portfolio. Julian and Samantha jointly own 1000 Telstra shares, which cost

them $3.30 per share, and 500 Commonwealth Bank shares, which they bought when

they first married. The Commonwealth Bank shares cost them $10.90 per share. The

Telstra shares are currently worth $3.09 per share and the Commonwealth Bank

shares are worth $61.00 per share. The shares are intended as an investment for

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HI6027 Business and Corporate Law Group Assignment T3 2020

Pauline — they will be given to her when she turns 21. Julian and Samantha also

jointly own a portfolio of blue chip Australian shares currently valued at $145,957.

• Two motor vehicles. Samantha owns a BMW Series 7 worth $135 000. Julian owns a

VW Transporter Van worth $18,000, which he uses for the business.

• Office furniture and equipment. During the course of the year, Julian bought

computers, desks, other office furniture and shelving for the business which cost him

approximately $23 000. Their current value in the financial accounts is $8650.

• Superannuation. Julian has $190,568 in superannuation and Samantha has $136,000

in superannuation.

In addition, Samantha works as a sales and marketing manager in the city for a financial

services company. She is on a total salary package of $155,000.

At the meeting, Julian hands over last financial year’s business results and his draft budget

of sales and expenses for the coming financial year. The budget for the new year shows

expected sales of $3,764,000 and a net profit of $637,979.

Issues to be considered

During the meeting, Julian has a number of questions relating to important issues surrounding

the future of his business. The issues arising include the following.

• What options does Julian have to structure the Retrofit business?

• Julian still wants to run the business — he wants to be in control. How would other

business

• structures differ from just Julian as a sole trader?

• Is Bev correct to suggest that Julian should set up a company to run the business?

Why? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of business

structure?

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HI6027 Business and Corporate Law Group Assignment T3 2020

Marking Rubric

Group Report

Total marks available: 20 marks

per question

Excellent

Good

Satisfactory

Unsatisfactory

Identification of material facts involved in problem question (8 marks)

7.5 to 8 marks Completely identifies all relevant facts of case

6 to 7 marks Identifies most of the relevant facts of case

4 to 5.5 marks Identifies the basic relevant facts of the case but misses other relevant facts

Below 4 marks Does not identify relevant facts of case

Identification of legal issues / legal question and relevant law (10 marks)

9 to 10 marks Correctly identifies all relevant legal issues and are stated in the form of questions. Correctly identifies relevant and appropriate legal rules and case law, and states them in the form of statements

7 to 8 marks Issues correctly identified, but may contain extraneous information and are not stated in the form of questions. Legal rules and case law correctly identified, but may contain extraneous info and are not in the form of statements.

5 to 6 marks Issues are not completely identified. Legal rules and case law not correctly identified.

Below 5 marks Identifies incorrect or irrelevant issues. Identifies incorrect or irrelevant legal rules and case law.

Thorough yet succinct application of law to material facts (10 marks)

9 to 10 marks Correctly identifies facts; well- reasoned discussion relating facts to the rules and case law.

7 to 8 marks Correctly identifies facts. Not well reasoned.

5 to 6 marks Facts not correctly identified. Analysis incoherent.

Below 5 marks Scant to no analysis.

Citation and referencing (including minimum number of references) (8 marks)

7.5 to 8 marks Correctly cites minimum of 6 references, in-text and in reference list.

6 to 7 marks Has minimum of 6 references; or has occasional errors in formatting of in-text citations and reference list

4 to 5.5 marks Does not have minimum of 6 references or contains errors in formatting of in- text citations and reference list

Below 4 marks No referencing either in-text or in reference list; or cites inappropriate references; or all references not cited in the correct format.

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HI6027 Business and Corporate Law Group Assignment T3 2020

Professional quality including language use and writing style (4 marks)

3.75 to 4 marks Professional language. No grammatical, punctuation or spelling errors.

3 to 3.5 marks Some mistakes. Does not detract from understanding.

2.5 to 2.75 marks Many mistakes. Detracts from understanding. Sloppy.

Below 2 marks Reflects no real effort.

Deductions Excess word count (1 mark for every 25 words over) Under the word limit (1 mark for every 25 word under) Lacks minimum of 6 references (1 mark for every missing reference)