After many years of teaching surfing at a local swimming school, Richards doctor suggests that he should consider a career change as his body, particularly his back, will not handle the strain for much longer.

Richard decides to take early retirement and write that book about his life as a surfer that he has been dreaming of all his life. In preparation for this change, he clears out the guest bedroom and converts it into a study. He sees a television advertisement on his favourite television station, LifeStyle TV station. The advertisement is for Extra Comfort Furniture, a furniture shop that claims to stock the biggest and best range of office furniture in Australia. Richard decides to visit their show room in Bundoora Square to have a look at their stock.

At Extra Comfort Furniture, Sandra assists Richard. Richard explains that he has a serious back problem after years of being a surfer and a surfing teacher: I need an office chair that will support my back sufficiently to allow me to spend the whole day working in the study comfortably without developing severe back pain. No use trying to be a writer if you cannot spend long hours at a desk.

Sandra works for Extra Comfort Furniture on a commission basis. She gets 25% of every item she sells. She has not sold much furniture during the last few weeks and she is desperate to sell a chair to Richard. She tells Richard that she has just the chair for him and suggests a high-end office chair, the COMFYBACK 9000X. Despite the fact that a number of customers have complained about the chair since the store started selling it, Sandra tells Richard that Nothing beats the COMFYBACK 9000X. I think its the best on the market. It is an amazing office chair, specifically designed for all-day sitting. We have sold hundreds of this model to a number of secretarial agencies without a single complaint.

Sandras last statement about the absence of complaints convinces Richard to buy the COMFYBACK 9000X. Richard buys the chair for $500 and signs the contract of sale without bothering to read through the document.

Clause 8 on the contract of sale states the following:

Extra Comfort Furniture is not liable for any breach of warranty under this agreement.

Richard is very excited about his purchase. He assembles it and starts using the chair on the same day it is delivered. Within the first couple of hours, Richards back starts aching, forcing him to stop writing and he suffers a painful night. Richard tries to use the chair for a few days, but his back pain continues to flare up after a couple of hours in the chair.

Use legislation (and any relevant case law) to answer questions 3, 4, 5 and 6. Do not use common law and/or equitable principles. 8

3. Would the contract of sale between Extra Comfort Furniture and Richard be considered a consumer contract under the Australian Consumer Law? (3 marks)

4. Has Extra Comfort Furniture breached any statutory consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law? Also, what remedies would be available to Richard if Extra Comfort Furniture breached any of the statutory guarantees? (10 marks)

5. Would the exclusion clause on the contract of sale stating: Extra Comfort Furniture is not liable for any breach of warranty under this agreement, exclude Sandra from liability for breach of statutory guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law? (2 marks)

6. Assume that in the television advertisement, Extra Comfort Furniture engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct under section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). Use section 19 ACL to discuss whether LifeStyle TV station is also liable? (5 marks)