Business Law Question

The respondent is a property agent and the appellant the owner by transport of certain lands, which were stated to comprise 500 acres, situated at Plantation Friends on the east bank of the Berbice river. On 5 May 1982 the appellant signed a written authorisation to the respondent empowering him to sell the lands and, in pursuance thereof, to enter into an agreement of purchase and sale. The sale price was stated to be $200,000 and the conditions under which the agreement was to be effected were also set out in the document which included the payment of a commission on the sale. On 30 August 1983 the respondent entered into a contract of purchase and sale with A (in his capacity as agent of B) for the required consideration of $200,000 and received a cheque representing 10 per cent of the purchase price. The contract of purchase and sale was prepared at the office of Mr Bacchus, attorney at law, whom the appellant had told the respondent was his legal adviser, and Mr Bacchus signed as a witness. On the next day the respondent went to the appellant at his business premises in Strand, New Amsterdam. There he gave him a copy of the agreement and the cheque. After reading the agreement, the appellant threw both documents on the floor saying that he had no intention of selling the property to A as he had robbed him. The respondent then spoke to Mr Bacchus, who sent a letter to the appellant in which he enclosed the agreement and the cheque. The appellant responded by letter written by Mr Hardyal, attorney at law, which rejected the respondents authority to sell the property. This resulted in the respondent issuing proceedings for breach of contract claiming the commission of 4 per cent of the purchase price, or $8000. The breach complained of was the refusal of the appellant without any reasonable cause to take steps to bring the binding contract between himself, through the respondent as his agent, and the purchaser to fruition by embarking upon the necessary legal procedures. Discuss the merits of the claim by the Agent.

Follow the ILAC format

issue: multiple issue as it pertains to the question.

law: listing agency,contract and criminal law with respective cases.

analysis: discuss the case and select the appropriate law (agency, contract, criminal) as it applies to the case.

conclusion: state what is to be held as a result of the analysis.