LW204: Torts Law II

John quit his job to pursue his dream of opening his own barber shop. He took all of his savings and a small loan from the bank and opened his barber shop "Bald Heads" in January 2020, in the capital city of Pacifica. Bald Heads soon became a popular shop with locals and expats. By early March, the shop was so popular that John was unable to accommodate all of his customers. John organised for another barber, Brett, to come and cut hair at Bald Heads on 15 March 2020. They agreed that Brett would come and use one of the barber chairs in the shop for his clients. Brett used his own hair grooming tools (scissors, hair clippers, razors, brushes and combs) but used the shop's sink, towels and products to wash, dye or style his client's hair. At the end of each day, Brett would give thirty percent of his earnings to John. On slow days, John would often train Brett on how to do certain haircuts and styles. Brett would usually come to work at 10:00 AM and leave at 5:00 PM but there were some days when he would not show up to work. On 15 April 2020, John asked his younger cousin Jordan, to come and help out with washing hair at the barber shop on the weekends, as this was when the shop was busiest. John did not pay Jordan for his help but paid for his school fees and bought him a PlayStation 5 and Fifa 21 to show his gratitude. On 20 October 2020, the shop was bustling with customers because an entire rugby team had shown up to get their hair cut. John had not come to work that day as he was sick with pneumonia. Brett was in the middle of bleaching Solo's hair to "make him look like Chris Brown" when his wife Karen called. Brett began to argue with Karen and decided to take the call outside. About forty-five minutes later, one of the rugby boys came out and shouted for Brett to come because Solo's hair was getting extremely itchy and painful. Brett rushed back in to find that the Solo's head and scalp had been burned by the chemicals used to bleach his hair. Brett called for an ambulance. The rugby boys were mad at Brett for his negligence and began to approach him aggressively. Tomasi, Solo's best friend, punched one of the mirrors causing it to break. Jordan, who had been sweeping the floors, punched Tomasi in the face, knocking him out. Solo and Tomasi have brought proceedings against the Bald Head Barber Shop for Brett and Jordan's actions.

Using IRAC, advise John on whether the Bald Head Barber Shop is vicariously liable for Brett and Jordan.