Question
Megans business as an event organiser has taken a financial battering over the last two years as a result of the COVID pandemic, however she
Megans business as an event organiser has taken a financial battering over the last two years as a result of the COVID pandemic, however she now believes that she has an opportunity to get the business moving again. She has spent an enormous amount of time over the last four months planning and arranging a Celebration Spectacular festival and concert in Coffs Harbour, on the north coast of NSW, to mark the end of the lockdowns in the state. She has managed to book the International Stadium with a 30,000 person capacity for the event, and has secured a number of popular and well-known groups to perform. It seems that everyone in the state has had enough of lockdowns and the restrictive limits on everyday lifestyle, and she has been inundated with calls from groups wanting to be involved in the concert. Megan realises that this is still a fluid and uncertain time in terms of many of the NSW State Governments restrictions, and wants to make sure she fully complies with them all. She contacts the NSW Health office in Coffs Harbour for guidance and speaks with Dan, the local Regional Manager. Dan tells her that the Local Health Orders (LHO) as they stand at the time for regional NSW will permit the concert to occur, but the International Stadium will be restricted to 50% capacity, and he formally confirms this restriction in writing for her on NSW Health letterhead. This obviously disappoints Megan, but she calculates that, if she makes some modest cuts to her budgeted expenses, she can still make a reasonable profit with 15,000 attendees, and so she decides to continue with the concerts preparations. Tickets go on sale for the concert and they are enormously popular. All 15,000 tickets are sold out in the first day, with many thousands more potential attendees being disappointed. After the concert, it is brought to Megans notice that Dan had made an error. The NSW Government had totally lifted all restrictions on public outdoor events two weeks before Megan had approached Dan for advice. The government decision had been based on recommendations from NSW Health, and an urgent priority notice had been distributed to all regional offices of NSW Health the same day. It seems that Megan would have been allowed to have 30,000 people attend her event under the amended LHO. 1. Using IRAC advise Megan if she has any cause of action she can take against Dan or his employer. Support your answer with statute or case law. (10 marks) When the performance gets underway, Jessica, who had received her concert ticket as a gift for her 18th birthday, tries to get close to the stage whilst her favourite band is playing. She has followed the headline act for the concert, Strangeways, since she first saw them perform at a music festival three years ago, before COVID struck. When the band finishes its set and moves off the stage, the crowd surges forward to try to get closer to the band. Unfortunately, security is one of the costs that Megan had elected to cut when she was advised of the reduction in capacity for the concert by Dan, and so there are insufficient crowd controllers on duty to effectively restrict this movement. Jessica is jostled by the surging crowd and ultimately loses her balance and falls to the ground. She is seriously injured in the unpleasant incident and is rendered unconscious. When she recovers only a couple of minutes later, she has suffered a broken arm, a fractured skull and concussion. 2. Using IRAC advise Jessica if she has any cause of action against Megan. Support your answer with statute or case law. (10 marks)
Step by Step Solution
There are 3 Steps involved in it
Step: 1
Get Instant Access to Expert-Tailored Solutions
See step-by-step solutions with expert insights and AI powered tools for academic success
Step: 2
Step: 3
Ace Your Homework with AI
Get the answers you need in no time with our AI-driven, step-by-step assistance
Get Started