Question 1

Apply the law of frustration, and any other relevant law, to the following scenarios:

a)At 2pm on 17 October a contract is concluded for the hire of the pleasure boat Victoria Mist for the purposes of conducting a Halloween party on the evening of 31 October. Unknown to either party the Victoria Mist collided with the Morning Star Ferry and was very badly damaged at 1.59pm on the day the contract was made.

b)At 2pm on 17 October a contract is concluded for the hire of the pleasure boat Victoria Mist for the purposes of conducting a Halloween party on the evening of 31 October. Unknown to either party the Victoria Mist collided with the Evening Star Ferry and was damaged at 2.01pm on the day the contract was made.

c)On 16 November The Rock Squad, a famous pop group, agree to play at the Kuala Lumpur Coliseum on December 31. On 8 December the group get an offer to appear on big US talk show Larry Lord Tonight on the evening of 31 December. The group's agent later telephones the Coliseum to explain that unforeseen circumstances have arisen that will prevent their appearance in Kuala Lumpur.

d)On 16 December The Rock Squad's agent got a call from the producer at Larry Lord Tonight. Apparently Mr Lord has been checked into a rehabilitation centre after being found drunk in charge of a stolen ambulance on Fifth Avenue, New York at 4.15am the previous morning. The Rock Squad booking is cancelled; indeed all Larry Lord shows are cancelled until further notice.

e)On 20 December the huge African gorilla King Knog, and his trainer Boris, are booked to appear at the Times Square shopping centre at Bukit Jalil on 14 February. The appearance fee is agreed at RM100,000 plus 200 kilos of bananas for the hungry ape. On 5 January Hurricane Betsy sweeps the globe, devastating the world banana crop. It becomes impossible to obtain bananas other than at the extortionate price of RM350 per kilo (normally RM10 per kilo). On hearing this Chong, the Times Square events manager, telephones Boris to cancel the booking.

f)On 25 January Chong books Samson, a performing Austrian Bear, as a replacement for giant gorilla, King Kong. However, on 7 February a rabies outbreak in Europe prompts the Australian Parliament to pass emergency legislation banning the importation of animals from the European continent with immediate effect.