Question 1

Ratu, a 17-year-old, lived in Motu Nui, a fictional common law country in the Pacific where the age of majority was 18 years. One day, when Ratu returned from school, he saw two short, fat men outside his house. The two men introduced themselves as Mr Armstrong I and Mr Armstrong II from an insurance company. They said to Ratu: "Your dear grandfather died earlier today in Japan." Ratu grew up with his grandfather and had no other family member. At first, Ratu was in disbelief, but when he saw the two men's serious faces, he started to feel worried and began to cry. The two men waited and watched Ratu's reaction silently and coldly. Ratu was crying quietly at first, but he soon could not control his emotions. When Ratu's cry became a feverish panic, Mr Armstrong I gave a look at Mr Armstrong II, who knowingly nodded and pulled out a 30- page contract from his briefcase. Ratu rubbed his teary eyes and looked at the contract quizzically.

Mr Armstrong II explained to Ratu: 'Your grandfather bought a life insurance and you are the beneficiary of his life insurance policy. You will get 500,000 dollars from the insurance company on your 21^st birthday. But it does not seem that you want wait that long, doesn't it? You have no other family member, no work experience or skills. How are you going to survive without money before your 21^st birthday? Who will look after you?" Mr Armstrong I added: "Let us help you. We will settle this claim on this very day, if you agree to sign this contract to use the 500,000 dollars to purchase this highly profitable apartment in England. You can then live on the handsome rents this apartment generates.

Sign this contract, and you will not have to worry about anything." As he said this, Mr Armstrong I flipped through the pages of the contract to the last page and showed Ratu the signature line on that page. At this stage, Mr Armstrong II promptly gave Ratu a pen and said: 'Don't miss this amazing deal, little boy! We are trying to help you.' Ratu told the two men he needed time to think about it. Mr Armstrong I said: 'sorry, young boy. That is not possible. We have to report to the company immediately with a decision on this. It is your choice to sign it now and be happy or face poverty and be miserable until you are 21.' Ratu did not know what to do and with a mixed of emotions of sadness, confusion, and vulnerability, he took the pen from Mr Armstrong II and signed on the last page of the contract. Mr Armstrong I and Mr Armstrong II gave Ratu a carbon copy of the contract and left. What Mr Armnstrong I and Mr Amstrong II did not tell Ratu was the actual cost of the apartment was $200,000.00.

Advice Ratu regarding the purchase of the apartment.

Question 2

After all the funeral arrangements for his grandfather, Ratu read the newspapers and saw an advertisement for a cruise to Australia and New Zealand departing from Motu Nui. Since he was already 18, Ratu decided to take a vacation to relax for a while. Ratu went to the agent to check on the prices and the agent told him that he could pay for the ticket when he returned from the trip. A new travel package was being discussed within the travel agency for a "Trip first Pay later" scheme but the date of release was not yet confirmed. Ratu thought that was a good idea because he could use the rent generated by the apartment to pay for the ticket. He signed a contract with the cruise agent but did not see the clause which stated that if he did not pay for the ticket within 2 weeks, he would pay an addition $1000.00. The agent at the time was not given any permission to make any deals for taking the "trip first and pay later" scheme.

Ratu boarded the cruise ship and set sail for Australia and New Zealand. Along the way, several crew members abandoned the ship for grievances against the company on pay. The remaining crew members were threatening to leave, citing the danger of sailing with a reduced crew, unless their pay was doubled immediately. At first, the captain refused to pay, but the crew members did not give in. Without crew members, the cruise ship could not possibly continue with the rest of the trip and would have to return back to Motu Nui. The captain eventually gave in and paid the money to crew members.

A day before the cruise ship was scheduled to arrive at their final port, the captain made an urgent announcement to the passengers on board: "This is your captain. Unfortunately, the ship just hit an iceberg and everyone must evacuate immediately. I am afraid there are not enough lifeboat for everyone." Ratu was afraid for his life, he ran to one side of the ship, and asked a crewman to lower him into a lifeboat. The crewman, named Jone, told him: 'I know you are rich. Give me $50,000 and I will take you in this lifeboat.' Ratu wrote him a check of $50,000, was lowered into the lifeboat, and finally made it to safety. By the time he reached safety, it was 18 days since he made the deal with the travel agent.

Advice all interested parties on the legal issues arising from these facts and the possible legal remedies open before them or against each other.