QUESTION TWO

Answer ALL PARTS of the following question.

(a)Ijaz wishes to buy a watch for his wife's birthday present. He therefore visits the website of Kira, a specialist seller of watches and jewellery. The website advertises two Rolex watches - one made of silver, and one made of gold. Ijaz emails Kira, saying, "I'll offer you 150 for the Rolex watch on your website." Kira replies, accepting the offer. Ijaz wanted the gold watch, but Kira thought he meant the silver watch, which she posts out to him. When it arrives, Ijaz refuses to pay for it.

Advise Ijaz as to whether there is an operative mistake.

(b)X Limited owns a ship called The Ratcliffe, which is heavily damaged in the Pacific Ocean. The Ratcliffe's crew is in danger of drowning. X Limited signs a contract with Y plc to hire a salvage vessel called The Quinn. The Quinn is to sail towards The Ratcliffe's supposed location and stand by for a minimum of three days, in case needed to rescue The Ratcliffe's crew.

When X Limited and Y plc sign the contract, they both believe that The Ratcliffe and The Quinn are six miles apart. In fact, they are 18 miles apart. This means it will take much longer for The Quinn to reach The Ratcliffe's location, although this does not materially increase the danger faced by The Ratcliffe's crew members.

When X Limited realises the true distance between the two vessels, it immediately cancels the contract with Y plc and takes steps to find an alternative salvage vessel. It also refuses to pay for the minimum three days' hire under the contract.

Advise X Limited whether there is an operative mistake.

(c)Shazia manufactures fine dresses and sells them to top-end clothes shops. She receives a phone call from Jacob, who owns a clothes shop in Bristol. They agree that she is to supply him with 20 dresses at a price of 200 each, or 4,000 in total. They also agree that this will be confirmed in a written sales contract, which is to be prepared by Shazia. When Shazia prepares the contract, she mistakenly prices the dresses at 100 each, making a total price of 1,000. She emails the contract to Jacob, who signs and returns it immediately. Shazia realises her error, and refuses to deliver the dresses to Jacob.

Advise Shazia whether there is an operative mistake.

(d)John is a farmer based near Bristol. He owns a bull, which he has agreed to sell to Kevin, a farmer based near London, for breeding purposes. Dion operates a haulage business specialising in the transport of live animals.

On the morning of 15 July, the bull is killed by lightning in a freak summer storm.

On the afternoon of 15 July, Dion and John sign a contract for Dion to transport the bull from Bristol to London for a price of 500. Neither are aware of what has happened to the bull.

A few hours later, John discovers what happened to the bull. He calls Dion immediately to cancel the contract. Dion insists that John pays him 500.

Advise John as to whether there is an operative mistake.