Question
Ray and Wilma jointly owned a suburban house and garden. They were excited when they learned that they had won a garden makeover for their
Ray and Wilma jointly owned a suburban house and garden. They were excited when they learned that they had won a garden makeover for their backyard which would be filmed and shown on the hugely popular lifestyle program 'Backyard Banana Bonanza'. Their existing backyard was an overgrown nightmare.Ray and Wilma entered into an enforceable contract with Reality Productions Pty Ltd(RP), the creators and executive producers of BBB which allowed RP to makeover Ray andWilma's backyard, gave RP exclusive film rights to the makeover, edit the footage, andproduce an hour-long episode of BBB to be shown on MAF TV on 30 September 2023. MAF TV has exclusive rights to the current season of BBB.The work and filming were scheduled for the weekend commencing 20 March 2023.Attached to the contract was a design plan for the garden and a Development Approvalfrom Council. Apart from the standard features (grass, plants, and pavers), the plan alsoincluded a water feature requiring a small, rendered brick wall to be built across thebackyard. Six sculptured dolphin heads would be stuck to the wall, and hoses would bethreaded through the wall where each head was attached so that when the main watersupply was turned on, water would spurt out of each dolphin's mouth.Ray and Wilma were thrilled with the proposed plan. They were especially excited about thewater feature as they both have a passion for the sea and sea wildlife.The backyard makeover went ahead as scheduled and was completed by RP without incident. Ray and Wilma met their obligations under the contract, which, in addition to allowing their backyard to be made over, also included greeting the work crew on the first day and bidding them farewell when the work was completed (which Ray and Wilma happily did for the cameras).The BBB crew had not been gone for long when it started to rain. That night, there was amassive storm, and it rained heavily all night long. The following morning, Ray and Wilmawent outside and found to their dismay that their backyard had flooded and that part of thewall of the water feature had collapsed. In frustration at what he saw, Ray smashed one of the dolphin heads with a hammer. It will now need replacing. All of the dolphin heads will need replacing as the plumbing and irrigation, as installed, was faulty or missing and the dolphin heads could not be re-used.Ray and Wilma have since been advised that if the water feature had been built correctly, this would never have happened. The water feature had been built without installing a functioning drainage system. They have been advised that it was inevitable that the backyard would flood and the wall would collapse without proper drainage. They were told that to fix the problem, a drainage system is needed around the wall and connected to their street's stormwater. This means that some of the grass, plants and pavers that had been laid by the BBB crew would have to be dug up to allow for the installation of the drain. The wall would also need rebuilding where it has collapsed.The cost of the dolphin heads was $5,000 each. However as there were no longer anydolphin heads available in Australia, they had to be custom-made and would cost $57,000 each.The cost of all the irrigation work needed to repair the water feature and install the drain was estimated at $280,000. Ray and Wilma decided to take advantage of the downtime when the irrigation work was being installed and decided to extend the irrigation system along the side driveway which added a further $45,000 to the costs.Additionally, as Ray was a photographer and intended to use this newly installed backyardfor wedding photos he was now in a predicament. He had three weddings booked for a photo shoot but had to cancel all of them. He had advised BBB that he intended to use the backyard for photoshoots immediately after it was completed. Each photo shoot was goingto make him $10,000 nett profit. Ray and Wilma immediately contacted RP and told them what had happened. Ray and Wilma demanded that the work crew return to the property and repair the damage. Given RP's reputation through the show and that the design is identifiable as the work of BBB, Ray and Wilma were keen to have the work completed exclusively by BBB. RP expressed the view that its obligations under the contract have been met and the work had been doneaccording to the design plans. This was not true as the design plans included a drainage system, which, if installed properly, would have prevented all the damage described above from occurring. The fact of the matter is that RP intentionally breached the contract by not installing the drainage to save on costs. Ray and Wilma do not have the finances to pay for the repairs.
- Ray and Wilma are so upset they want to stop the screening of their garden makeover on MAF TV. Advise Ray and Wilma on what remedial options are available to them to prevent the screening of their garden makeover on MAF TV.
- Assume that in the negotiations between Ray and Wilma and RP in the leadup to the backyard makeover contract, Ray and Wilma asked if RP would sub-contract the installation of the drainage to their friend and trusted plumber, Dagon. In a meeting between Ray and Wilma, RP and Dagon, RP agreed to sub-contract the drainage installation to Dagon for $100,000. Assume now that the RP properly discharged its contract with Ray and Wilma. This meant that everything was installed properly - including the drainage installation subcontracted to and done by Dagon - and Ray and Wilma are very happy with the results. However, RP refused to pay Dagon $100,000 per its sub-contract with Dagon. Dagon decides to sue Ray and Wilma for the value of his work done, which is $100,000. Identify Dagon's most likely cause of action and discuss whether he would be successful.
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