Vince Scaleri made an arrangement with two of his friends saying that he would be glad if they would in their own time provide him with firewood during the winter of 2019. Vince lived in Georgetown, roughly 50 kilometres from the woodyard of his two friends.Vince stated that the firewood should be cut to a length of 3 feet and to a width of 6 inches. There was no discussion as to the volume of wood which should be supplied nor as to the price for the wood. Vince commenced the discussion using his mobile phone and the friends responded in writing.

By the middle of the winter in 2019, Vince had not been supplied with any wood so he contacted his friends to complain. They responded saying that they had not realised that he was depending on them for his supply of firewood. They explained that due to the Summer bushfires they had lost several stands of timber and it was not possible for them to supply firewood to customers, let alone friends.

Vince was disappointed but discovered an advertisement in the local paper which advertised the benefits of installing an electric fire place which was described as the answer to cold winter nights - it said that if a reader purchased such a fire place it would give the room in which it was installed an even temperature of 20 degrees centigrade. The advertisement said that fireplaces could be purchased from a number of stores.

Vince went to his local furniture store and acquired an electric fireplace. When installed it failed to improve the temperature in Vince's house and he froze.It transpired that Vince did not purchase the fireplace, instead he was given it in recognition of some work he had done for the store owner six months ago.

Vince's daughter, Helen, was a teacher and she was injured when she touched the fireplace.As a result she could not continue with her employment as a teacher and she began to suffer from depression.

Vince's wife had had enough and she went to the bank to obtain a loan to cover the cost of renovations to the house. The bank agreed to a loan of $40,000 provided she arranged for her parents to guarantee the loan. They did so and mortgaged their own home as security. They were at the time in Cairns and the documents providing the security were sent to them to be signed there. The did so and returned them to the bank. The loan was granted but Vince and his wife did not use the loan money for the renovations but took a cruise instead.

On the cruise many of the passengers contracted a disease which required the vessel to be quarantined for 14 days. The cruise was a disaster.

REQUIRED

1.Advise Vince as to whether he can seek damages from his friends who failed to supply the firewood. What would Vince need to prove in order to be successful.

2.Advise Vince whether he would have any claim against the advertiser of the electric fire place or the furniture store from which he purchased the fire place due to the apparently unsatisfactory performance of the fireplace. What would Vince need to prove in order to be successful against each party.

3.Would Helen be likely to have any claim in contract for her injury or the onset of depression? What would she have to prove in order to b successful?

4.Do you think that the parents would be liable to honour their guarantee to the bank in respect of the loan to Vince and his wife? What defence might the parents argue and would they be likely to be successful?

5.Would Vince and his wife be entitled to damages for the fact that the cruise disappointed them? What would they have to prove?

In your report you will need to identify relevant legal sources and principles and it is suggested that you use the approach of PIRAC in reaching your conclusions.