OC BUAD 209 Professor: Doug Anderson

ASSIGNMENT 1 ( Chapters 4 & 5) Marks ___/ 50

IMPORTANT : Downloading and completion instructions

Please follow these instructions for downloading and answering the questions as
found on Moodle for each assignment. These instructions are as follows:
Use this form of assignment to complete your assignment. Please download and save this
assignment form as it is, use the saved document to answer each question immediately after
the question, and then save the completed document and upload it to me. This way you have
the question right in front of you while answering it, and I have the question and number of
marks for the question in front of me in marking.
Do not use the “Track Changes” tool to use a different color type for your answers, and do not
"lock" or "protect" your work. I need your document "open".
Make sure you use the following file naming protocol which is also included in the Assignment
Summary sheet:
In submitting your assignments on Moodle, please name your document with your last name,
then first name, followed by a space and the assignment number.
Example – for Assignment 1, if your surname was Jones and given name John, you would
save the document with the title: Jones John Law Assign 1. The document type should
automatically be entered by your software program.
This makes it easier for me to download the assignments for marking. Also put your name on
the top of your assignments.
General Assignment Instructions:
 Write clearly and concisely.
 Use appropriate formatting choices for your answer.
o Consider: numbered or bulleted list.
o Sentences and paragraphs where appropriate.
 Use your judgment to present the information precisely.
 Watch your grammar and spelling.
 The depth and effort put into your answer should reflect
the number of marks given for the question.

Important note: Mastering case analysis is one of the important aspects of

succeeding in this course.

a) Access the BC Courts website at : www.courts.gov.bc.ca

b) Access the CanLII website at: CanLII search website

Caution on completing assignments

Students must submit independently written work. Students may not write joint or
collaborative assignments with other students, as there are no group assignments in this
section of the course. While it is acceptable to study together, your assignments are to be
your work and thoughts and analysis in your own words, or in the words of the course text book
or court decision.
Issues are the questions the court has to decide to determine the case. They are either Issues
of Fact or Legal issues

Issues of Fact
The facts are the details of an actual circumstance, act, event or incident that happened. Facts
are not what a person believes to be true but what is true, or what actually happened. Questions
of fact are questions about what happened and if the facts are in dispute, the judge decides
these questions after hearing the evidence of the parties. These decisions are called findings of
fact. Sometimes the parties agree as to what happened and these are referred to as undisputed
facts or facts not in dispute.

The facts of a case are central to every step in the case analysis. It is from the facts that the
issues are identified. It is the facts that lead to the identification of the most appropriate rules,
and the rules which lead to the most useful way of construing the facts. Analysis requires the
interpretation of facts and rules. The conclusion is a decision based on the application of the
rules to the facts for each issue.

Legal issues are questions about whether the required elements of the cause of action or the
legal rules have been proven by the facts.

Material or relevant facts are those that are essential or necessary to decide the legal issues
raised in the case.

In this course, we do not deal with evidence and determining credibility. When you are given a
set of facts in class or on an exam, we assume that all of the facts as stated can be proven and
are true. In both of the Chand and Popat cases, the judge had to determine what the facts were,
in part. For example, in Chand, the facts set out in paragraphs 1, 7 -10 are not disputed. On the
other hand, the judge had to determine other facts based on the evidence presented before him.
One example is in paragraph 10 where he had to decide “whether the lights at the Scott Road
Crossing were working”. After reviewing the evidence, he decided in parag. 40 that: neither the
signal lights south of the Scott Road Crossing nor the bells functioned properly at the time of the
collision.

In this assignment, you should set out those facts that are not disputed (Q1) as well as the facts
that the judge finds to be the case (Q2), which would include the one above. There are other
important and relevant facts that he finds in order to decide the case. Look for them and include
them in your answers.

Also keep in mind that the facts are not the same as the legal issues. Questions of fact are
questions as to what happened. Questions of law are the legal issues that the plaintiff has to
prove in order to win the case. In these cases the legal issues are the elements you need to
prove to win.

Remedies
Remedies are means by which the rights of a person are enforced or the violation of the right is
prevented, redressed, or compensated. The general remedy is Damages which is comprised of
general, special and punitive damages. Equitable remedies include an accounting, an
injunction, a declaration, specific performance and others. See text p.83-84 (LO 3.3) and 283 –
290 (LO 9.5, 9.6)
PART 1. Case review and analysis (25 marks)

Reading assignment: Read the following case decision dealing with some of the material
covered in chapter 4 of the textbook being defamation: Popat v. MacLennan, 2014 BCSC 1601
You can find it on the courts website www.courts.gov.bc.ca, under Quick Search type in
the case citation “2014 BCSC 1601”, then click on Submit.

Read parag. 1-11, 17- 46 only. The discussion of Suitability for Summary Trial is not
relevant to this course.

1) Set out in your own words a summary statement of the material facts that were not
disputed giving rise to the plaintiff's claim. (3 marks)

2) Set out in your own words a summary statement of the issues of fact (disputed
material facts) the court had to decide and what the court decided on each of these
issues. (3 marks)

3) Set out two of the remedies or relief sought by the plaintiff or that could have been
sought by the plaintiff in this case and indicate against which defendant(s) that relief
is or could be sought.. (2 marks)

a.
b.

4) Set out three different legal issues the court had to decide in this case and for each
issue name, and then explain/set out, the legal test/rules used to decide that issue.
Issues are to be stated in the form of a question (6 marks) (1 mark for each issue
and 1 mark for the legal test for each issue)
a.
b.
c.

5) For each of the legal issues you have identified in question #4, explain how the
court applied the legal tests/ rules to the material facts that relate to that issue and
what the court decided? (6 marks – 2 marks per issue)

6) What was the final conclusion or decision of the court as to the liability of the
defendants and what remedy was given to the plaintiff? (1 mark)

7) Write a one page summary of what you learned about the law relating to defamation
in general by discussing the required ingredients a plaintiff will have to prove in order
to be successful and the defenses available to a defendant. (4 marks)
PART 2. Case review and analysis (25 marks)

Reading assignment: Read the following case decision dealing with some of the material
covered in chapter 5 of the textbook: Chand v. Martin, 2017 BCSC 660 Read the whole
case. You can find it on the courts website www.courts.gov.bc.ca, under Quick Search
type in the case citation “2017 BCSC 660”, then click on Submit.

1) Set out in your own words a summary statement of the material facts that were not
disputed giving rise to the plaintiff's claim. (3 marks)

2) Set out in your own words a summary statement of the issues of fact (disputed material
facts) the court had to decide and what the court decided on each of these issues. (3
marks)

3) Set out two of the remedies or relief sought by the plaintiff or that could have been
sought by the plaintiff in this case and indicate against which defendant(s) that relief is or
could be sought.. (2 marks)

a.
b.

4) Set out three different legal issues the court had to decide in this case and for each
issue name, and then explain/set out, the legal test/rules used to decide that issue.
Issues are to be stated in the form of a question (6 marks) (1 mark for each issue and 1
mark for the legal test for each issue)
a.
b.
c.

5) For each of the legal issues you have identified in question #4, explain how the court
applied the legal tests/ rules to the material facts that relate to that issue and what the
court decided? (6 marks – 2 marks per issue)

6) What was the final conclusion or decision of the court as to the liability of the defendants
and what remedy was given to the plaintiff? (1 mark)

7) Write a one page summary of what you learned about the law relating to negligence in
general by discussing the required ingredients a plaintiff will have to prove in order to be
successful and the defenses available to a defendant. (4 marks)