UNIVERSAL COLLEGE LAHORE

MOCK EXAMS – MARCH 2023

SCHOOL OF LAW

CONTRACT LAW
Time Allowed: 4 hours Total Marks: 400

Student Name:

Instructions
 Attempt FOUR out of EIGHT questions.
 Each question carries 100 marks.

UCL M-23 1 Contract Law

Question 1
Critically evaluate the approach taken by the courts to the implication of terms into
parties’ contracts.

Question 2
a) ‘A mere increase in costs will never constitute frustration.’

Discuss.

b) Fiona, a famous businesswoman, contracts with Grot plc, to give a speech at their
annual dinner for a fee of £10,000, half of it payable on contracting and the other
half on the day of the speech. Fiona also asks for a case of Krug champagne which
Grot agree to send to her the week before the event. The venue for the dinner fails
its safety inspection the day before the dinner is due to take place. Grot plc made the
first payment of £5,000 to Fiona but forgot to send the champagne. Later they refuse
to pay the second installment or to send the champagne. Grot have ordered £1,000
worth of flowers for the tables which they cannot avoid paying for.

Advise Grot as to their rights and liabilities.

Question 3
‘In deciding whether an agreement is said to evidence an intention to create legal
relations the court often refers to so-called presumptions. However, this approach can be
difficult to apply in borderline cases.’

Discuss.

UCL M-23 2 Contract Law

Question 4
Gunter decides to sell some of his books. He takes the following actions:
a) He writes to Severine offering her his first edition of Anson on contract for £100.
Severine replies to Gunter by letter accepting the offer but the letter is never
delivered.
b) He writes to Ewan offering him a signed copy of his, Gunter’s, own first contract
book for £200. Ewan posts a letter accepting the offer but forgets to put a stamp on
it and the letter is not delivered as a result.
c) He writes to Mindy offering her a second edition of Chitty on contract for £300 and
tells her that he ‘...will need notice of her acceptance’ saying that ‘being a contract
lawyer like him, she will understand why’. Mindy posts a letter accepting the offer
but it is never delivered.
d) He telephones Patrick to offer him his third edition of Pollock on contract for £400.
Patrick says that he will think about it and get back to Gunter. The following day
Patrick telephones Gunter and leaves a message on his voicemail to say he will buy
the Pollock on contract for £350 and that he will assume that the book is his at that
price unless Gunter replies otherwise and that he will collect the book when he sees
Gunter at the Contract Teachers’ Conference next month. Gunter listens to the
message and puts the book aside to take to the conference.

Gunter attends the conference where he meets Severine, Mindy, Ewan and Patrick.
Gunter tells Severine, Ewan and Mindy that he was surprised when he did not
receive any replies to his offers to them and so he sold the books he offered to a
bookseller. He also tells Patrick that only last week he changed his mind about
selling the third edition of Pollock.

Advise Severine, Ewan, Mindy and Patrick if they have any contractual claims
against Gunter

Question 5
‘In the past, courts were very inventive in finding ways to allow a third party to take the
benefit of a contract to which she was not a party. Such ‘tricks’ are no longer necessary
after the passing of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.’

Discuss.

UCL M-23 3 Contract Law

Question 6
Farouq meets Gerardo for the first time at a business meeting on 1st April and agrees to
buy Gerardo’s car from him for £10,000. Advise Gerardo as to his contractual obligations
in the following alternative circumstances in the light of the different mistakes made by
the party or parties:
(a) Gerardo was late for the meeting on 1st April and so parked his car in a hurry and
ran to the meeting. This was seen by the police who suspected it might contain a
bomb. The car was destroyed in a controlled explosion. Gerardo heard a loud bang
as he entered the meeting but thought nothing of it.
b) Gerardo intended to sell his old jeep but Farouq intended to buy the sports car he
had watched Gerardo park. Gerardo was NOT aware of Farouq’s mistake.
(c) Gerardo intended to sell his old jeep but Farouq intended to buy the sports car he
had watched Gerardo park. Gerardo was aware of Farouq’s mistake.
(d) Both Farouq and Gerardo believe Gerardo’s car has a three litre engine. It actually
has a less powerful two litre engine.

Question 7
Mia is planning to hold a party at her house to launch her new interior design business.
She speaks to her neighbour, Goldeep, to warn her about potential noise on the evening
of the party. Goldeep promises that she will not complain about the noise if Mia agrees
not to insist on full repayment of the £200 that Goldeep owes Mia. Mia agrees that
Goldeep need only pay her £100.
Mia contacts Andrew, the owner of Party People, a local business that supplies catering
services. Mia asks Andrew if his company can provide buffet food and cocktails on the
night of her party. Andrew’s business has been going through a slump and he is in serious
financial difficulties. The party offers Andrew the opportunity to attract new clients for
his business and so he undertakes to provide the service at a reduced price of £1,000. A
week before the party, Andrew realises that it will be impossible to provide both food and
cocktails for the price agreed. Andrew telephones Mia in a panic, shouting, ‘There’s no
way I can do this for the price promised. Unless you pay me double, I will not be doing the
job!’ Realising that she would need to pay £2,000 for the same services elsewhere, Mia
agrees to pay Andrew the additional money.
The day after the party, Mia changes her mind about paying the extra £1,000 to Andrew.
She also regrets her decision to forego the £100 that Goldeep owes her.

Advise Mia.

Question 8
‘There should be no legal restrictions on the right of an innocent party to affirm a contract
when faced with an anticipatory repudiatory breach.’

Discuss.

UCL M-23 4 Contract Law