THIS PAPER IS NOT TO BE REMOVED FROM THE EXAMINATION HALL

LA2017 ZB
LLB
BSc DEGREES WITH LAW
GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN COMMERCIAL LAW

Commercial law

Friday 17 May 2019: 10.00 – 13.15

DO NOT TURN OVER UNTIL TOLD TO BEGIN

Candidates will have THREE HOURS AND FIFTEEN MINUTES in which to

answer the questions. Candidates must answer all parts of a question unless
otherwise stated.

Candidates must answer FOUR of the following EIGHT questions.

Permitted materials
Candidates are permitted to bring into the examination room the following
specified document: one copy of Core Statutes on Commercial & Consumer
Law 2018-19 (Palgrave Macmillan).

© University of London 2019

UL19/0367
Page 1 of 3
1. “A theme that runs through our law of contract is that the reasonable
expectations of honest men must be protected.” (Steyn J in First Energy
Ltd v Hungarian International Bank (1993)).

Discuss the extent to which this is correct in relation to commercial law.

2. “All that commercial law is really concerned with is the concept of

‘ownership’.”

Discuss.

3. Bravo Ltd purchased a used car from Sellars’ Garage Ltd. The car was
one-year-old and had covered only 4,000 miles. It was an upmarket
saloon and cost £50,000. Bravo paid a deposit and then settled the
balance in full before taking delivery of the car on 1 November 2018.

Within two weeks the car was returned to Sellars’ as Bravo had noticed
a number of faults. On two occasions, the engine has cut out while
driving at high speed. On one occasion, the ‘auto locking’ feature,
designed to automatically secure the car when the driver walks away
with the key, had locked the car with the key inside it. Various pieces
of interior trim, on closer inspection, also seemed to be looking very worn
for such a new and lightly used vehicle.

On 1 December, Sellars’ agreed to make good the defects. The car was
returned to Bravo on 7 December as the two previous faults had recurred
and the interior trim was showing excessive wear despite limited and
careful use. Sellars’ agreed to inspect the vehicle further but could not
find any evidence or cause of the faults and did not agree that the interior
showed premature wear.

The problems have not been remedied. Bravo have continued to use
the car but are very unhappy with it. Bravo have not raised the
continuing problems with Sellars’ since December.

Advise Bravo Ltd.

4. “The remedies available to the consumer for defective goods under the
Consumer Rights Act 2015 are clearer and more effective than those
available under the Sale of Goods Act 1979, which continue to apply to
business to business sales.”

Discuss.

5. “Retention of title clauses which seek to assert the seller’s rights over
manufactured goods and proceeds of sale seem to fail.”

Discuss.
UL19/0367
Page 2 of 3
6. A mortgage over goods provides a creditor with peace of mind that in
the event of default, they will be truly protected. What then is the purpose
of other forms of real and personal security?

7. Petra has recently acquired a restaurant from Amanda. Previously,

Amanda was both owner and manager, she has continued to act as
manager. Petra wants the restaurant to become more profitable by more
effective management of its costs. She has instructed Amanda to
renegotiate with existing suppliers, achieving at least a 10% reduction in
cost.

Petra has returned from holiday to find Amanda has done the following:

1. Achieved a saving of 20% on a contract for the supply of

potatoes but also agreed that the restaurant will guarantee
to buy 250kg per week, 50% more than the restaurant
would usually need.

2. Purchased a new refrigerator to store fresh meat after the

old refrigerator broke down. The new refrigerator cost
£2,500. Amanda tried to have the old one repaired, but
the repair company refused to help after hearing that she
had asked all suppliers to reduce their prices. Quickly
buying a new refrigerator, however, meant that meat worth
£1,700 did not have to the thrown away.

3. Terminated a contract with a cleaning company to provide

cleaning services for 10 hours per week and entered into
a new contract with another company, who she had
worked with years before. Under the new contract,
cleaners will provide services for 15 hours per week, but
the cost will increase by just 10%. The manager of the
new cleaning company was not sure why the restaurant
needed the extra hours of cleaning but was reassured
when she told her “don’t worry, I know what my customers
want, after all it’s been my restaurant for many years.”

Advise Petra.

8. To what extent did the addition of ss.20A and 20B to the SGA address
the shortcomings previously highlighted in the common law?

END OF PAPER

UL19/0367
Page 3 of 3