Part A: Contract Law Question

i. Read the two alternative Contracts Law questions below and choose one question to answer.

ii. answer your chosen question using the IRAC method.

iii. Your answer must be supported by relevant law and cases decided by Australian courts (preferably the High Court) and/or scholarly articles. A minimum of 3 references are required for this part of the report.

iv. Your references must be listed in a Reference list at the end of the Part A question.

Part A: Contracts Law Questions

Option 1

SOO Burgers is a chain of hamburger restaurants operating in Australia and New Zealand. Sales across the restaurant chain were slow in the last financial year. In order to sell more hamburgers, SOO Burgers ran a competition Australia-wide, which was extensively promoted on radio, newspapers and online. The promotion is called “the Fair Dinkum deal”. According to promotion rules, a token would be attached to the wrapper of every “Double Decker Emu Burger”. If a customer collects 50 of these tokens, they could be redeemed at the counter for a golden scratch ticket. The promotion rules also stated:

“Fair dinkum! Scratch the golden ticket. If it reveals a golden car, present your ticket to the SOO Burgers head office and win the grand prize of a brand new Mazda CX-9.

Hurry! This promotion doesn’t last forever!”

Michael “Mickey” Morrow was extremely keen to join the promotion and win the car. It also helped that he loves SOO Burgers, particularly the Double Decker Emu Burger. The very next morning after he heard the promotion announced on radio, he rushed to his favourite SOO Burgers branch in Fitzroy. He ordered 50 Double Decker Emu Burgers. Mickey was a man on a mission, and he ate as he had never done before in his life. He passed out from exhaustion and had to be rushed to the emergency room of his local hospital to get his stomach pumped. Luckily though, before passing out, he made sure to redeem his 50 tokens at the counter for a golden scratch ticket.

As would be expected, not all customers were thrilled about going to SOO Burgers and buying a Double Decker Emu Burger just for the chance to win a car. Consequently, many burger wrappers that contained tokens were thrown away in the rubbish bins. Brett Vulture scavenged through the rubbish bins of the SOO Burgers branch at Altona. To collect the discarded wrappers for their tokens. He quickly collected 100 tokens. He went inside the restaurant and redeemed the tokens for two golden scratch tickets. He was ecstatic when he scratched them and found, not one, but two golden cars! He then rushed to SOO Burgers head office in Melbourne, where he presented his winning tickets. The receptionist told him to wait at the reception waiting area. While waiting, an employee came from inside the office and posted a sign on the front door of the office. Curious, Brett approached the sign and read:

“SOO Burgers apologises that because of a printing error, incorrect golden scratch tickets were included in the Fair Dinkum deal. Management is sorry to advise that these faulty tickets are void and will not be honoured.

SOO Burgers thanks its customers for their patience and invite all of them to join its next exciting promotion.”

As Brett looked at the posted in dismay, he spotted another customer who emerged from office accompanied by a SOO Burgers employee. The customer was smiling from ear to ear as he shook the employee’s hand, and said, “I’m so happy to win the car!” It turned out that that customer came in before Brett and presented a winning golden scratch ticket. SOO Burgers honoured his ticket since it had already purchased the only Mazda CX-9 that it was going to give away as the big prize.

In the meantime, while Mickey was at the hospital, SOO Burgers’ announced on radio, newspapers and online that there had been a printing error in the golden scratch tickets. As a result, instead of only one winning golden scratch ticket in the promotion to win the Mazda CX-9, every one in five tickets were winning tickets! SOO Burgers announced that it was immediately declaring that their Fair Dinkum promotion was void and would not honour any prize claims. Mickey did not actually read or hear this announcement. But he overheard some nurses talking as they passed his room about SOO Burgers promotional fiasco and the cancellation of the entire promotion.

Mickey quickly found his golden ticket, scratched it and found a golden car. Thinking that he had not heard anything official from SOO Burgers itself, he discharged himself from the hospital and went straight to the company’s head office with the aim of redeeming his winning ticket. When he arrived, there was a mob of angry customers outside the notice on the front door. As the crowed covered the notice, Mickey did not read it; instead, he approached the receptionist and presented his winning ticket.

SOO Burgers now seeks your legal advice on whether they have to provide (a) Mickey and (b) Brett with the Mazda CX-9s they are claiming. Please advise on Mickey’s and Brett’s positions separately.