Law Extension Committee s1

LAW EXTENSION COMMITTEE WINTER 2016 03 TORTS ASSIGNMENT

INSTRUCTIONS

In Torts, there is only ONE ASSIGNMENT. This assignment is compulsory and must be submitted by all students. The assignment will constitute 20% of the final mark in this subject.

Assignments must be submitted by the due date unless an extension has been granted. Extensions need to be requested by email prior to the assignment due date and specific supporting evidence provided. Late assignments attract a penalty of one mark out of 20, or 5% of the total marks available, per day. A pass mark is 50%. Assignments that are received more than ten days after the published due date will not be accepted. Please note that students granted an extension must still submit their assignment within ten days of the original assignment due date.

Assignments are assessed according to the “Assignment Grading and Assessment Criteria” outlined in the Guide to the Presentation and Submission of Assignments. Prior to the examination, assignments will be returned to students and results posted on students’ individual Results screen of the LEC Webcampus. Students are responsible for checking their Results screen and ascertaining their eligibility to sit for the examination.

The rules regarding the presentation of assignments and instructions on how to submit an assignment are set out in the Guide to the Presentation and Submission of Assignments available on the LEC Webcampus. Please read this guide carefully before completing and submitting this assignment.

The maximum word length for this assignment is 1500 words (inclusive of all footnotes but not bibliography).

Completed assignments should be lodged through the LEC Webcampus and received by 11:59pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time) on Thursday 7 July 2016.

Please download the Assignment Coversheet. The coversheet will be the first page of your assignment. Save it with the name you intend to use for the assignment, and begin your answer on the second page. Make sure you complete the Assignment Coversheet by entering in your Student Number, Full Name and Address Details and the Date you lodged your assignment on the Webcampus. Next to “Signed”, type your name to acknowledge that the assignment is your own work.

COMPULSORY ASSIGNMENT

In January 2016, Mr Jones took a redundancy payout from his work as an Information Technology Specialist. He purchased a Toyota Camry and applied to sign up as an ‘Uber Driver’. As part of the signing up process, Mr Jones entered into a Services Agreement with Rasier Pacific V.O.F., an unlimited partnership established in The Netherlands that provides the Uber Services.

In the Services Agreement, it was stated and Mr Jones agrees that:

‘ Rasier Pacific is a technology services provider that does not provide transportation services, function as a transportation carrier, nor operate as an agent for the transportation of passengers’.

In accordance with the Services Agreement, Mr Jones was issued with a Driver ID to enable him to

of 3 access and use the Driver App on a Device provided by Uber. The Device is a mobile equipment owned or controlled by Rasier Pacific that is provided to Uber drivers solely for use of the Driver App to provide Transportation Services. The Driver App is a mobile application provided to authorized Users seeking transportation services. When the Driver App is active, User requests for Transportation Services appear to the Driver via the Driver App if the Driver is available and in the vicinity of the User. If the Driver accepts a User’s request for Transportation Services, Uber Services then provides the Driver with certain User Information via the Driver App, including the User’s first name and pickup location.

The Services Agreement further provides that: a. The Driver shall be solely responsible for determining the most effective, efficient and safe manner to perform each instance of Transportation Services; and b. except for Uber Services or any Uber Devices (if applicable), the Driver shall provide all necessary equipment, tools and other materials, at his or her own expense, necessary to perform Transportation Services.

Clause 2.3 of the Services Agreement provide as follows:

Your Relationship with Users. You acknowledge and agree that your provision of Transportation Services to Users creates a legal and direct business relationship between you and the User, to which Rasier Pacific and its Affiliates are not a party. Rasier Pacific and its Affiliates are not responsible or liable for the actions or inactions of a User in relation to you, your activities or your Vehicle. You shall have the sole responsibility for any obligations or liabilities to Users or third parties that arise from your provision of Transportation Services. You acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for taking such precautions as may be reasonable and proper (including maintaining adequate insurance that meets the requirements of all applicable laws) regarding any acts or omissions of a User or third party. You acknowledge and agree that Rasier Pacific and its Affiliates may release your contact and/or insurance information to a User upon such User’s reasonable request. You acknowledge and agree that, unless consented to by a User, you may not transport or allow inside your Vehicle individuals other than a User and any individuals authorized by such User, during the performance of Transportation Services for such User. You acknowledge and agree that all Users should be transported directly to their specified destination, as directed by the applicable User, without unauthorized interruption or unauthorized stops.

In March 2016, Mr Jones arrived at Sheraton Hotel, Elizabeth Street at 11.45pm to take Miss Warwick following a User request for Transportation Services received on his Uber Device. Upon entering the vehicle, Miss Warwick found a diamond ring on the back seat. She showed the ring to Mr Jones who took and examined it and admitted he had not seen the ring before and did not know who it belonged to. Both parties agreed that a User might have left it behind on an earlier service.

On arriving at her destination in St Ives, Miss Warwick demanded the ring back from Mr Jones. He refused to give it back, noting that he would like to take it to the Uber Customer Support Center as the owner might call the Center. Ms Warwick responded by saying: ‘I am never leaving this car without the ring. You guys are all the same. I know you. You are going to keep it. You are just a crook’.

Mr Jones demanded that Ms Warwick leave the vehicle and added: ‘If you do not leave, I will physically drag you out, or take you to my mates who can fix you. It’s your choice’.

of 3 When Ms Warwick refused to leave the vehicle, Mr Jones opened the left-hand door to the back of the vehicle and pulled Ms Warwick out onto the ground. In anger, Ms Warwick threw a piece of brick aiming to hit Mr Jones, but missed and hit the windscreen of his vehicle causing the wind screen to shatter into several pieces. In response, Mr Jones grab Ms Warwick by the neck threatening to strangle her and noted:

‘You clearly do not value your life and neither do I. This will be your last ride in any car’

A neighbour who heard Ms Warwick screaming, came to her aid and separated the parties. Ms Warwick was severely traumatised by the incident. She said she thought she was going to die. She was subsequently admitted the SAN Hospital where she was treated for posttraumatic stress.

Mr Jones sent the ring to Uber Customer Support Center. No one has as yet claimed the ring which is valued at $75,000.

Mr Jones seeks legal advice from Martin & Associates of which you are an Articled Clerk. You are asked to write a memorandum to indicate the legal position of Mr Jones, Ms Warwick and Rasier Pacific V.O.F indicating their liabilities (if any) or possible causes of action open to them.