State FOUR advantages of registration of a company. (6 marks)
Bugi, Palas, Togi pulled their resources to form an incorporated company named Kaskala Company Limited. In later years, differences arose among the three. All of them claimed ownership of the Company.
Required:
Explain whether any of them can claim ownership of the company. (6 marks)
Azonto, Seamajolly and Araba registered a firm of quantity surveyors under the name King & Associates.
Required:
Explain the position of the firm after registration and the rights and liabilities of the members of the firm towards each other.
(8 marks)
a) Explain the following terms related to employment law: “Contract of Service” and “Contract for Services”. (8 marks)
b) You are confronted with a case where two employees’ appointments had been terminated in a private company. One of the employee was sacked for participating in labour agitations against the employer having worked for 2 months under an oral engagement by the company.
The other employee’s appointment in the same company was terminated because the employee absented himself from work for a day since he was severely injured and his hospital attendance was duly certified by a recognized medical practitioner.
Required:
i) State TWO orders that the Labour Commission may give to the private company, in favour of the affected employees/workers. (6 marks)
i) Section 64 of the Labour Act, 2003 ACT651 provides for the following solutions:
ii) Will both employees have the same cause of action? (2 marks)
Both workers will have the same cause of action as they acted within their rights.
c) State FOUR rights of an employer under the Labour Act, 2003 ACT 651. (4 marks)
Section 8 of ACT 651 provides for the rights of the employer as follows:
Define General and Special Crossing under section 75 of the Bills of Exchange Act, 1961 ACT 55. (6 marks)
Where a cheque bears across its face an addition of the words “and company” or an abbreviation of those words, between two parallel transverse lines, with or without the words “not negotiable” or
Two parallel transverse lines simply, with or without the words “not negotiable”, that addition constitutes crossing, and the cheque is crossed generally.
Where a cheque bears across its face an addition of the name of a banker with or without the words “not negotiable”, that addition constitutes a crossing and the cheque is crossed specially, and to that banker.
Komosa Limited entered into a Hire- Purchase agreement with Mr. Gyeabour over a car. The agreement was to last for a period of 4 years of monthly instalment. The instalment arrangements went on for three and half years till Mr.Gyeabour decided to terminate the arrangement and stopped paying the instalment. For the remaining period, the Company had no news of Mr. Gyeabour or the car. When the car was later found, the air conditioning compartment was in a bad state of disrepair. The Company now intends to sue Mr. Gyeabour who has resurfaced. Mr. Gyeabour is now pleading with the Company for mercy.
Required:
i) Describe TWO basic requirements that should be outlined in a Hire Purchase Agreement. (4 marks)
ii) Explain to Mr. Gyeabour TWO steps he should have taken in respect of the termination and the damaged car under the Hire-Purchase Act, 1974 NRCD 292. (6 marks)
Gyeabour should have taken the following steps as a hirer:
Cho instructs his agent Duu to sell his car. Cho decided to pay GH¢5,000 as commission to Duu on completion of the sale. Duu sold the car and was accordingly paid the commission of GH¢5,000. Cho then immediately found that the purchaser of the car had also paid a bribe of GH¢2,500 which Duu did not disclose.
Required:
Explain the principle in law of agency applicable to this scenario. (4 marks)
The law of agency provides for the rights and duties between the principal and agent. An agent owes various duties to his principal and the foremost is fiduciary duty. This means that the agent must act on utmost good faith and be sincere and honest in his dealings with his principal. The agent does not have to make secret profit beyond the commission or other remuneration paid by his principal. Thus the agent is accountable for every profit which he makes without the principal’s consent.
As the purchaser of the car had paid Duu a commission, Duu is in breach of his fiduciary duty that he owes to Cho. Cho stands to recover the GH¢5, 000 he paid to Duu and the GH¢2,500 received as bribe paid by the purchaser.
When Ozozo was about to travel out of the country, he promised his wife Julie that he would remit her the equivalent of GH¢2,000 every month for the upkeep of the house. However, when he got to his destination, after sending money for two months he failed to honour the promise. He has just returned after two years stay outside the country. Julie has approached you to advise her whether she can claim the arrears in the contract with Ozozo.
Ozozo promised his daughter Anita before travelling that, he would buy a car for her on his return. Anita insisted that her father put that promise into writing and sign, which he did. On his return, Ozozo is dragging his feet in respect of his promise.
Required:
i) List FOUR elements of a valid contract. (4 marks)
ii) Explain to Julie whether the agreement with Ozozo constituted a valid contract. (3 marks)
Julie will not succeed (Balfour v Balfour). The parties in domestic or social arrangements are generally presumed not to intend legal consequences.”. “For a contract to exist the parties to an agreement must intend to create legal relations Usually, the presence of consideration will provide evidence of this – if the promisor has specified something as the price for the promisee this – in most cases – carries with it an intention that the parties be bound. Intention remains, however, an independent requirement and must be separately demonstrated and there are cases in which consideration has been present but no contract found to exist because this pre-condition has not been fulfilled. In determining if there is contractual intent and objective approach is taken.
iii) Advice Anita on the effect of putting the agreement in writing. (3 marks)
Anita will succeed on the rebuttable presumption that they intend to claim legal relationship although it is the same social/domestic agreement
b) Explain the meaning of the following in the law of contract.
i) Term of Contract (2 marks)
In the course of negotiations that should lead to the formation of a contract, the parties to the contract may make a number of statements. These statements may or may not form part of the contract. If a statement becomes a core part of a contract, it is a term of the contract. A term of a contract then creates a legal obligation for which it entitles the innocent party to sue for damages for breach of contract.
ii) Rescission (2 marks)
Rescission of a contract is an equitable remedy that allows the parties to a voidable contract to treat it as if it had never been made and to recover from one another any money or property that had changed hands before the defect came to light. It is a standard remedy in case of breach of a condition. The remedy requires that the person has acted equitably himself. It will not be available if the person claiming it delays in acting on his right and a third part’s rights have arisen, the person claiming (third party) has affirmed the contract and property being reclaimed has passed to a third party.
c) Bizee Company Limited is a wholesaler storing large quantities of goods in the port city of Takoradi. Kofi Gee an employee of the Company is a well-trained and skilled driver in a specialty truck. As part of the Company’s routine retraining, the need for Kofi Gee to take time, drive the truck carefully and safely, taking into consideration always people on the premises was over-emphasized. One day in a hurry to complete the day’s scheduled duty, Kofi Gee drove back the truck so quickly through the partition of the client part of the wholesale department. Two clients on the sales section of the Company at the time were injured.
The Board of Directors of the Company foresaw the potential consequence to compensate the injured. At their meeting therefore, you were consulted for your idea on the compensation.
Required:
Explain to the Board the possible liability of the Company and Kofi Gee to the two injured clients. (6 marks)
Every individual is liable for his own tort. However employers are vicariously responsible/liable for the tort of their employees while the employees are acting in the course of employment. The employer ceases to be liable only where the employee is on the frolic of his own.
Kofi Gee was employed to drive the specialty truck and was doing that when the accident occurred. Therefore, the Company becomes vicariously liable for the tort of Kofi Gee in the tort of negligence, despite the instructions and despite providing him with the needed training.
The law imposes a duty on everyone and to everyone to take care, in particular professionals. Kofi Gee breached that duty by failing to apply the skill and expertise in driving the specialty truck. Kofi Gee will also be liable in the tort of negligence.
William and Apenteng have put their resources together to build a hostel. William had an accident and is badly injured. His legs are amputated and he has lost both arms. Apenteng is now claiming that William has lost his right to own property and as the Accountant of the project, you should make the necessary transfers to him Apenteng.
Required:
i) Identify TWO fundamental human rights (if any) per the 1992 Constitution of Ghana that William has. (4 marks)
ii) Explain to William if his fundamental human rights can be changed by an Act of Parliament. (3 marks)
No, Fundamental Human Rights are enshrined and can only be changed by a referendum.
i) State TWO matters the High Court has jurisdiction in. (4 marks)
The High Court shall, subject to the provisions of this Constitution, have jurisdiction in all matters and in particular, in civil and criminal matters and such original, appellate and other jurisdiction as may be conferred on it by this Constitution or any other law.
ii) Can the Circuit Court overturn the decision of the High Court? (2 marks)
The Circuit court cannot overturn the decision of the High court because the former ranks below in terms of the hierarchy of the law courts.
