International Business Law BLAW2007 case study

International
Business Law BLAW2007 case study

Semester 1 of 2016

Part A: (worth
20 marks)

Libby and Stephen Hunterare a young couple
who both studied arts and design at a university in Western Australia. Soon after
graduating, they bought a block of land with a house and a large workshop in Gooseberry
Hills, Western Australia. Stephen specialises in furniture design while Libby
loves to work with textiles. Together they have decided to set up a business to
design and manufacturewooden daybeds with colourful, handmade coverings and
cushions. Stephen developed the design for the wooden frames,and they are
currently working in a team of five.Libby and the couple’s employee Sallydesign
and sew the coverings and cushions, while Stephen’s cousins Nick and Noah helpStephen
with theproduction of the wooden frames. The couple started off selling the daybedsthrough
local retailers, but they now also wholesale their products to a retailer in Mandurah.

Libby and Stephen recently displayed
their daybeds atthe ‘Scandinavian Outdoor Furniture Expo’, to see whether there
was an interest in their product in the European market. They were approached
by a number of European retailers who were very keen to sign contracts to
purchase several hundred daybeds each.Libby and Stephen are very excited about the
prospect of exportingtheir product. However, the increase in demand means that
they now need to consider growing their business. They have decided to continue
with the present arrangements at Gooseberry Hills for the WA retail supply, and
to have the products for wholesale and for the European market manufactured
elsewhere. They have narrowed their choices (for the wholesale and export
markets) down to the following two options.

Option one: They could purchase more tools,
sewing machines and other equipmentto build the wooden frames,and lease a
factory unitclose by. This would of course require significant initial capital,
and at least six more people to help them with the production.

Option two: The frames and coverings
for the wholesale and European markets could be produced cheaply in South East
Asia.

Instructions:You are required to
identify and brieflyintroduce aspects (relating to International
Business Law BLAW 2007) that may impact upon Libby and Stephen’s decision where,
and under what arrangements, to have the products for the wholesale and overseas
markets manufactured.

In each topic studied in this unit,
there are at least one or two areas or principles of law relevant tothe couple’s
decision whether and how to grow the business. It is expected that students
advise them on matters covered in topics one to nine inclusive..docx#_edn1″ title=””>[1]
Students who have a background in taxation law or any other laws that may
impact upon Libby and Stephen’s decision are welcome to cover such additional
aspects, as long as 75% of the paper covers materials studied in BLAW2007. Please do not discuss cases and/or principles of law in
any great detail. Simply apply your knowledgeof the relevant principles of law
to the business proposals outlined above, to make the couple aware of possible
legal implications and risks.This part of the paper should be approximately 1800
to 2000 words. It is not necessary for you to reference this part of the
assignment because the advice you give should all be your own work. Please read
these instructions in combination with the information in the unit outline and
the information on how your paper will be marked (this has been posted to the
assignments folder on Blackboard).

Below is an example of possible advice
relating to conflict of laws (studied in topic one) and how Libby and Stephenwould
benefit from having an awareness of conflict of laws:

Any legal
issues arising from the operation of Libby and Stephen’s business at present will
be determined according to the law of Western Australia, assuming all contracts
are entered in WA. However, once they operate the business at the international
level, a conflict of laws may arise. For example, if a dispute arose between the
couple and an overseas buyer (and the contract was entered in Sweden) it is
likely that Swedish law, rather than WA law would be applied. This, however, depends
on the circumstances and the closest connection with the contract. If Libby and
Stephen wanted to make sure that any disputes wereto be settled under West Australian
law, they could incorporate a choice of law clause into their contract.

Part
B: (worth
10 marks)

Libby and Stephen are a little worried
about the quality of the frames, should they decide to have the daybeds
manufactured in South East Asia. Please advise them of their legal liability,
if any, in case a customer gets hurt, should any of the frames collapse. For
this part of the question assume that the frames are assembled by the purchaser
after delivery. Please advise the couple.

There is no set format on how to
answer this part of the assignment. Please use any format that results in a
clear, well-structured answer. This part of the assignment should include case
discussions and must be referenced appropriately. Your answer should be between
700 and 800 words in length.

Please read the instructions above in
conjunction with the instructions in the unit outline. Information on how to
submit assignments through Turnitinis available on Blackboard, in the
assignments folder.

.docx#_ednref1″ title=””>[1] We will cover topics 8 and 9 after the due date for the assignment.
It is not necessary for you to pre-read the entire topic. Simply select one or
two areas or principles from each topic to include in a couple of short
paragraphs.