Contract Law Assignment Brief 2025/26 – University of Galway

Contract Assignment 2025/26

This assignment, which counts for 25% of your marks for this module, must be submitted on Canvas by 5pm on Friday, 16th January, 2026. It must be typed in 12 point font with 1.5 spacing and should be no more than 1,200 words. The cover page must give your name, ID number and programme.

You do not need to use footnotes or endnotes but your bibliography **must** include a list of all cases mentioned in your answer with full citations, as well as any books or articles consulted. The bibliography will not be included in the word count. Information on how to answer problem questions and a sample answer are available on Canvas. There is also information on how to use class notes.

For the purposes of this problem question, you can ignore the European Communities (Commercial Agents) Regulations 1994.

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Pierce is a very successful influencer. For his sponsorship and advertising deals, he employs commercial agents. For everyday contracts, he uses his PA, Alan, as his agent.

Pierce wants to visit Galway for a few weeks and asks Alan to find him an apartment. Alan recently inherited a small apartment in Galway from his grandmother. He decides to rent it to Pierce, at the going rate for apartments in that area. He tells Pierce that he has found an apartment and asks if Pierce is ok with the fact that it belongs to him. Pierce says that that’s fine with him and signs the lease.

When Pierce arrives at the apartment, he is completely unimpressed, especially by the décor. He throws a massive tantrum and screams at Alan – “how can I be expected to stay in a place like this? It looks like an old lady lives here!” Alan is furious and they have a blazing row which culminates in Pierce firing him as PA and agent.

Alan wants to get back at Pierce. He goes to a local cocktail bar, Seek, and says that he is acting as agent for Pierce, who wants to book the entire venue for a huge party. Tim, the owner of Seek, knows who Pierce is, and that he’s staying in Galway at the moment, though he had never heard of Alan before. He agrees to provide the food and the cocktails without any payment upfront.

Pierce hires a new PA, Amelie. He asks her to buy him a mid-century sideboard from a vintage furniture shop. He warns her not to mention that it is for him, since the shop owner, Tess, barred him from her shop because he kept asking for freebies. Amelie buys the sideboard that Pierce wanted, and notices there is a matching bookcase. She decides to buy that too. When she tells Pierce about the bookcase he is delighted with her initiative and ratifies her actions.

Alan invites all his friends to the party at Seek. They have a wonderful time, and run up a bill of over €5,000. Tim sends the bill to Pierce who says that it has nothing to do with him.

When Tess looks at the delivery address, she realises that the sideboard and desk were bought for Pierce. She refuses to deliver them and says she never would have entered into the contract if she had known that the furniture was for Pierce.

Pierce refuses to pay the rent on the apartment he rented from Alan.

Advise all the parties on their rights and liabilities.

Useful Sources

Robert Bradgate and Nigel Savage, Commercial Law
(2nd edn, Butterworths 1995)

Robert Bradgate and Fidelma White, Commercial Law,
(Oxford University Press 2012)

Andrew Burrows (ed), Principles of English Commercial Law
(Oxford University Press 2015) *

Roy Goode & Ewan McKendrick, Goode on Commercial Law
(4th edn, Penguin 2010)

Roy Goode & Ewan McKendrick, Goode on Commercial Law
(5th edn, Penguin 2016)

Roy Goode & Ewan McKendrick, Goode & McKendrick on Commercial Law
(6th edn, Penguin 2020) *

Yvonne McLaren and Josephine Bisacre, Commercial Law
(Goodfellow Publishers 2016) *