Reference no: EM133313278

Assignment:

Section - Short Answer. PICK TWO (2) OF THE FOLLOWING THREE QUESTIONS TO ANSWER ONLY. Answer in the space below. Please write clearly and legibly.

1. Briefly, in a paragraph, describe the importance of the Reasonable Person to the law. Who is this person and how do they assist the legal process. Also provide 4 examples from our course materials where the Reasonable Person plays an important role.

2. Newcastle Construction Ltd. hired Alan, who is an architect and a construction manager, to build a new soccer stadium. Alan and Newcastle arranged a fixed fee for the services, and agreed that Alan would be responsible for hiring the workers and the purchasing of all materials. Those costs were included in the fee. The supervision of the workers that Alan hired would be done by Newcastle, under the direction of Mr. Benitez, Newcastle's chief architect and construction engineer. Mr. Benitez also provided day to day instruction to Alan, and other construction managers involved in the project. After receiving specific instructions from Mr. Benitez, Alan designed and oversaw the installation of a giant aluminum soccer ball on the outside of the stadium. Media and fans were invited to attend the grand opening of the stadium, and just as they were proceeding inside, the giant soccer ball fell and killed Mr. Ashley, a local businessman. Mr. Ashley's wife is now seeking damages from both Alan and Newcastle.

Discuss who might be liable for Mr. Ashley's death and why. Use specific references to legal principles we discussed in class.

3. Trout Point Lodge, a wilderness hotel in Nova Scotia brought an action for defamation against Richard Handshoe, an online blogger. The defamatory comments originated with a news story written by Handshoe, which was published in the Times newspaper about a man named Aaron Broussard, being involved in a political corruption scandal. The plaintiffs were wrongly identified as being connected with Mr. Broussard in a business venture and Mr. Broussard was named in error as owning Trout Point Lodge. The allegations in the article against Broussard are kickback schemes, money laundering and fraud. The defamatory comments later included claims that Trout Point Lodge had misled a funding agency that supplied capital for the construction of the Lodge. The defamation continued with statements that Trout Point Lodge was losing business or going bankrupt because of the investigation of Mr. Broussard and his inability to continue to support it.

Also, there were claims that Charles Leary and Vaughn Perret, directors at Trout Point Lodge, had been involved in a series of businesses which failed and that they are con men. The statements also contained anti-gay rhetoric and homophobic comments directed at Leary and Perret. After the original story was retracted by the Louisiana newspaper that published it, Mr. Handshoe made blog statements that Mr. Leary and Mr. Perret had improperly influenced the newspaper to retract the story. He also said that Mr. Leary and Mr. Perret were improperly using the legal system by commencing the defamation action.

Discuss all the Defences that might be available to Mr. Handshoe against the allegations by Trout Point Lodge. Explain why you think they will succeed or fail.