QUESTION #1
Katie owns and operates a kennel where she boards and breeds dogs. She sells puppies to a loyal group of customers. She has been so successful as a breeder that 5 dogs she bred and sold have won international competitions. Because of her reputation her puppies sell for $3000 each.
Katie saw an advertisement in a trade publication for organic dog food at a price of $5 per kilogram. She phoned the supplier in Alberta and left a message asking it to supply her with 200 kilograms of the organic dog food at a price of $1000, and that the dog food be sent by rail to her kennel in Langley, B.C. A representative of the suppler mailed her a letter acknowledging her order and promising to ship the dog food within the next few days.
The supplier sent the dog food by rail as promised and Katie paid the price of $1000. Katie started to feed the dogs the organic dog food and after 2 weeks several of the dogs had died. The dead dogs included the prize breeding pair that had produced the puppies that had been so successful at international shows. Katie’s veterinarian performed an autopsy and said that the cause of the dogs’ death was contaminated organic dog food from the Alberta supplier. Katie has commenced legal action against the Alberta supplier. The dog food supplier says it is not the manufacturer and that Katie is therefore suing the wrong party. a) 10 MARKS 15 MINUTES
Would a court apply the law of B.C. or the law of Alberta?
ASSUME THE LAW OF B.C. APPLIES TO THE FOLLOWING PARTS b) 5 MARKS 8 MINUTES
Would Katie’s legal action against the dog food supplier succeed? c) 5 MARKS 7 MINUTES
Assume that with the dog food the supplier sent an invoice that included the following:
“The supplier is not the manufacturer of the dog food. The supplier accepts no responsibility whatever for the quality of the dog food.
How would this affect the legal rights and obligations of the parties? d) 10 MARKS 15 MINUTES
Assume that the dog food supplier is liable to Katie. Katie is claiming compensation in the amount of $30,000 for what she projects her prize breeding pair would have earned her over their lifetimes. She is also claiming compensation for lost profits due to a drastic decrease in demand for her boarding service because customers had found out about the losses resulting from the contaminated dog food. Would a court award her the damages she is seeking? e) 5 MARKS 8 MINUTES
Assume that the dog food was not contaminated when it left the dog food supplier but that while on the train it became
