2024 Question 1 — LawShortcut Independent Model Answer
Goods · Economic Loss · Trespass to Person
Scenario summary
Two competing export firms share an unfenced yard at an inland port. The business owned by Mr A, We Transport Cheeper Ltd, hides goods that have been misdelivered to the yard but in fact belong to We Ship Cheaper Ltd, ships them out overnight, and bills We Ship Cheaper's customers for them. We Ship Cheaper reckons its losses at €100,000 across an 18-month period.
When two of its employees, Mr B and Mr C, challenge A's workers, Mr D puts B in a headlock and shuts him inside a container. Mr E tips C into the water; Mr F tries to save him but fails to strip away enough of C's clothing, and C drowns. C is survived by his partner, Ms G, and their three-year-old son, Mr H; he had been earning €1,000 a week plus a further €200 a week from undeclared cash work.
Some time later, a vessel run by A's business strikes the pillar of a canal bridge after its captain misjudges the gap. The bridge is closed for a month, leaving We Ship Cheaper with €50,000 in contractual penalties and €250,000 in lost deliveries.
Separately, Doberman guard dogs linked to Dogsecurity Ltd get loose after a gate is left unlocked. One of them seizes and pins a passer-by, Mr X. The second, barking, drops into a crouch in front of a cyclist, Ms Z, who is knocked to the ground, breaks her collarbone and in time develops a fear of dogs.
Candidates are asked to advise the relevant claimants on liability in tort and on quantum.
This is a LawShortcut scenario summary written in our own words. For the exact examined wording, use the official King’s Inns paper linked above.
What this model answer covers
Issues and structure addressed in the full LawShortcut model answer:
- 1. We Ship Cheaper Ltd — The Diverted Goods
- 2. We Ship Cheaper Ltd — Bridge Closure, Penalties and Lost Deliveries
- 3. Mr B — Headlock and Container
- 4. Ms G and Mr H — Mr C's Death
- 5. Mr X — The Dog That Caught and Held Him
- 6. Ms Z — The Barking/Crouching Dog, Fall and Phobia
Read the complete LawShortcut model answer to this question — reading the question, issue spotting, the applicable law, application to the facts and conclusions — inside the King’s Inns Tort Model Answer Vault.
Part of the King’s Inns Tort Model Answer Vault — 30 independently authored model answers, 2020—2025.