NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

UNIVERSITY VILLAGE, PLOT 91, CASDASTRAL ZONE, NNAMDI AZIKIWE EXPRESS WAY, JABI, ABUJA.
FACULTY OF LAW
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 EXAMINATION

LAW 331:                   LAW OF COMMERCIAL TRANSACTION 1

TIME ALLOWED:    3 HOURS

ANSWER ANY FIVE QUESTIONS, ALL QUESTIONS CARRY EQUAL MARKS

1. LAW OF COMMERCIAL TRANSACTION IS SYNONYMOUS TO COMMERCIAL LAW WHICH CONCEPT IS NOT DEVOID OF THE ELEMENTS OF A VALID CONTRACT, DISCUSS.

2. [A].  THERE IS NO LIMIT TO THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE TO WHOM AN OFFER CAN BE MADE. DISCUSS

[B]. FOR A PROPOSITION TO AMOUNT TO AN OFFER CAPABLE OF ACCEPTANCE, IT MUST SATISFY CERTAIN CONDITIONS. DISCUSS

3. [A]. WITH CLEARITY OF EXPRESSION, WHAT CAN YOU DEFINE AN OFFER TO BE?

[B.] HIGHLIGHT THE VARIOUS WAYS BY WHICH AN OFFER CAN BE MADE.

4. OFFER AND INVITATION TO TREAT; TWO FACES OF THE SAME COIN BY THEIR RELEVANCY AND APPLICABILITY TO CONTRACTUAL RELATIONS, YET ARE TWO DINSTINCTIVE CONCEPTS. DISCUSS

5. MALLAM MARTINS IS A SHOE DEALER AT ORITAMEFA SHOE MARKET IN IBADAN, WHILE ON HIS WAY TO THE MARKET WITH A LORRY FULL OF SHOES, ONE OF HIS LOADS OF BAGS CONTAINING SHOES FELL OFF AND THIS WAS UNKNOWN TO HIM AND THE DRIVER. WHEN THEY REACHED THE MARKET THEY DISCOVERED THE MISSING BAG AND IN THE ATTEMPT TO RECOVER SAME, MALLAM MARTINS INSTRUCTED ALHAJIBESHI THE DRIVER OF THE BUS TO PASTE POSTERS ANNOUNCING THE MISSING BAG AND A REWARD OF TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND NAIRA [N200,000.00] FOR WHOSOEVER CAN RECOVER THE LOAD AND THIS POSTERS WERE PASTED ALL AROUND ORITAMEFA SHOE MARKET. ON THE DAY THEREAFTER, BABA IJEBU A GARRI DEALER, UNAWARE OF THE LOSS AND THE PLACEMENT OF REWARD BY MALLAM MARTINSCAME TO ORITAMEFA SHOE MARKET WITH THE MISSING BAG OF LOAD BELONGING TO MALLAM MARTINS HAVING FOUND SAME ALONG THE ROAD WHILE GOING ON A BUSINESS TRIP AND WAS ABLE TO LOCATE THE OWNER BY THE OFFICE STAMP OF MALLAM MARTINS ON THE BAG OF SHOES. BABA IJEBU DELIVERED THE BAG TO MALLAM MARTINS WHO GRACIOUSLY APPRECIATED HIM AND ENTERTAINED HIM WITH A BOTTLE OF STAR AND BABA IJEBU LEFT THEREAFTER. WHILE BABA IJEBU WAS ON HIS WAY, ALHAJIBESHI, THE DRIVER TO MALLAM MARTINS ACCOSTED HIM AND INFORMED HIM OF THE REWARD WHICH HE DEMANDED A TEN PERCENT OF AFTER CLAIMING SAME. BABA IJEBU HAS NOW COME TO MAKE A DEMAND FROM MALLAM MARTINS AND THIS LED TO A SCUFFLEBETWEEN DUO AND YOU HAVE NOW BEEN CALLED TO MEDIATE.

1. WHAT PRINCIPLE OF THE LAW OF COMMERCIAL TRANSACTION IS ENUNCIATED IN THIS MATTER?
2. WITH THE AID OF DECIDED CASES ADVICE THE PARTIES AS TO THE PROPRIETY OF THE CLAIM OF BABA IJEBU.
3. WHAT WOULD BE YOUR JUDGMENT HAD BABA IJEBU SEEN THE POSTERS FOR THE REWARD JUST AT THE TIME HE WAS DELIVERING THE MISSING BAG TO MALLAM MARTINS?

6. THE GENERAL RULE IN RESPECT OF TERMINATION OF AN OFFER IS THAT ONCE AN OFFER IS MADE, IT REMAINS OPEN FOR ACCEPTANCE UNTIL THE HAPPENING OF CERTAIN EVENTS WHICH IN LAW CAN OCCASION SUCH TERMINATION. DISCUSS.

7. A. LIST AND EXPLAIN THE WAYS IN WHICH REJECTION OF OFFER MAY OCCUR

B. [I] WHAT AMOUNTS TO ‘’REASONABLE TIME’’ IN LAPSE OF TIME?

    [II]IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN THE WEIGHT OF ACADEMIC AND JUDICIAL OPINIONS EXPRESSED ON THE

ISSUE OF DEATH AS A WAY OF TERMINATING AN OFFER?

8. ACCEPTANCE AS ONE OF THE ELEMENTS OF A VALID CONTRACT DOES NOT GO BY ONE WAY TRAFFIC, THERE ARE MANY CHANNELS TO IT AND IT IS NEVER DEVOID OF CONDITION PRECEDENTS. DISCUSS

9. [A.] WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND BY COMMUNICATION OF ACCEPTANCE

[B.] IDENTIFY AND DISCUSS THE WAYS IN WHICH ACCEPTANCE CAN BE COMMUNICATED