LAWCOMM 427 : Vendor and Purchaser

Law

2020 Semester One (1203) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

A study of the law relating to contracts for the sale and purchase of land, including the formation of the contract, the application of relevant statutes, the basic terms of such contracts and their significance, matters of title, settlement and completion, and remedies for breach.

Course Overview

The principal objectives of the course are to provide students with an understanding of the ADLS standard form of contract for the Sale of Land, against the background of the applicable statutory framework (including the Property Law Act 2007 and the Contracts and Commercial Law Act 2017).

The course should be helpful to students going into commercial, property, banking or common law practices. The sale of land contract is New Zealand’s master contract and the concepts derived and applied in the standard form contracts are utilised throughout commercial law practice. Through understanding one type of contract students should develop a way of thinking which will identify the relevant risks in the contract and provide for those risks


Course Requirements

Corequisite: LAW 301 Restriction: LAW 454

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2: Critical Thinking
Capability 3: Solution Seeking
Capability 4: Communication and Engagement
Graduate Profile: Bachelor of Laws

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Examine and explain the operation of the ADLS standard form of contract for the sale of land. (Capability 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 and 4.1)
  2. Recognise, explain and apply legal principles and statutory rules and concepts that inform the operation of the ADLS standard form of contract. (Capability 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.3, 3.1, 3.3 and 4.1)
  3. Identify and evaluate how risks are allocated through contracting in general commercial law practice. (Capability 1.3, 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 and 4.1)
  4. Critically evaluate the continuing role of equitable principles on contracts for the sale of land. (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.3 and 4.1)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Early assessment Individual Coursework
Essay 30% Individual Coursework
Final Exam 70% Individual Examination
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4
Early assessment
Essay
Final Exam
The opinion will count for 30% of the marks allocated for the course. The purpose of the opinion is to require students to grapple with the principal conceptual difficulty in the contract and to deal prior to the lectures with the law’s treatment of title to the property, and description of the property. Once this area is understood, the contract falls into place.

Learning Resources

A casebook including the main cases has been prepared and is available for the course. An outline of lectures is appended to this document. This outline details the reading required for the course. The lectures will be available immediately after they have been given after they have been given.

Workload Expectations

This is a standard 15-point course. There will be around 36 hours of lectures in this course. As a general guide, you should expect a workload of three hours outside of the classroom for each hour spent in class. The guideline for the total workload for this course is 150 hours.


Digital Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course director, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website at http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a Student Academic and Support Adviser as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter (https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html).

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.

Published on 20/12/2019 09:57 a.m.