CASE LIST Flashcards
Ferrier v Dods (1865)
AGENCY
Ratio = an auctioneer who warrants the thing he sells, without disclosing his principal, is potentially personally liable for the warranty. In this case, the purchaser sued the principal though the auctioneer could have been liable.
*Most often the pursuer will bring a claim against the principal because the principal is likely to have more money.
Bennett v Inveresk Paper (1891)
AGENCY
Ratio = Once Principal discloses himself, he may elect to sue the 3rd Party, but once disclosed, the Principal opens himself up to being sued as well)
*Held, on proof that the pursuer had appointed the merchant to be his agent, and on disclosing himself as principal, he had sufficient title to sue the 3rd party.
Liverpool Friendly Society v Houston (1900)
AGENCY
IMPLICATIONS OF THE AGENT’S FIDUCIARY DUTIES:
Ratio = Duty not to disclose any info which is confidential to the principal.
McPherson v Watt (1877)
AGENCY
IMPLICATIONS OF THE AGENT’S FIDUCIARY DUTIES:
Ratio = Agent must not put his own interests above those of the Principal.
Concerned house purchase in Aberdeen where the advocate acting on behalf of the sellers sold the house to ‘his brother’ for a good price, wherein he was actually buying the house for himself.
Jack (2009)
AGENCY
Ratio1 = NO SECRET COMMISSIONS OR BRIBES.
Ratio2 = Agent’s Fiduciary Duty = “if you undertake to act for a man, you must do so 100%, body and soul, for him”.
Concerned a Footballer’s agent who took some money (3K) on the side in order to procure a transfer deal.
List 5 General Duties of Agents
AGENCY
1) Duty to follow Instructions (Reg. 3(2) or Custom of Trade.
2) Duty of Skill and Care: must perform using the skill and care reasonably expected from a reasonably competent/careful member of the concerned profession
(CASE = Copland v Brogan 1956)
3) Duty to Keep Accounts: Verbal Accounting is possible.
4) Duty Not to Delegate: Unless permitted as a custom of the trade - CASE = Robertson v Foulds (1860)
5) Right of Relief: Where loss accrued to Principal based on ultra vires act of agent, agent must compensate that loss to Principal - CASE = Milne v Ritchie (1882)
Milne v Ritchie (1882)
AGENCY
Ratio = Where loss accrued to principal based on ultra vires act of agent, agent must compensate that loss to principal.
List 4 Rights of Agents:
AGENCY
1) Principal’s Duty of Good Faith - Reg. 4(1)
2) Agents Right to Remuneration - Reg. 6(1) Remuneration for goods forming the subject of his agency contract.
CASE = Kennedy v Glass (1890)
3) Agent’s Right to Commission - entitled where “brought about, or materially contributed to by agents actings”.
4) Principal’s Duty to Continue Business - Principal may be under a duty to continue his business to secure the agent’s remuneration.
Ways a Contract of Agency Terminates:
AGENCY
Completion of Transaction, Mutual Agreement, Death/Bankruptcy, Insanity of A or P, Material Breach by Agent, Principal ceasing business.
*Agent usually due payment for ‘indemnity’ or ‘compensation’ on termination.
Gailey v Environmental Waste (2004)
AGENCY
Ratio = Regulations do not apply where the actings of the Agent are ‘secondary’ (Sched. 2 Para 2)
Concerned Waste Disposal agent claiming retroactive commission - granted only partial commission because his actings and role were considered secondary under the CARs.
Calculation of Compensation on Termination:
3 Case Lineage
AGENCY
1) King v Tunnock (2000) - Benchmark of 2 years gross commission may be used as a guide for courts calculating compensation.
2) *Lonsdale v Howard & Hallam (2007) - Ratio = No reason to adopt a 2 year compensation calculation like in Tunnock; Ratio2 = VALUE OF AN AGENCY DEPENDS ON CIRCUMSTANCES ACTUALLY EXISTING AT THE TIME OF TERMINATION, INCLUDING EARNING PROSPECTS, AND WHO WOULD BE PREPARED TO PAY. Here claimant’s agency commission had been minimal as the business was winding up and basically becoming redundant - Held, 5K compensation was sufficient.
3) Scottish Power v Taskforce (2009) - Ratio = in Scottish cases, the Com. Agent’s statutory right to indemnity/compensation only arises at full termination not partial termination.
Advantages of Partnership Compared to LLC:
PARTNERSHIP
1) Lack of Formalities in setting up a partnership
2) Affairs of the partnership remain private
3) flexibility in running the partnership; partners determine their own management and organization
Advantages of LLC compared to Partnership:
PARTNERSHIP
1) Easier to grant securities, particularly floating charges
2) Ownership transferred easily
3) Obv adv. is Limited Liability. Partnerships have unlimited joint and several liability for the debts of the partnership.
Sharpe v Carswell (1910)
PARTNERSHIP
DETERMINING A PARTNERSHIP
Ratio = mere ownership of shares does not necessitate being a partner.
Alna Press v Trends of Edinburgh (1969)
PARTNERSHIP
DETERMINING A PARTNERSHIP
Ratio = if you have a share of profits, there is evidence that you’re a partner but that does not in itself make you a partner in business. Here concerned partners who owned trains, partnership had ceased and they were consider creditors only.
S. 9 Partnership Act (1890) - Liability of Partners
PARTNERSHIP
Every Partner in a firm is both jointly and severally liable for all debts and obligations of the firm incurred while he is a partner. After his death his estate is also severally liable in a due course of administration for such debts and obligations.
Liability of Incoming and Outgoing Partners in Partnership
PARTNERSHIP
Partnership 1890 Act:
S. 17(1) - Incoming partner not liable for anything done before he became a partner.
S.17(2) - retiring partner remains liable for debts/obligations incurred before his retirement.
Banks Case (2000)
or
S. 10 Partnership Act 1890
PARTNERSHIP
Ratio = Duty of care to exercise reasonable care for the interests of co-partners. No higher standard for parters inter se, firm was liable as a whole.
Concerned negligence of individual partner giving advice to client.
S. 19-31 of Partnership Act (1890) = DUTIES OF PARTNERS
PARTNERSHIP
S. 28 Duty of Disclosure (financial affairs/all affecting P.)
No Secret Profits
S. 30 No Compete with the firm
S. 25 Expulsion by majority not affirmed, unless agreed to in constitution of the partnership
S. 24 Presumptions Regulating the Partners: Right to vote, duty of indemnity etc…
Dissolution of the Partnership
PARTNERSHIP
Types of Dissolution
1) Rescission of Partnership Agreement
2) Dissolution by notice
3) Dissolution by Expiry of Term
4) Dissolution by Death/Bankruptcy
5) Dissolution by Illegality
*or S.35 Judicial Interventions
Provisions of the Limited Partnership Act (1907)
PARTNERSHIP
THIS DOES NOT CONCERN AN LLP - THIS CONCERNS A PARTNER IN A PARTNERSHIP, WHO HAS A LIMITED ROLE.
- S. 6(1)(a) provides that if the limited partner takes part in management, then he loses his limited liability.
- Limited partners basically have less rights than ordinary partners: can’t bind the firm, not entitled to dissolve the firm, can’t stop general partners from adding new partners and so on…
Provisions of the Limited Liability Partnership Act (2000)
LLP
S. 1 - LLP has distinct legal personality from its members.
S. 2 - Must be an incorporation document subscribed to by two or more people ‘associated with carrying on a lawful business with a view to profit’
*Document must state: Name of LLP, registered office, Designated members.
S. 5 - Mutual Rules of the LLP members governed by agreement, if can’t reach agreement, S. 15(c) allows provisions in company law to be relevant to LLPs.
S.6 HOW PARTNERS INTERACT WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD = Every Member is an Agent of the LLP.
S.6(4) where a member of the LLP is liable to any person (outwith the LLP) as a result of wrongful conduct or omission in the course of the business of the LLP or with its authority, the LLP is liable to the same extent as the member.
LIABILITY OF THE MEMBERS
& THE REAL REASON WHY LLPs WERE CREATED:
LLP
In Regular Partnerships (1890 Act) clients can sue jointly and severally both the Partnership and also against individual partners. The Client can also raise a delictual action against the individual partner who provided negligence advice.
***In an LLP, the LLP is a separate legal entity and the client’s contract lies with that entity alone. The client can raise an action against the LLP but there is no joint and several liability of each individual member - which means the client cannot sue individual partners/members. The delictual route is still available of course.
THE REAL REASON LLP’s WERE CREATED:
-created for when LLPs fail, the contributions are limited much more than when an 1890 Partnership fails.
Effect of Insolvency on an LLP:
LLP
1) if wound up, present and past members who have agreed to be liable to contribute to the assets of the LLP in the event of liquidation will be liable to the extent so agreed.
* this is a benefit, could have agreed to minimal liability.
2) CLAW-BACK PROVISIONS: an individual could become liable for the debts of the LLP if within the 2 years prior to the winding up of the LLP:
he withdrew any property of the LLP during that period. (form of withdrawal not important)
Property defined as: any asset of the company (shares/salaries, payment of interest on a loan to the LLP)
To achieve a Claw-Back, liquidator apples for court order. Liquidator must prove that member had reasonable grounds to suspect the firm going under. (Scottish Regulations 4(2), and Shed. 3)
Company Law: List the Main Forms of Businesses
COMPANY LAW
Sole Trader, Ordinary Partnership (1890 Act), Limited Partnership Act (1907), LLP (2000), Company (Companies Act 2006 & 1985).
*Company law and copy insolvency no devolved!
5 Core Characteristics of a Company:
COMPANY LAW
i) Separate Corporate/Legal personality
ii) Limited Liability
iii) Centralised Management under a broad structure
iv) Shareholder Control
v) Free Transferability of Shares
LIST THE TYPES OF COMPANY’S:
COMPANY LAW
i) Unlimited Company (S. 3(4) CA06)
ii) Private Limited Company (S.3(1-3), S.4(1) CA06)
iii) Publicly Limited Company (S.3(1-3), S.4(2) CA06)
iv) Company Limited by Guarantee (S.3(1), S.4(1-2), S.5 CA06).
Consequences of Companies Owning Shares in Other Companies:
COMPANY LAW
i) Holding / Parent Companies
ii) Subsidiaries
iii) Company Groups
THE LIMITATION OF A MEMBER’S (shareholders) Liability is restricted to:
COMPANY LAW
i) the amount of the par value of the shares they initially bought with the company (where a company has share capital)
ii) to the amount of the guarantee, where the company is limited by guarantee