In recent years, 'frontier tourism' (i.e. exclusive and extreme form of adventure travel that are very expensive)
Question:
In recent years, 'frontier tourism' (i.e. exclusive and extreme form of adventure travel that are very expensive) has gained popularity. The crazy rich are increasingly trying high risk tourism, including space or deep sea travel. A recently founded company, Oceandoor had built a submersible vehicle, which it claims is able to bring tourists to the bottom of the seabed to explore famous ship wreckages.
(a) The founder and CEO of Oceandoor, Mr Rush, told one potential customer, Mr Rich, that his submersible is "safer than crossing street". He said, "While there's obviously risk it's way safer than flying in a helicopter or even scuba diving. There hasn't been even an injury in 35 years in a non-military subs." He offered the customer a greatly discounted ticket for $150,000 - a $100,000 discount on the normal fee. Believing Mr Rush's safety guarantee, Mr Rich purchased the ticket. Subsequently, Mr Rich's son strongly opposed to this because of safety concerns. Mr Rich now thinks he made a mistake and wants a full refund of the $150,000. Outline and discuss whether he can set aside this contract. (15 marks)
(b) Mr Rush later argued that he had very clearly stated all the risks involved in this expedition, and that Mr Rich agreed to it. Mr Rich realised that the long list of risks was written at the back of his ticket in font size 8. Explain whether your answer to Question 2(a) will be different given this new fact. (5 marks)
(c) Explain the requirements to establish (i) mistake and (ii) frustration as a vitiating factor in contracts. (10 marks)
(d) Mr Rich decided not to risk his life even if he will not get refunded. Mr Rush then made an offer on Oceandoor's Twitter for anyone to replace Mr Rich in the submersible, at an even lower price of $50,000 per ticket. After posting the tweet, Mr Rush realised that might be too low a price to offer. Discuss whether this is a valid offer. (10 marks)
(e) Mr Bump saw the tweet and thought it was a great deal. It was always his dream to do such extreme sport but it has always been too unaffordable. He immediately tweeted a reply saying he accepts the offer. The moment he posted it, he regretted it because it was a lot of money. Apply your knowledge and cite some possible legal arguments he can make to avoid being bound to this contract. (15 marks)