Kevin Costner lives in a remote country area in Queensland where the roads are dirt tracks to
Question:
Kevin Costner lives in a remote country area in Queensland where the roads are dirt tracks to various properties. The local council announces that they are upgrading several roads with a bitumen surface; one of the designated roads is the one that runs past Kevin's property. The roadwork is due to commence in four weeks' time and will take two months to complete. A message is sent to the various householders in the area announcing the program. Kevin is absolutely delighted since he has to drive a heavy-duty vehicle on the rough roads, which is an expensive way of getting around. Kevin, on the basis of the council's notice of new roads, purchases a new car that can only be used on sealed roads and not on rough gravel roads. The local council then announced that due to government funding cuts, the roads program has been postponed indefinitely; there will be no new roads as announced previously. Kevin is very upset, he has a new car that he cannot use, he was induced to believe that the roads program would take place and has now borrowed quite a bit of money based on the announcement from the authority.
Question:
Can Kevin sue the council under contract law for the announcements they made, and for his subsequent borrowing and expenditure because of the inducements made by the authority? In answering this question, students are expected to discuss the elements in the formation of a contract.
Intermediate Accounting
ISBN: 978-1118300855
10th Canadian Edition Volume 2
Authors: Donald E. Kieso, Jerry J. Weygandt, Terry D. Warfield, Nicola M. Young, Irene M. Wiecek, Bruce J. McConomy