Exemption Clause In Law Case Study

Word count: 1016

Question 1:

The exemption clause was printed on the reverse side of the ticket and no special care was taken to bring it to the notice of the other party.

The purpose of an exemption clause is to limit or extinguish the liability of one of the parties to which he would otherwise be liable in law. Such a clause will be enforced by the court if the document containing it was an integral part of the contract and reasonable care was taken to bring it to the attention of the other party before the contract was made. But where a person has failed to carry out the basic obligation of the contract, the court will not allow him to rely on the exemption clause to escape liability.

Hence, an exemption clause printed on a reverse side of the receipt is not valid unless some

A court of law can hence determine a breach of the duty of care by determining if:

A. Reasonable evidence of negligence on the part of the defendant.

The burden of proving negligence normally lies on the one whose alleging it. In this case, Peter bears the burden of proving to the court that the speeding motorist committed reasonable evidence of negligence against him.

The plaintiff could hence apply the rule of ‘res ipsa loguitur’; the thing speaks for itself, to prove that indeed a breach of the duty of care had been committed.

B. The operation was under the control of the defendant when the accident took place.

In this case, Peter has to show the court of law that the motorist was speeding, stating that he was in control of the vehicle at the time of the accident. This is to confirm to the court, that indeed a breach of the duty of care had actually taken place and that the defendant did not take reasonable care to avoid such acts that could otherwise cause serious injuries to the plaintiff and to someone else using the public road system.

C. That the accident is such as in the ordinary course of things does not happen if those have the duty, use proper