Case Study 1

Amir has just graduated from his Part-Time Diploma in Sports Coaching and has decided to start his coaching career. He started his own company called JuztSportz, a soccer academy that teaches children to play sports. As a former school football player, Amir wanted to offer football lessons to children 12 to 15 years of age.

As part of his advertising, Amir placed the following on the internet:

Be the next Fandi Ahmad!

JustSportz will teach you the tricks that will make you not just a soccer player but a future soccer star.

You will be coached by a former national player.

Lessons are just $10 per session.

Call 6789-1234 for more details.

Eric was a 16-year-old Republic Secondary School student who wanted to join his school’s soccer team.  Upon reading the advertisement on the internet, he was very interested to sign up so that he could be a future soccer star. He quickly called Amir on the number to sign up.  However, Amir told Eric that his class was already full but if he really wanted to join, he could still accommodate him if Eric pays $30 per session.  Eric asked Amir whether he was really good as a coach and Amir confirmed it. Amir guaranteed Eric that he would be able to feel the difference after just one training session because of the advanced sports science being used in his coaching. Eric was not happy paying more than what was advertised so he told Amir he would call back again.

Eric’s parents were very rich and assured him that they would pay whatever was needed to help him reach his dreams. With this assurance, Eric immediately called Amir back to tell him that he would visit the academy the next day to sign up. Eric asked whether he could pay $500 for 20 lessons in advance. Amir told him to come at 9 am and that they could discuss it further.

The next day, at Amir’s academy, Eric noticed that Amir was a former national Futsal player from the trophies displayed in his office. Eric was then told by Amir that he would be required to sign the following Participation Agreement before he could join the academy.

Answer all questions

Q1. Use your knowledge of contract law to evaluate the sequence of the events and discuss if there is/are valid contract(s) between Eric and Amir.

Q2. Evaluate the Participation Agreement Form drafted by Amir above. Highlight the parts of the agreement that were well-crafted and the improvements you would recommend to limit Amir’s liability as a coach. Draft a sample based on your recommendations.

Q3. Eric accused Amir of misrepresentation in his advertisement and the statements made to him. Evaluate which of them are puffs, representations, or terms and decide if there was any misrepresentation by Amir.

Case Study 2

Ivy is a 13-year-old student who is passionate about bowling. She wants to become a National bowler and compete as a professional bowler around the world. Her mother, Michelle, is very supportive and wants to give Ivy the best coach she can find. As Ivy’s school does not have a Bowling CCA, Michelle went around scouting for a coach for her. In early January 2020, she came across Coach Lim Ah Beng in a bowling center. His business name card is as shown below:

Champion Bowling Academy

‘Be the next champion, bowl like a pro’

Lim Ah Beng

Managing Director/ Head Coach

Ex-National bowler

NROC Certified Coach

Singapore Bowling Federation Level 3

Michelle was impressed with his credentials and wanted to be sure that Ah Beng was a qualified coach. Instead of a monthly payment of $2000 for 8 sessions (1 hour per session), Ah Beng offered Michelle to sign a contract with an upfront payment of $10,000 for the whole training season of 10 months, starting from January until October (excluding lane fees). This would allow Ivy unlimited training sessions with Ah Beng. Thinking it was a good deal, Michelle took up the offer.

Answer all questions

Q1. Based on the information shown in Ah Beng’s name card and his statement to Michelle, evaluate which of them is/are conditions, warranty, or innominate terms. In your opinion, can Michelle succeed in suing Ah Beng for breach of contractual terms?

Q2. Can the contract between Michelle and Ah Beng be discharged by Frustration as claimed by Ah Beng? Explain.

Q3. In your opinion, what will be the remedies for this case? What recommendations would you give Michelle and Ah Beng to resolve the dispute? Explain.

Case Study 3

Read the news article below and more details from the link (but not limited to) on the case of Christy Henrich. (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-28-sp-20762-story.html)

Christy Henrich, 22, Gymnast Who Suffered From Anorexia

By Eric Pace

July 28, 1994

Christy Henrich, a former gymnast of near-Olympic caliber who had eating disorders, died on Tuesday in Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo., near her hometown, Independence, Mo. She was 22.

The cause of death was multiple organ system failures, the hospital said. A spokeswoman, Clara Scott, said that “basically, everything shut down.” Ms. Henrich had long suffered from two eating disorders, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia.

After narrowly failing to make the 1988 United States Olympic gymnastics team, Ms. Henrich, a hard-driving competitor who was only 4 feet 10 inches tall, placed fourth in the unequal parallel bars event in the 1989 world championships.

At that time, she weighed 93 pounds, but then she grew frailer and thinner. Weakness forced her to retire from her sport in 1991, and in mid-1993 she was down to 60 pounds.

Ms. Henrich’s death came after a week in the medical center following 10 days in critical condition in a hospital in Independence, Mo.

Anorexia nervosa is an illness of deliberate self-starvation, found chiefly in young women. Bulimia is marked by recurrent episodes of binge eating followed by self-induced vomiting. Ms. Henrich, whose father, Paul, was a bowler in past years, was intense about exercise and fitness from an early age. As a teenager, she said of competing in the Olympics: “It’s what I want to do. I want it so bad.”

She attended Fort Osage High School in Independence and turned down college scholarship offers while training in hopes of making the 1992 Olympics. But she did not, and in 1993 she was hospitalized for a time at a Kansas City clinic, also because of her eating problems.

At the time, her mother said: “I would say 99 percent of what has happened to Christy is because of the sport.

Besides her parents, Ms. Henrich’s survivors include a brother, Paul.

Answer all questions

According to articles from the internet, in 1988, a judge told Christy that she needed to lose weight to make the Olympic team. She suffered the stress-fracture injury during training and could not complete routines that once were easy for her. She showed signs of frustration and cried almost daily. She cut her food intake drastically but continued to train 7 hours per day. Eventually, her coach intervened and stopped her from training. While some blamed her coach, Christy’s parents blamed the entire system.

In your essay, discuss:

1. What are the forms of child abuse you can observe in this case?
2. In your opinion, who is/are responsible for this tragic death? Explain.
3. What can be done to avoid repeating such mistakes on our local young athletes?