Doras Legal Options Canadian Commercial Law and Tort Law Case Study

Instructions:

1. Read the following scenario carefully.
2. Use your knowledge of torts and contracts to advise Dora as to her legal options. Be careful to identify any claims that she may bring against the ski resort and any defences that the resort may have to her claims.
3. Your answer should be approximately 1500 words in length. Use 12-point Times New Roman font.
4. Make sure you thoroughly address all of the steps in the IRAC formula providing complete explanations for each issue.

Assignment Scenario:

Dora is an avid skier who recently took her dream vacation to a resort in the Canadian Rockies to ski. Each day that Dora went skiing, she bought a lift ticket that allowed her access to the lifts that took her to the top of the mountain. The ticket contained a waiver of liability on the back of it, but she did not read it.

On her second day of skiing, Dora decided to try the hardest ski run on the mountain. Halfway down the run Dora hit a patch of ice, which made her lose control, and she hit a tree at full speed. Dora suffered a severe head injury and a broken leg, and she was transported off the mountain by emergency services.

In the ensuing month, her leg healed well. However, unfortunately this was the third head injury that Dora had suffered in recent years, and she was not able to continue working in her job because of continuous headaches and cognitive problems.

Using your knowledge of torts and contracts, advise Dora as to her legal options. Be careful to identify any claims that she may bring against the ski resort and any defences that the resort may have to her claims.

The IRAC formula:

The method you will use to answer spot the issue(s) questions in this course is the IRAC formula. The IRAC formula presents a structured way for you to organize your thinking and your answer. The formula contains the following steps:

F (FACTS): Read the case and state the facts and nothing but the facts.

I (Issues): Identify the legal issue(s) succinctly, each in one short sentence. Sample wording could be: “…whether or not there has been a breach of contract…”, etc. Use a bullet format. Use citations were applicable. No further comments are required.

R (Rule – THE LAW): Identify the law that applies to the issue(s). This may arise from legislation or from common law. For example, negligence.

A (Critical Analysis): Apply reflective thought and critical analysis to the facts and the application of the law. (This is where the money is!!!) For example, if the tort of negligence was an issue, e.g., “…whether or not there was negligence…” you would have a discussion proving or disproving there was 1) a duty owed, 2) that a breach of that duty took place, 3) and that as a result, damages flowed – three essential elements of negligence.

C (Conclusion – FINDINGS/RECOMMENDATION/CONCLUSIONS): In succinct, short sentences, state your findings for each issue. An “executive summary” of a few short sentences containing the key points supporting your position for each of the issues, is expected.

The IRAC formula is used in the grading rubric for all of the “spot the issue(s)” assignments.

Grading

This assignment is graded with a total of 100 marks. The following criteria, based on the IRAC formula, will be used to grade this assignment.