(a)When you arrive at work on Monday, you get a call from Java Distributors, who tells you that the week’s coffee cannot be delivered until Tuesday afternoon. You believe this is a clear breach of your contract with Java Distributors. What should you do? Fully discuss all of your options, and choose the one that is best for your business.
A contract provides the duties and obligations of each party privy to the contract. It also offers the remedies which are available to the parties in case of a breach. In this case, java distributors are responsible for the breach of a contract. This is because they did not deliver the coffee to green coffee as stipulated by the contract. Green coffee house should write a letter to java distributors informing them of their breach and its consequences.
The options for the breach include terminating the contract, penalty under the contractual clause and claiming damages. Claiming damages is the best remedy. This is because java distributors will pay for the inconvenience suffered and the costs incurred in purchasing some coffee before it delivers its coffee on Tuesday afternoon. However, if java distributors make it a habit not to provide the weekly coffee in future as per the contractual terms, Greenhouse can terminate the contract.
(b)Your day is only beginning. In addition to your coffee not being delivered, you have a decision to make about buying new tables for your coffee shop. You have narrowed it down to two choices: (1) A local artist who has won several awards for her stained glass artwork has designed tables with stained glass tops. They are among the most beautiful you have ever seen. Your only hesitation is that they are breakable if treated harshly. (2) The other choice is tables with stainless steel tops. They are not very beautiful, but are also unbreakable. Which tables will you choose? Fully explain your choice.
I would choose the tables from the local artist who has won various awards in regard to making designed tables. Despite the fact that they are breakable if exposed to harsh conditions, they are the best for the business. The necessity for beautiful tables linked to the fact that most people visit coffee shops to have a good time and relax. This means that it should attractive and appealing to the customers and the tables by the known designer caters for this aspect of making the place beautiful. Further, having tables from a ``well known artist” will raise the standard of the coffee shop in relation to standards.
In addition, it is unlikely that the customers and employees will treat the tables harshly. Breakage of the tables thus can only occur rarely meaning that Green house will not have to spend a lot of money on replacing the tables a factor that might be detriment to the business.
(c)You have recently added a delivery service. Customers can place orders by telephone, and the coffee is delivered by another one of your employees, Joe, who is 19 years old. This afternoon, Joe was dispatched to deliver coffee. After the delivery, he was returning to the shop and failed to stop at a stop sign because he was texting on his phone. He ran over a man in the crosswalk who suffered two broken legs. The man has threatened to sue you (not Joe). What is the likelihood that you will have to pay for the man’s injuries? Explain your answer.
Under the law of torts, an employer is liable for the civil actions committed by his employee through the doctrine of `vicarious liability” in some instances .The liability is based on the reasoning that in some instances employees who commit wrongs during the course of their work may not have the ability to cater for their wrongs .However, certain requirements have to be fulfilled before the liability is placed on the employer.
First, it must be established that an ``employee –employer” relationship exists. An employer cannot be made liable for a person who is not his employee .It is evident that Joe was an employee of Green house Coffee shop. The facts herein indicate that he was from delivering coffee from one of the customers when he ran over the man and injured him. Green house therefore is liable for compensating the man because it vicariously liable as an employer of Joe.
Secondly, it must shown that the employee was acting in the course of duty and not independently .In this case, Joe was on his way to the coffee shop after dispatching coffee to one of Green Coffee customers when he ran over a man and broke his two legs The facts in this case imply that Joe was in the course of his duty as an employee thus Green Coffee shop was liable for the acts committed by him .Green coffee shop was liable to pay for the injuries suffered by the man. Greenhouse can only claim some refund later from Joe.
(d)Also, you have recently hired 3 new employees, all of whom are 17 years old. You have trained them how to make a special, secret blend of coffee. You are worried that if they decide to quit, they will get a job with a competitor coffee shop and tell their new boss about your secret coffee formula. So, you decide to make each of them sign a written contract in which they agree never to disclose the secret formula to a competitor. If one of them breaches the contract by disclosing the secret to a competitor, can you bring a lawsuit against the former employee? If so, what remedy would you seek from the court?
Yes .If any of the former employees quit the job and disclosed your secret to the competitor, you can seek redress from the courts. A contract of employment is enforceable in courts if former employees breach a clause which restricted their nature of employment in future especially if it is an aspect which might be detrimental to your business as the employer.
In this case , the three employees have signed a ``non-compete clause” that aims at protecting the interests of Green coffee house in future after the employees cease working for the coffee shop. The employees through the clause cannot tell the secret green coffee shop applies in making its coffee to a competitor because this would impact negatively on coffee shop. However, if any if the employees decide to tell the competitor about the secret, Green coffee house can institute a law suit seeking that special conditions be enforced on the ``non-compete’ clause restricting the employee in question to engage in coffee shop employment or related areas for some years
The courts have been granting these orders as long as they are reasonable and relate to matters of`` public policy” .It is reasonable to prohibit a former employee not to engage in coffee shop related activities for some years to avoid ruining the business of the former and promoting its competitor.
(e) Finally, you decide that you need to hire a new employee. Five people apply for the job. All of them are equally qualified for the position. Three are African-American women, one is a Mexican-American man, and one is a white man. Which would you hire? Explain how you made your decision.
I would hire the African-American Women. We find that many people of black origin live in Boston an aspect which has been supported by the facts of this case. From the facts, ``three African-American” applied for the job meaning that they might be the one of the majority ethnic groups in Boston. Hiring African-woman is efficient because she is conversant and can relate freely with the people in Boston thus helping in improving the services offered by Green coffee shop.
