Legal Quiz

Storyline One

VINO Tours arranges a package which includes two nights at a five-star hotel, flights and transfers and, on the second night, a visit to a wine cellar and seven-course meal.

The coach transferring the clients to the cellar cannot reach the entrance, as this is via a steep cobbled street, which is badly lit.

When the guests arrive, they are taken for a tour of the wine cellar before their meal, after which they have to walk up the cobbled street to reach the restaurant.

The tour operator’s representative warns them the street is badly lit and they should take extra care as the cobbles also make it uneven.

One female client, Miss Elizabeth Yates, is wearing stiletto heels and falls and breaks her ankle on the way out.

Her boyfriend, Mr Gavin Brewer, injures himself when he trips over a stray dog which is sleeping in the road.

Several guests arrive after the tour of the wine cellar, having informed the representative they are not interested in this part of the evening, and one of them, Mrs Anella Alcott, also injures herself when leaving the restaurant.

Question one: probably not, as a clear warning was given by the representative at the beginning of the evening that care should be taken.

Question two: probably not, as it was not foreseeable that a stray dog would be lying in the road.

Question three: probably, because the representative knew that these other guests were arriving late, but did not arrange for them to receive the same warning as the first group.

SUE and William decide to go on the trip of a lifetime to South America. William is a photographer, whose special interest is wildlife photography, and he is very keen to take pictures of a particular species of owl in Columbia.

They book their flights and accommodation in the capital, Bogota, with Wild and Spicy Tours, but decide they will book any remaining arrangements once they arrive.

Wild and Spicy Tours’ booking conditions contain a limitation on the amount of compensation that will be paid for non-personal injury claims and this includes £100 per person per day for loss of enjoyment.

Sue and William hate the hotel in Bogota and feel it does not live up to its three-star category.

They move to a five-star hotel without informing Wild and Spicy Tours and claim the difference from Wild and Spicy Tours on their return.

While in Bogota they arrange accommodation, through a Wild and Spicy Tours representative, in the middle of a rainforest where they then go to try to photograph owls. On the first morning, a monkey steals William’s very expensive camera.

Question one: If the hotel really is below standard, Wild and Spicy Tours would be liable for any loss occasioned by this, although the amount of compensation it would have to pay would be limited in accordance with its booking conditions, so long as the limitation was deemed to be ‘not unreasonable’.

Question two: Unlikely, as Sue and William did not contact Wild and Spicy Tours before making the move, and had they done so it might well have been possible to move them to a suitable alternative.

Question three: No, because it is not foreseeable that a monkey would steal a camera in this way.