Essay BTX3110 – International Trade Law – Case Study – Law Assignment Help

Assignment Task

 

Task Scenario:
Alaz owns and operates Ku’dam, a clothing store specialising in high-fashion located in Melbourne, Australia. Ku’dam advertises that its lines of clothing are vegan-friendly. Stefan is a German designer who runs a fashion-studio in Berlin. Stefan is a committed vegan. All clothing produced by Stefan includes a label stating that the product does not contain any animal products. Alaz generally orders a few pieces from Stefan’s collection each season, and they have met at a fashion exhibition of vegan- friendly brands and retailers a few times. In December 2019, after viewing Stefan’s private online catalogue of his Autumn/Winter collection, Alaz ordered: 80 silver metallic and black t-shirts for AUD
$3000; 40 pairs of faux-leather pants for AUD $5500; and 20 faux-fur jackets for AUD $15000. According to the order form and emails Alaz and Stefan exchanged, their contract is governed by German law and all items are to be delivered no later than 15 February, 2020 on FCA (Tegel Airport, Berlin) Incoterms 2010. Stefan delivered the goods to the carrier at Tegel Airport on 10 February.
The goods arrive at Alaz’s store in Melbourne on 1 March, 2020. Alaz promptly inspected the delivery and found that it contained the following:
100 silver metallic and black t-shirts
20 pairs of faux-leather pants
20 faux-fur jackets
On the same day the goods arrive , Alaz informed Stefan that there were some missing pants. Stefan replied and said not to worry, that he would make up the order asap. However, a few days later Stefan emailed to say that he’d be unable to send more pants on account of supply shortages until December 2020. Alaz thinks that the pants might be out of fashion by then and would not be appropriate for the store stock in Australian Summer.
Alaz was waiting until the end of March, to launch the faux-fur jackets on April 1. However, in mid-March 2020, Alaz became aware of media releases by Vegan Now!, a group that promotes veganism, which drew attention to how the manufacturing process of faux-fur usually uses a final cleaning method that washes the material in a chemical that includes tiny amounts of fish-based by-products. Vegan Now based their claims on their expose of 8 of the largest faux-fur factories in Europe and Asia. Alaz has been unable to find out if the faux-fur in the jackets made by Stefan are from these factories using fish by- products. Regardless, Alaz no longer wants to sell the faux fur jackets in the store, because many Ku’dam customers are shunning any faux-fur on account of the media reports. Alaz is also reluctant to sell the goods on to another retailer and would prefer to return them, even though a fellow (non-vegan) retailer has offered to buy them for a 25% discount on the original price.
A day after reading the media reports, Alaz wrote to Stefan. Stefan replied saying that it appears that this cleaning process was likely used in the production of the faux-fur jackets but that ‘the cleaning process leaves no trace of the fish by product in the material’. Alaz is concerned about this response, because Ku’dam’s customers are not drawing the same distinction.
To top it off, Alaz has also received notice from Australian Customs Authority that an import fee of $956 AU is outstanding and must be paid immediately.
Alaz paid Stefan 50% of the agreed contract price as a deposit. As agreed, the remainder is due in one week. The date is now 29 March 2020.

Task Instructions:
You are a good friend of Alaz. Although Alaz has been importing clothing from overseas for a
full five years since opening the store, this is the first occasion problems have arisen with an
international supplier. You have just finished a topic on international sales in an international trade law unit you are completing as part of your business degree and Alaz has asked you to help. You have agreed. In a short report, explain and discuss Alaz’s position on the issues he has described to you. Your report needs to present a balanced assessment as to what Alaz’ rights and obligations are under the contract of sale with Stefan as well as helpful advice on what Alaz might propose to Stefan to resolve the issues that have arisen.