At the end of February Nia’s kitchen is not complete, Barry has been too sick to work, and Mark has little ability to work unsupervised. Rather than disappoint his neighbour, Barry approaches Kara Kelsey and lets her know he has started work on a kitchen for his neighbour. Kara is annoyed but agrees to have the partly assembled kitchen moved to the factory in Coleman Street, Moonah. The kitchen is then finished and installed by Karl into Nia’s home in the first week in March. Karacal Kitchens sends Nia an invoice for $50 000 for the kitchen. Nia objects to paying this amount, saying she had been quoted $45000. Barry also sends an invoice to Karacal Kitchens for $12 000 saying he had purchased a lot of material himself that he used to construct Nia’s kitchen. Mark also sent an invoice for his work to Karacal Kitchens – (60 hours X $20 per hour) = $1200. He says he is owed this for working in Barry’s shed on Nia’s kitchen.
You are approached by Kara and Karl Kelsey, they are seeking advice on the following issues:
- Can either Barry, Karl and Kelsey argue that there is no contract with Mark because he is a minor?
- What legal relationship do you believe Barry has with Karacal Kitchens? Is he an employee or an agent and why does it matter?