Assignment title: Management
Peter Gray is aged 19. He lives with his mother and father, Anton and Shirley Gray, in their home. He wants to celebrate the completion of his first year at Kaplan University and his parents allow him to have a barbecue at their home and they allow him to manage it. He invites a group of people aged between 18 and 25 and they bring their own alcohol. His mother insists that his guests consume only light beer. His mother and father are at home when his guests arrive. Some of his guests have brought stronger alcohol than light beer. At 7.30pm, Peter lights the barbecue and cooks some kebabs for his guests. There is a bottle of methylated spirits on the table next to the barbecue. Methylated spirits is a highly flammable liquid often found in homes, as it has a variety of uses. Peter has used it to light the barbecue. While Peter is cooking the kebabs, his parents speak to him briefly then leave the house and go to a movie in the city. When he has finished using the barbecue, he puts the bottle of methylated spirits away in the shed where it is usually stored. When Peter's parents return home at 11.00pm, the coals in the barbecue have died down but there are still some small embers glowing hot. Peter's guests are sitting around and talking while drinking alcohol. Some of the guests are significantly affected by alcohol. Peter's mother asks if anyone is still hungry. No one is hungry and she assumes that the barbecue will not be used again so she puts the lid on it. She and her husband go to bed. At 1.00 am in the morning, three guests who are intoxicated become hungry and want to light to barbecue again but they cannot get it to burn. Peter is inside the house with his girlfriend at this time. One of the three, George finds the methylated spirits and starts to pour it on the barbecue but it does not ignite at first. He is warned by other guests, including Sonia, who is standing next to him, that what he is doing is dangerous and they tell him to stop. Other guests also tell him to stop but he ignores them and continues to pour the methylated spirits onto the barbecue. The barbecue suddenly erupts in flames, severely burning Sonia. Advise Sonia if she is likely to succeed in an action for negligence. Use appropriate tests, defences and case examples to support your answer.