HI6027 Business And Corporate Law - Group Assignment Case Studies

Part C: Corporations Law question (10 marks)

Bluff Solutions Pty Ltd (“Bluff”) owns 50% of the shares of Life Electronics (“Life Electronics”) Pty Ltd. Last year, Bluff was contacted by Alphacoms Pty Ltd (“Alphacoms”), which owns the other 50% of bluff. Alphacoms wanted to invest a large sum of money in Life Electronics, to allow it to research and develop a potentially valuable software application. The directors of Bluff at the time hired a team of consultants, which included a software applications expert, and instructed them to research the technical aspects of the proposed application and future possibilities involving the technology.
The team of consultants worked for three months researching for and writing the report. The report they presented to Bluff’s directors showed that the proposed investment in the software application could very likely prove successful. Jerry Robinson is one of Bluff’s directors. He holds a Masters of Computer Programming degree from a well-known university. Jerry’s fellow directors asked him about the consultants’ positive projections. Jerry told them that the report is accurate. In reality though, some of the information in the report was not well-researched and supported by up to date data. As a result, when Bluff’s directors rely on the report and invest the company’s money in the new software application, the investment will not be as lucrative as the consultants predicted.
Citing specific common law and Corporations Act directors duties, critically analyse and discuss whether the directors of Bluff Solutions Pty Ltd (or any of them) breached their duty of care?