Question

Rhino Distillery, a famous whiskey distillery, placed the following advertisement in the Avid Angler magazine on 25 January: ‘Calling all anglers of all ages and levels! Come one, come all! Fishermen and women of Placid River. We are offering prize money of $75,000 to any angler who reels in Misterjaw, a giant barramundi which we have tagged and released into the river.’ The following day was the Australia Day holiday. Placid River was crowded with people fishing from the bank and from boats. At around noon, a rumour spread among the people on the bank that there had been an error in the advertisement: that the true amount should have been $7,500 and that Rhino Distiller had announced that the prize would be the lower amount. The rumour was in fact true. Georgie Lang, known to his friends as “Gorka”, had heard this rumour from the stranger fishing beside him, minutes before catching Misterjaw. A Rhino Distillery representative was present to certify the catch before Misterjaw was released back into the river, but did not say anything about the amount of the prize money. In the meantimme, Tyler Henry, also known as “Hank” among the local angler aficionados, was fishing from his boat and did not hear the rumour. Hank was so sure that he would catch Misterjaw and claim the prize. He returned every weekend until he finally caught Misterjaw on Christmas Eve. Gorka now claims that Rhino Distillery owes him $75,000. Hank also claims that Rhino Distillery owes him that prize money. Advise Rhino Distillery, explaining applicable legal principles and citing relevant authorities on: (1) Whether the company is liable to pay Gorka the $75,000 prize. (2) Whether the company is liable to pay Hank the $75,000 prize.

Answer 1