Category: Business law

Case Study

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Ron supervises delivery of flowers for a wholesale distributor of fresh flowers, Flowers. Inc. In order to accommodate one of the company’s best customers, Ron offers to immediately rush a delivery of fresh peonies. All of the delivery trucks are currently out on delivery. Ron directs an employee, Ruth, to use her own vehicle to deliver the flowers.
Ruth carelessly parks her car on a steep hill, leaving the car in neutral and failing to engage the parking brake. The car rolls down the hill, knocking down an electric line. The sparks from the broken line ignite a grass fire. The fire spreads until it reaches a gasoline station one mile away. There is a tanker truck off-loading gasoline to the station’s gas tanks. The fire ignites the gasoline being pumped into the tanks, and one of the tanks explodes, causing part of the station structure to fall on and injure a passing motorist, Jim.
Can Jim recover damages from Ruth; from Flowers’ Inc? Why or why not?
Identify the cause of action. Discuss each element of the cause of action, and relate them to your assessment of whether Jim has a cause of action against Ruth.
Discuss the legal doctrine under which Jim might also recover from Flowers, Inc.

Business Law

Posted on | by Brian Leakey

Case Study 1
Fred is well known in his town for his homeopathic cough syrup. After years of encouragement, he has decided to take his miracle cough remedy to market as “Fred’s Miracle Cough Syrup.” While his cough syrup is homeopathic, one of the key ingredients causes a severe reaction when taken in conjunction with aspirin. Fred plans to make and bottle his cough syrup in an outbuilding on the family farm. His son, Sam, has been raving to the locals about his father’s cough syrup for years, and the local drug store and grocer have contacted Fred to place orders as a result. Sam also intends to approach several national chains in an effort to secure supply contracts for Fred’s cough syrup. Fred has asked Sam to assist him with deliveries, as Sam has a van. Fred would like Sam to be involved with the business as an employee initially, with the option of making him a partial owner at a later time. Fred and his wife Sally have two children, Sam and Lilly. Both live in cabins on the family farm with their spouses and children. Fred and Sally engage you as their attorney to assist with the formation of the new business, including determining the appropriate business entity type, management issues, product liability issues, and estate planning for both the business and family property. After your initial meeting, you identify and research the following issues.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

Describe the main types of business entities and their defining characteristics.
Apply product liability law and determine what issues are present. How would you advise your client to mitigate those issues?
Apply the elements and characteristics of an agency relationship to Sam’s actions. Does Sam’s involvement prior to the business formation, as well as his anticipated role once the business is formed, create an agency relationship? Why or why not?
Identify potential real property issues based on the location of the business on the family farm. Justify each potential issue
Does the manufacture of Fred’s Miracle Cough Syrup on the family farm necessitate a formal transfer of ownership or possessory rights? Defend your response.
Identify potential personal property issues based on the use of Sam’s personal vehicle to deliver the product. Justify each potential issue.
Does the use of Sam’s personal vehicle in the course of business expose Sam or the business to any liability issues? Defend your response.
Identify potential estate planning issues with regard to the business and the family farm. Justify each potential issue.
What estate planning vehicles are available to Fred and Sally should they desire to transfer ownership in the business and family farm, respectively, to Sam and Lilly equally? What are the advantages and disadvantages to each?
Applying your analysis of the issues above, which type of business entity do you recommend for Fred’s Miracle Cough Syrup and why?

Intellectual intangible property protection

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Identify and explain the forms of intellectual intangible property protection, how long they last and what remedies one can seek for an infringement of one’s intellectual property pursuant.
Research and provide one case law example of a business dispute involving intellectual property within the last two years. Summarize the facts, the law in dispute and the outcome decided by the court. Did you agree with the decision, why or why not?

Intellectual intangible property protection

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Identify and explain the forms of intellectual intangible property protection, how long they last and what remedies one can seek for an infringement of one’s intellectual property pursuant.
Research and provide one case law example of a business dispute involving intellectual property within the last two years. Summarize the facts, the law in dispute and the outcome decided by the court. Did you agree with the decision, why or why not?

Agency law and the three types of authority “relationships” that are created in the workplace

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As a small-business owner, you are faced with rising costs, particularly employment costs, insurance, and the like. You decide to hire Leo, your good friend to save on these costs and insurance. Leo works for 6 months and wears the business shirt, deals with vendors and customers on the phone, and tells his family that he is the company’s best employee. One day at lunch, Leo heads to 7-11 for a Slurpee and befriends the owner, Dan. Leo makes a deal with Dan to sell your product, Widgets spinners, at the 7-11 in exchange for a free Slurpee every day. The store sells out of Widgets spinners the next day and Dan calls to demand you restock because it is bringing in lots of customers.

Discuss the following:

Explain agency law and the three types of authority “relationships” that are created in the workplace between employers and employees. In other words, the authority an employee has provides an understanding of what they can and can not do in the workplace. Which authority relationship is created between your company and Leo and, per the scenario, is your company liable to restock Dan’s store? What is “scope of employment” and how is it applicable?
Identify and explain the Employment-at-Will Doctrine and all the possible exceptions to the Doctrine. Research and provide an example case of a wrongful discharge in the last two years in violation of the Doctrine and explain the facts, the parties, their arguments, the law and the outcome of the case.

Agency law and the three types of authority “relationships” that are created in the workplace

Posted on | by

 

 

 

 

 

As a small-business owner, you are faced with rising costs, particularly employment costs, insurance, and the like. You decide to hire Leo, your good friend to save on these costs and insurance. Leo works for 6 months and wears the business shirt, deals with vendors and customers on the phone, and tells his family that he is the company’s best employee. One day at lunch, Leo heads to 7-11 for a Slurpee and befriends the owner, Dan. Leo makes a deal with Dan to sell your product, Widgets spinners, at the 7-11 in exchange for a free Slurpee every day. The store sells out of Widgets spinners the next day and Dan calls to demand you restock because it is bringing in lots of customers.

Discuss the following:

Explain agency law and the three types of authority “relationships” that are created in the workplace between employers and employees. In other words, the authority an employee has provides an understanding of what they can and can not do in the workplace. Which authority relationship is created between your company and Leo and, per the scenario, is your company liable to restock Dan’s store? What is “scope of employment” and how is it applicable?
Identify and explain the Employment-at-Will Doctrine and all the possible exceptions to the Doctrine. Research and provide an example case of a wrongful discharge in the last two years in violation of the Doctrine and explain the facts, the parties, their arguments, the law and the outcome of the case.

Intrinsic Motivation and Extrinsic Motivation

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Choose any one of the seven senses (e.g., hearing). Describe three (3) ways that this sense helps you in being successful in three (3) different areas of your life (e.g., work, school, friendship, hobbies, etc.). For each area of your life, you should have 3 tasks in which your chosen sense is helpful. This means you should have a total of nine (9) points. See the example diagram below:
Sense: Hearing

 

Reflect on the changes that you have experienced in coming to college in the three areas of your life listed in Part 1. In a 1-page essay, consider how these things changed for you when you became a college student. Your reflection must include:
• Intrinsic Motivation and Extrinsic Motivation
• Any other theory of motivation (other than intrinsic and extrinsic motivation)
• Any theory of emotion
• Any information on the biology of hunger, eating, or eating disorders.

 

Best practices being used by law enforcement agencies

Posted on | by Brian Leakey

Write a 6–7 page paper in which you answer the following questions:

Identify the best practices being used by law enforcement agencies to ensure that officers are trained in all aspects of understanding and manipulating technology and technological devices in their attempts to keep up with the rapidly changing technological environment.
Identify the ways in which police officers are responding to a changing and diverse community. What can police agencies do to improve the trust between diverse members of the community?
Identify the agencies involved in investigating hate crimes. Identify the challenges involved in investigating hate crimes. Analyze the problems related to determining the actual number of hate crimes and what makes a hate crime different from other crimes. Describe how domestic terrorism and hate crimes are similar in nature.
What does the future of policing look like in America? Identify the myriad of challenges that those in the law enforcement community are currently facing, and will face in the future.

Prohibition against unfair acts or practices

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Between 1966 and 1975, the Orkin Exterminating Company, the world’s largest termite and pest control firm, offered its customers a “lifetime” guarantee that could be renewed each year by paying a definite amount specified in its contracts with the customers. The contracts gave no indication that the fees could be raised for any reasons other than certain narrowly specified ones. Beginning in 1980, Orkin unilaterally breached these contracts by imposing higher-than-agreed-upon annual renewal fees. Roughly 200,000 contracts were breached in this way. Orkin realized $7 million in additional revenues from customers who renewed at the higher fees. The additional fees did not purchase a higher level of service than that originally provided for in the contracts. Although some of Orkin’s competitors may have been willing to assume Orkin’s pre-1975 contracts at the fees stated therein, they would not have offered a fixed, locked-in “lifetime” renewal fee such as the one Orkin originally provided.

Under the three-part test for unfairness stated in the course textbook (see page 1363), did Orkin’s behavior violate FTC Act § 5’s prohibition against unfair acts or practices?
Discuss each element of the three-part test and how it applies to the Orkin case.