Professional Documents
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Business Law NOTES CH1
Business Law NOTES CH1
c)
(i) Only if a state legislature adopts a uniform law does that law become part of
the statutory law of that state.
(ii) The state adopts the uniform law, but those states law may not be entirely
uniform.
(iii) The earliest Uniform Law, the Uniform Negotiable Instruments Laws, was
completed by 1986 and adopted in every state by the early 1920.
iii) The Uniform Commercial Code
(1) The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), which was created through the joint efforts of
the NCCUSL and the American Law Institute, was first issued in 1952.
(a) All fifty states (besides Louisiana), the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands
have adopted the UCC.
(i) Providing a uniform, yet flexible set of rules governing commercial
transactions.
(ii) The UCC assures businesspersons that their contracts, of validly entered into,
normally will be enforced.
d) Administrative Law
i) General
(1) Administrative Law is defined as the rules, orders, and decisions of administrative
agencies.
(2) Administrative Agency is da federal, state or local government agency established to
perform a specific function, especially business operation.
(a) These business operation included capital structure and financing, its hiring and
firing procedures, its relationship with employees ad unions and the way it
manufactures and market its products.
ii) Federal Agencies
(1) At national level, numerous executive agencies exist within the cabinet departments
of the executive branch
(a) EG: The Food and Drug Administration is an agency within the Department of
Health and Human Services.
(b) The executive agencies are subject to the authority of the president, who has the
power to appoint and remove officers of federal agencies.
(2) Independent Regulatory Agencies at federal level, such as the Federal Trade
Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission.
(a) The presidents power is less pronounced in regard to independent agencies,
whose officers serve for fixed terms and cannot be removed without just cause.
iii) State and Local Agencies
(1) State: State Pollution Control Agency;
(2) Federal: Environmental Protection Agency.
e) Case Law and Common Law Doctrines
i) The body of judge-made law is referred to as case law.
ii) The doctrine and principles announced in cases- governs all areas not covered by
statutory law or administrative law and is part our common law tradition.
(1) The means that Norman has used when they conquer England: Establishment of
Kings Court (curiae regis).
(2) Kings court sought to establish a uniform set of customs for the try as a whole.
(3) Common Law: A body of general rules hat applied throughout the entire English
Realm.
(4) Eventually, the common law tradition became part of the heritage of all nations that
were once British colonies, including the United States.
ii) Courts of Law and Remedies at Law
(1) The early English Court could grant very limited kinds of remedies (the legal means
to enforce a right or redress a wrong)
(2) If a person wronged, the kings court could award as compensation one or more of
the following:
(a) Land
(b) Item of Value
(c) Money
(3) Court of Law is the court that awarded this compensation.
(4) Remedies at law are the three remedies (land, item of value and money).
(a) Today, the remedy of law normally takes the form of monetary damage.
(b) A party whose legal interest has been injured.
(i) Although the system introduced uniformity in the settling of disputes, when a
complaining party wanted a remedy other than economic compensation, the
courts of law could do nothing.
(ii) No remedy, No right.
iii) Courts of Equity and Remedies in Equity.
(1) Equity is a branch of law, founded on what might be described as notions of justice
and fair dealing that seek supply a remedy when no adequate remedy at law is
available.
(a) When individual s could not obtain an adequate remedy in a court, they
petitioned the king for relief.
(i) Most of these petitions were decided by an adviser to the king, called a
chancellor (who had the power to grant new and unique remedies).
(ii) Formal Chancery Court or Court of Equity was established.
(2) Remedies in equity are the remedies granted by the equity courts. The remedies
included:
(a) Specific Performance (ordering a party to perform an agreement as promised)
(b) Injunction (Ordering a party to cease engaging in a specific activity or undo some
wrong or injury)
(c) Rescission (The cancellation of a contractual obligation)
(i) **GENERAL RULE: Todays courts, like the early English Courts, will not grant
equitable remedies unless the remedy at law monetary damages- is
inadequate**
(ii) EG: Purchase a parcel of land; you could sue the seller for the return of any
deposits or down payment you might have made on the land. You want the
court to grant the equitable remedy of specific performance because
monetary damages are inadequate in this situation.
iv) Equitable Maxim
(1) Equitable Maxim is defined as the propositions or general statements of equitable
rules, judges are often guided by EM.
(2) The last maxim listed in that exhibit: Equity aids the vigilant, not those who rests on
their rights.- merits special attention.
(a) Known as equitable doctrine of laches (laches = negligent or lax)
(b) It can be used as a defense [an argument raised by the defendant (aka petitioner;
the party being sued) indicating why plaintiff (aka respondent; the suing party)
should not obtain the remedy sought]
(c) Time periods for different types of lawsuits are now fixed by statutes of
limitations.
(i) After the time allowed under a statute of limitations has expired, no action
(lawsuit) can be brought, no matter how strong the case was originally.
c) Legal and Equitable Remedies Today
i) General
(1) Medieval England, There are two different of courts:
(a) Courts of law and Courts of Equity
(i) Different set of judges
(ii) Different set of remedies
(2) 19th Century, combines courts of law and courts of equity
(a) A party now may request both legal and equitable remedies in the same action
(b) Trial courts judge may grant either or both form of relief.
d) The Doctrine with Stare Decisis
i) General
(1) One of the unique features of the common law is that it is Judge made law.
(a) The body principles + Doctrines from the common law emerged over time as
judges decided legal controversies.
ii) Case Precedent and Case Reporters
(1) Precedents
(a) Judges attempted to be consistent and to base their decision on the principles
suggested by earlier case.
(b) New case might become the new law Precedents
(2) Reporters:
(a) Single place or publication where court opinions or written decision can be found.
iii) Stare Decisis and the Common Law
(1) The practice formed a doctrine known as stare decisis (meaning to stand on decided
case).
(2) Two aspects of Stare Decisis:
(a) Decisions made by a higher court are binding on lower courts.
(b) A court should not overturn its own precedent unless there is a compelling reason
to do so.
(3) Stare Decisis advantages:
(a) The courts to be more efficient because if other courts have carefully analyzed a
similar case.
(b) It also makes the law more stable and predictable.
iv) A typical Scenario
(1) *Binding Decision- a case precedent, statute, or other source of law that a court must
follow when deciding a case.
(2) Supreme Courts decision will influence the outcome of all future cases on this issue
brought before the Georgia State Court.
v) Departure from Precedent
(1) If a court decides that a ruling precedent is simply incorrect or that technological or
social changes have rendered the precedent inapplicable, the court might rule
contrary the precedent.
(2) Judges do have some flexibility in applying precedents.
(a) Lower court may avoid applying a precedent set by a higher court in its
jurisdiction by distinguishing the two cases based on their facts.
(b) When this happens, the lower courts ruling stands unless it is appealed to a
higher court and that court overturns the decision.
vi) When theres no precedent.
(1) Case of first impression: when theres no precedent.
(a) Usually the court looks at persuasive authorities (precedent from other
jurisdictions) for guidance.
(b) Factors that included:
(i) Legal principles and policies underlying previous court decisions or existing
statutes, fairness, social values and customs, public policy (governmental
policy based on widely held societal values), and data and concepts drawn
from social sciences.
(ii) The nature of the case
(iii) The case being considered
(iv) The particular judges
(v) Judges hearing the case.
e) Stare Decisis ad Legal Reasoning
i) General
(1) Legal Reasoning is the reasoning process used by judges in deciding what law applies
to a given dispute and then applying that law to the specific facts or circumstances of
the case.
ii) Basic Steps in Legal Reasoning
(1) IRAC Method: Issue, Rule, Application and Conclusion.
(2) To apply IRAC method, you would ask the following questions:
(a) What are the key facts and issues?
(i) Assault
(b) What rules of law apply to the case?
(i) Allege (Claim) that defendant committed a tort (refer to case precedent.)
(c) How do the rules of law apply to the particular facts and circumstances of this
issue?
(i) Theres no two identical case.
(ii) Case on Point: Previously decided cases that are as similar as possible to the
one under consideration
(d) What conclusion should be drawn?
(i) The conclusion is evident if the previous three steps have been followed
carefully.
iii) Form of Legal Reasoning
(1) Deductive Reasoning (AKA Syllogistic Reasoning)
(a) It employs a syllogistic- a logical relationship involving a major premise, I minor
premise, and a conclusion.
(i) Major Premise: Under common law of torts, an individual must be aware of a
threat of danger for the threat to constitute assault.
(ii) Minor Premise: The plaintiff in this case was unaware if the threat at the time
occurred.
(iii) Conclusion: Therefore, the circumstances do not amount to an assault.
(2) Linear Reasoning
(a) It proceeds from one point to another, with the final point being the conclusion.
(i) The landlord, who was on the premises the evening injuring occurred, testifies
that none of the other nine tenants who used the stairway that night
complained about the light.
(ii) The fact: None of the tenants complained is the same as if they had said the
lighting was sufficient.
(iii) That there were no complaints does not prove that the lighting was sufficient
BUT does prove the landlord had no reason to believe that it was not.
(iv) The landlords belief was reasonable because no one complained.
(v) Therefore, the landlord acted reasonably and was not negligent with respect
to the lighting in the stairway.
(3) Reasoning Analogy
(a) Analogy is to compare the facts in the case at hand to the facts in other cases
and, to the extent that the patterns are similar, to apply the same rule of law to
present case.
(i) Case A: The court held that a driver who crossed a highways centerline was
negligent.
(ii) Case B: A driver who crosses the line to avoid hitting a child.
(iii) Analogy: If the judge hold that Bs Driver is not liable, that the judge must
indicate why case As rule is not relevant to the facts presented in case B.
iv) Theres No One Right Answer
6) Classification of Law
a) General
i) Substantive VS Procedural Law
(1) Substantive Law consists of all laws that define, describe, regulate, and create legal
rights and obligation.
(2) Procedural Law consists of all laws that delineate the methods of enforcing the rights
established by substantive law.
ii) Federal Law VS State Law
iii) Private Law VS Public Law VS National Law