...Business Torts Outline Fall 2009 (Mittleman) |Overview | |Plan of Attack for Answering Questions | |Contractual relationships, where one party alleges a tort. | |Economic Loss Doctrine | | | |Fraud: | |Intentional Fraud (false statement, concealment, omission) ...
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...GM 520 Business Torts Assignment Alan Kay Mae Tom brought suit against the S.S. Kresge Co. after she slipped and fell on the floor while shopping at one of the chain’s Arizona department stores on Nov. 15, 1977. According to the case details, Tom stopped at Kresge’s to buy some wrapping paper. While walking down a store aisle, she slipped and fell on a clear liquid substance, suffering injuries for which she brought the action. The record reveals that the store was a self-service establishment that offered a variety of goods. The majority of goods sold were dry goods, but it is uncontradicted that the store had two counters from which soft drinks were available. Patrons were allowed to carry their drinks around the store while shopping. It appears that Tom fell in an aisle containing only dry goods. Neither she nor any Kresge’s employees, however, noticed any liquid on the floor prior to the fall. The manager, assistant manager and a sales clerk who were in the store on the day of the accident stated that they had no idea how the liquid substance reached the floor. Tom argued that Kresge’s is liable for her injury because it occurred as a result of a condition created by the store’s "mode of operation." She also contends that the store should be held liable because the accident-causing condition had existed for such a length of time that in the exercise of ordinary care, Kresge’s should have known of the condition and taken action to remedy it. She also argued that there...
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...Issue: Mary slips and falls on some rice thrown at a wedding reception taking place in the adjoin banquet hall. Is the restaurant liable for Mary’s injuries? Rule: In private individual properties, the owner or possessor of the property shall exercise extreme care in protecting invitees and guests. This protection includes being able to warrant the safety of people within his property from dangerous objects. Analysis: The owner of the premises or an employee should have known of the dangerous surface because a "reasonable" person taking care of the property would have discovered and removed or repaired it. . A simple barrier could have been created or a warning been given to prevent people from slipping or tripping? There weren’t any warnings that the spot might be dangerous. If you tripped over or slipped on an object someone had placed or left on or in the floor or ground, was there a legitimate reason for the object to be there? Was there a good reason for the object to be there but that reason no longer exists, could the object have been removed or covered or otherwise made safe? Conclusion. The basic rule is: If one person involved in an accident was less careful than another, the less careful one must pay for at least a portion of the damages suffered by the more careful one. State Restrictions on Recovering Compensation If You Were Careless Comparative negligence is applied in three slightly different ways, depending on the state where the accident occurred...
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...break into Sharon apartment. Sharon and the resident manager were badly injured during the attack. There are legal questions that need to answer to ensure there is no liability on my behalf. There are two areas that will be covered in this paper on business torts and ethics. Business torts is define as the law that covers a wide range of misconduct including personal injuries, negligence, and malpractice. In this paper, I will be objective and look at all sides of the conflict and assess my responsibilities. Liability of the Intruder It is my opinion that the intruder is liable for what he has done to Sharon the tenant. The intruder broke into her apartment and attacked Sharon and the resident manager. The intruder also harmed Sharon and the resident manager that left them with cuts and bruises. This is considered aggravated assault and jail time can be served. This could also be considered an armed robbery, the intruder went into a person property with a weapon in the midst of a burglary. I also think the intruder is liable for the damages that were done to the apartment when he was trying to break in. This would be civil damages and because I’m the owner of the building I will take him to court for civil lawsuit. Business tort shares some overlap with other types of crimes that can harm people. Legal Responsibility In this case of someone trying to break into the apartment, I have no legal responsibility to Sharon. However I do feel that I could have legal responsibility...
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...Business Torts and Ethics With the actions of businesses being more prominent in the eyes of the public more than ever before, it is crucial that businesses remain credible. Remaining credible requires businesses to uphold four of the major types of corporate responsibility- economic, ethical, philanthropic, and legal (Scilly, 2016). In order to simply survive as a business, a company’s legal duties must remain their top priority. With such a large variety of possible violations, companies are left with a plethora of reasons to take precaution to avoid civil and criminal liability. Companies can do so by complying with the law (Pagnattaro, Cahoy, Magid, Reed, & Sheed, 2016, p. 7). This week in Contemporary Business Law, the class was given a scenario regarding a property management business dealing with a legal issue. This paper will describe the scenario, define the company’s legal obligations, differentiate among some of the potential torts that might arise from this business context, discuss ways to prevent the risk of the potential torts, lastly apply and evaluate the ethical principles and responsibilities of the business. The Scenario “Springfield Arms Apartments is a business that rents primarily to students. One evening, your tenant Sharon is attacked by an intruder who forces the lock on the sliding glass door of her ground-floor apartment. Sharon's screams attract the attention of Darryl, your resident manager, who comes to Sharon's aid. Together, Darryl and...
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...Business Torts & Ethics Law/421 Intruders Liability The intruder, in this case, is held accountable for his actions. The thief showed the intention to break-in and the intellectual aptitude to understand that what he was doing was wrong since he even became violent to Darryl and Sharon. The case consists of two transgressions, criminal wrongdoing for injuries caused and a civil case breaking into Sharon’s house. Mainly, the harshness of the situation is deepened by the fact that the intruder assaults Sharon and the resident manager with an intention to cause harm. For the trespass cases, the charges always increase in situations where the invader causes injury to the inhabitants. Also, the injured party has a legal right to sue the intruder for the physical damage caused by the intentional or the negligent act. Particularly, the owner of the property may not have any legal duties concerning the case. However, there is some ethical responsibility to the resident manager as well as the tenants in regards to the safety of the premises. It is the duty of the owner, after such an incidence, to review the security procedures within the properties. Our Legal Duties and Responsibilities to Sharon and Daryl The owner of the property is not legally responsible for the safety of both Sharon and Daryl. As a universal regulation, the owner of residential properties is not obligated to the renters any duty of care....
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...Tort Risk and Business Regulation Simulation Jane Thomas University of Phoenix Business Law/531 Thomas Friedman October 19, 2010 In today’s business world it is crucial for organizations to have a plan in place to identify and manage tort liability. This can be managed through preventive, detective and corrective measures. The purpose of a plan is for an organization to manage and minimize individual risks. Organizations that fail to comply with Federal, State, and local regulations expose the organization to regulatory risks. This could greatly impact the organizations reputation, earnings, and existing assets. This paper will identify regulatory risks and tort liability as related to Alumina Inc. The United States based Alumina Inc. is a global multibillion dollar company based in the state of Erehwon near Lake Dira. Alumina is a manufacturing plant that specializes in automotive components, alumina refining, aluminum smelting, bauxite mining, and packaging materials. The corporation operates in eight countries with 70% of its sales coming from the United States. Alumina falls under jurisdiction 6 of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). During a routine EPA compliance evaluation inspection five years ago, Alumina was found to be violation of discharging polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) that exceeded the EPA standards. EPA demanded a cleanup to which Alumina complied without delay. Alumina Inc. is being accused by a local resident...
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...Tort reform refers to the proposed changes in the common law civil justice systems that would reduce tort litigation and/or damages. Tort liability imposes significant cost on society. In 1991, US has spent a total of $131.6 billion on tort litigation, which is approximately 2.3% of the gross domestic product (GDP)1 Studies have shown that the citizens pay a tort tax of $1200 per individual or nearly $5000 for a family of four. 2 Today, tort reform is a contentious political issue and its advocates propose procedural limits on the ability to file claims and capping awards of damages. The cost of healthcare in the US is very expensive and is rising rapidly. Tort is one of the main reason this is happening. Tort pay out usually comes from the insurance companies, which eventually raise the insurance cost, and the cost is incurred to everyone paying insurance. In addition, the current medical liability system does not effectively compensate patients from medical negligence nor improve patient safety by addressing system errors. 93% of physicians have started to practice defensive medicine3 in order to avoid getting into lawsuits and this has adversely affected the physician-patient relationship. Physician eliminate complex procedures or procedures that seem litigious. These behaviors have strained and limit physicians to their scope of work, which ends up 1 Kirk W. Dillard, Illinois' Landmark Tort Reform: The Sponsor's Policy Explanation, 27 LOY. U. CHI. L.J. 805, 809 nn.1, 16-17...
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...Business Torts Issue Spotter Essay Emmy V. MedK Corp. MedK Corp. faces potential liability for the tort of Contractual Interference/Tortious Interference with Contractual Relations. Contractual Interference occurs when parties are not allowed the freedom to contract without interference from third party. Tortious Interference is that someone intentionally persuades another to break a contract already in existence. Here, MedK Corp. may be liable for Contractual Interference/Tortious Interference with Contractual Relations if sued by Emmy. Med K signed a contract under which Emmy’s company was to provide exclusive device delivery and in-home instruction through doctors to MedK Clients. The only two people who knew about the contract with MedK was Emmy and Rita. After Emmy starts seeing decrease in sales from MedK, Darrell, the CEO, admitted to Emmy, that Rita had been soliciting MedK and had been encouraging Darrell to slowly phase out the volume of referrals to Emmy’s company and transfer them to Rita’s new company. Darrell said that he would pay Emmy what she was owned, but would not honor the contract in full. Therefore, MedK is likely liable for Contractual Interference/Tortious Interference with Contractual Relations. Emmy V. Rita Rita faces potential liability for the tort of Contractual Interference/Tortious Interference with Contractual Relations. Contractual Interference occurs when parties are not allowed the freedom to contract without interference from...
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...BUSINESS TORTS AND ETHICS 1 Business Torts and Ethics BUSINESS TORTS AND ETHICS 2 Given that I am the owner of the University Heights Apartments who rents to primarily students, I believe that I am somewhat responsible for the safety of my tenants to a certain extent. I feel that I cannot be totally responsible for their personal safety as I cannot ensure that all personal that enter the complex are actually confirmed residents of this establishment. I can however minimize the access to this complex by setup up a gated community where residents with have to enter a specific code or card to gain access. If specific residents choose to allow other personal to enter the complex, they will be responsible for their actions and will have to accept punishment for their actions as indicated within their contract. Based on the fact that the intruder had forcefully entered the apartment and had injured the tenant and the resident manager I do feel some responsibility for both of them. As the resident manager, his job also includes that he help ensure the safety of the tenants. While doing his job, he was injured and in the process, he was also not able to detour or defend the tenant who was also injured. Given that the resident manager was injured while performing his job and the tenant was injured though him not being able to fully accomplish his job, I do feel obligated to help both of these parties. I do also feel that the intruder will have...
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...teacher in the classroom and the principal. While teaching her classroom of ten children, the principal enters the room and tells the teacher that her husband was involved in an accident and was at the hospital in critical condition. The teacher leaves her classroom to go to the hospital. When she arrives at the hospital, however, she finds that her husband was not there, and after calling his cell phone, the teacher finds that her husband is safe and sound at home. It turns out that the principal had lied to the teacher because he was mad that she had rejected his advances for a date. In these facts, the teacher may have a claim against the principal for any emotional distress she may have suffered as a result of the principal lying. In torts, there are two types of claims that can be asserted for emotional distress: (1) intentional infliction of emotional distress; and (2) negligent infliction of emotional distress. A claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress is similar to intentional infliction of emotional distress, but only requires showing of negligence rather than intent. A cause of action for negligent infliction of emotional distress consists of (1) a duty of care owed by the defendant to the plaintiff, (2) breach of that duty by the defendant resulting in severe emotional suffering and (3) actual and proximate causation of severe emotional distress. The key aspect for a claim in negligent infliction of emotional distress is that physical injury or illness is...
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...Recognizing and Minimizing Tort and Regulatory Risk Plan The key to an effective operating a business is proper management and preventive measures to limit the organizations tort liability. Tort liability and risk management has to be dealt within the day to day business of many organizations. Alumina tort liability and regulatory risk will be identified and a successful business plan will be designed to manage. Each liability for all detection, corrective, and prevention measures will be described. The plan will identify Alumina’s best course of action to reduce tort liability and expected results for risk management. Five years ago, Alumina had a liability that brought an action against the company. Due to previous lawsuits and recent complaints which revealed potential risks, the company has current tort liabilities. The list of tort liabilities and regulatory risks consist of the First Amendment, Defamation, and Freedom of Information Act. When compared to Alumina’s prior and current liabilities these risks are the most impacting. The company had to deal with accusations that the local water supply was still being polluted. Five years ago, the company was found guilty of the charges from a different case. The company has correct the issues and made the changes are in line with federal regulations. The company’s current accusation is founded to be unfounded defamation against the company. Public perception will be a motivator since the claim is originated in...
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...Week 3: Business Torts Lexus Nexus By Christine Lyu Keller Graduate School MGMT 520 – Legal, Political, Ethical Dimensions of Business Professor Afiya Whitman September 22, 2013 Esposito-Hilder vs. SFX case Go to Jennings Chapter 9, page 315, problem 5. Use LexisNexis in the Keller library and look up the Esposito-Hilder vs. SFX case. Use the citation you find in your book to do the search. Read the case and answer these questions. Copy and paste this information into a Word document, include your name on that document, and answer the questions. 1. What is the most “jealously” protected kind of speech, according to the court in this case? (3 points) Under the law of defamation and considering the content and general thought process of the entire radio program, the remarks may have been distasteful. However, to the reasonable listener, it would be viewed as an opinion and would not be viewed as an actual fact about the plaintiff. One's physical attractiveness and desirability or lack thereof is, in fact, a matter of subjective opinion, even though under the circumstances it may not give rise to a qualified privilege. For more than a century, it has been widely recognized that "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder." 2. What court decided the case in the assignment? (2 points) The court decided that plaintiff's complaint states a cognizable cause of action against the defendants for the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress. Accordingly...
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...Business Torts NAME NAME OF University Business Torts According to the textbook, “Tort law recognizes that some acts are wrong because they cause injuries to others and that a tort is not the only type of wrong that exists in law”. (Miller & Hollowell, 2011, p.60-61). A civil action can be pursued when person brings a personal suit against another for compensation damages or other relief for the harm suffered. Quik Mart could file an action against Retail Outlets Inc. based on the wrongful interference with a contractual relationship. Quik Mart must be able to provide three elements necessary to establish this type of suit. The three elements that Quik Mart must prove are (1) a valid, enforceable contact between Retail Outlets Inc. and themselves, (2) a third party must know that this contract exists, and (3) the third party intentionally caused the breach of contract for the purpose of advance the interest of the third party (Miller & Hollowell, 2011, p.65). In the first element, it is stated in the problem that a contact was in place between Precise Engineering and Quik Mart. The court system will enforce an enforceable contract through the legal system. In the second element, a third party must know that this contact exists. In this case, Retail Outlets Inc. knows about the valid contract between Precise and Quick. In the third element, Quik Mart has to be able to prove that Retail Outlets Inc. intentionally caused the two parties to break the contract. ...
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...Business Torts and Ethics Paper ETH/321 October 5, 2015 Mauri Hawkins Business Torts and Ethics Paper Generally speaking, an intruder who invades other people’s premises is considered to have surrendered their rights. This means that the occupants have a right to defend themselves through whatever means they consider to be ‘reasonable force’. At times, the use of deadly force is justifiable, especially when the intruder causes (or is even believed to have the intention to cause) bodily harm. The bottom-line is that the owners/occupants of the premises in question are allowed to do anything within their power, as long as their actions are not grossly disproportionate (Clarke, 2012; Medsger, 2014). It is relatively easy to argue the case against the intruder. In this case, the intruder is evidently liable for the harm and the loss incurred. In most of the states and even internationally, the law regard the people defending themselves as potential witnesses, and not as potential offenders. Sharon and Darryl acted reasonably, and this would still have been the argument bad they knocked this burglar out cold. Nonetheless, it would be wrong to, say, stick a knife or even continue hitting the intruder after he has obviously been neutralized. The intruder is liable, and Sharon and Darryl are potential witnesses (Sennewald & Christman, 2011). Landlord’s Responsibility In most of the states, the landlords are required to protect the tenants as much as possible...
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