...Introduction The most basic definition of tort law is a “civil wrong which can be redressed by awarding damages” (Cornell University, 2010). Through the following paper, this basis definition will be used to decide whether two cases, Haimes v. Temple University Hospital and Vandevender v. Sheetz, Inc. were frivolous and whether the outcomes were appropriate. Throughout this paper, eight questions will be applied to determine the merit of the two lawsuits. The eight questions are as follows: 1. What are the facts? 2. What are the issues? 3. What laws apply? 4. What did the judge and jury decide? 5. Did the judge and jury make the appropriate decision based on the applicable laws controlling the case? 6. What are the ethical issues in the cases? Do the ethical issues differ from the legal issues? 7. Based on the research could either one or both of these cases be considered frivolous? 8. How could the business owners have prevented the lawsuits? What advice can you give them for the future? Furthermore, by apply the eight questions above I will attempt to determine whether the two lawsuits were perfect examples of the issues facing the United States legal system and whether they characterize the ability to people to bring frivolous claims to light or whether they two lawsuits were unfairly made poster children for excessive rewards without full understanding of the facts of the case. What are the facts? Vandevender The facts presented in the Vandevender...
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...Briana Lyles Torts and Product Liability 11/22/2011 University of Maryland – University College AMBA 610 – Section 9040 Dr. Kathleen Locklear Introduction This paper will discuss two types of law and how they apply to two separate lawsuits. According to The Legal Environment of Business: A Critical Approach by Kubasek, Brennan, and Browne, Tort law is defined as “an injury to another’s person or property.” Tort Law has many goals that are in place to assist injured person through monetary compensation and even mental compensation. Additional goals of Tort Law are to discourage private retaliation, promote civility, and deter wrongful actions (Kubasek et al., 2009). Tort Law also tries to ensure that the plaintiff receives compensation for damages. Another type of law explained in The Legal Environment of Business: A Critical Approach is Product and Service Liability Law, which was evolved from Tort Law. Manufacturers of products and givers of service owe a level of responsibility to the consumers of their product or service. The liability laws hold manufacturers accountable if the consumers are somehow unable to use their product without it causing harm to them. The cases discussed in this paper involve Tort Law violations as well as Product and Service Liability law violations on the part of the defendant in both cases. The Facts A CAT scan was performed on Judith Haimes by Dr. Judith Hart, a physician who works at Temple University. Before the CAT scan was performed...
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...PA-310 Unit 1 Causes of Action Tort laws are laws that offer remedies to individuals harmed by the unreasonable actions of others. Tort claims usually involve state law and are based on the legal premise that individuals are liable for the consequences of their conduct if it results in injury to others. Tort law only requires 4 elements to be shown. The first one is that the tortfeasor owes the injured party a duty to do something or not to do something; two is that tortfeasor breached the duty, based on the applicable standard of care that he/she is owed; three is that tortfeasor action or inaction is the proximate cause of the injured party's injury; four is the injured party has in fact suffered some type of injury (physical, mental, monetary). In the scenario case of the Rob Jr. v Church of the Divine Light, there are many causes where the family can be compensated for damages of intentional. Some of the causes that Rob Jr. can take against the Church of the Divine Light are mental stress because Rob Jr. was brained washed by the Church of the Divine Light and took several weeks for him to recover his sanity, false imprisonment because the Church of the Divine Light tricked Rob Jr. believing he would go to hell if he left the church, and that that was his new family and that his family did not care for him any longer, intentional infliction of mental distress, and emotional stress because of the recovery of being brainwashed, and to understand that his true family...
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...Chapter 10 Product Liability I. Definition of Product Liability Manufacturers and anyone in the chain of product distribution can be legally liable for defective products that cause injury to the purchaser, a user or bystander, or their property. Most states have adopted strict product liability, whereby an injured person may recover damages without showing that the manufacturer was negligent or otherwise at fault without a contractual relationship. II. Theories of Recovery The primary theories on which a product liability claim can be brought are breach of warranty, negligence, and strict liability. A. Breach of Warranty In a warranty action, the question is whether the quality, characteristics, and safety of the product were consistent with the implied or express representations made by the seller. 1. UCC Warranties may be either express or implied for merchantability or fitness for a particular purchase, as set forth in Chapter 8. 2. Privity of Contract Breach-of-warranty is based on contract law. Generally, an injured person to recover for a breach of warranty, he must be in a contractual relationship (privity) with the seller (a consumer or buyer of the product) and prevents recovery from bystanders not in privity with the seller. B. Negligence To prove negligence in a product liability case, plaintiff must show defendant did not use reasonable care in designing or manufacturing its product or in providing adequate warnings...
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...give an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image. Defamation is the publication of a statement which refers on a person’s reputation and tends to lower him in the estimation of right-thinking members of society generally or tends to make then shun or avoid him. [1] The tort of defamation protects a person’s interest in his reputation. If the defendant had made an untrue statement, or what amounts to a statement, which is defamatory of the plaintiff, the plaintiff has a right of action against him unless the defendant can establish one of the special defenses available to an action for defamation. Since the tort of defamation protects the plaintiff’s reputation, and since reputation depends on what other people think of the plaintiff, the publication of the statement by the defendant to persons other than the plaintiff himself is an essential part of the tort –the purpose of the tort is not to protect the injured the feelings of the plaintiff. The tort goes beyond protecting their mere personal reputation of the plaintiff and extends to the protection of the reputation of his commercial and business undertakings. The rules of the tort represent an attempt to strike a balance between two important and often competing interests, the public interest in freedom of speech and the private interest in marinating one’s reputation. The difficulty of achieving this balance is perhaps indicated by the fact that, though liability for a defamatory statement...
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...IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS JUSTIN KING ) ) PLAINTIFF, ) ) CIVIL ACTIONS NO: ____________________ vs. ) ) ) JUDGE: _____________________________ ANHEUSER BUSCH and ) FRANK CUELLAR ) ) DEFENDANT ) COMPLAINT COMES NOW, plaintiff, Justin King and for his complaint, alleges as follows: 1. Plaintiff, for all times mentioned herein, was a resident of the County of Paxton, State of Illinois. 2. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that defendant, Anheuser Busch, was and is a business primarily operating out of the County of St. Louis, State of Missouri. 3. This is an action for damages in excess of $75,000.00, as required by 28 USC 1332. 4. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that at all times and places herein mentioned defendant, Frank Cuellar, was operating a certain 1992, Nissan UD2000 B, 24ft straight truck, WHITE in color, PLATE NO. 07 MO 968-7RL., fully loaded with cases of Anheuser Busch product. 5. At all times herein mentioned plaintiff was and now is the owner of a certain 2006, Harley Davidson X-73, motorcycle, BLACK in color, PLATE NO. 07 MO 327-HP8 6. At all times herein mentioned Interstate 57 was and now is a public highway running in a general northerly and southerly direction. 7. On or about the 8th day of April, 2004 plaintiff was operating his automobile in a prudent and careful manner in a general...
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...JPMorgan Chase Bank Risks Abstract: Fraud has remained a predominant factor in the trade of stocks, shares and other securities because of its unpredictability. The government has laid down many structures and developed enormous laws and enforcement agencies to handle the same. JPMorgan investment bank stands as an example of how hard it is to combat high-risk gambling, given that a bank of its standing and success could fall a victim of the same, notwithstanding the implication of its Chief Investment officer in the same. The essence of this is to show the challenges that the administrative agencies are faced with, and the actions and strategies they have laid down to deal with such incidences. In addition, it shows the centrality of the investor, and the financial institutions, in entering into a contract. There are several key elements to be considered in entering into a contract and it is important that all are adhered in order to ensure that both parties are well protected. They should be entered into in good faith, and as such, there are regulations that determine whether the investor had full disclosure on the investment they were entering into. Shares and securities of JPMorgan investment bank plunged down at an alarming rate after the company announced that it had made losses amounting to over $2 billion, with speculation that the losses could rise to over $7 billion (Leo, 2013). These enormous losses have in particular...
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...irresponsibility can cost businesses greatly or be forced to close (Business Regulation Simulation, 2009). It is important to identify, manage, and correct torts and regulatory risks for Alumina, Inc. so legal issues do not arise in the future. Alumina, Inc. is a $4 billion dollar USA-based industry leader in Aluminum making. They operated in eight countries around the world. The US accounts for seventy percent of its sales. Their business interests are in: automotive components, manufacturer of packaging materials, and aluminum smelting. Alumina falls under jurisdiction of Region 6 of the EPA. A tort is the French word for a “wrong.” The law provides remedies to persons and businesses that are injured by the tortuous actions of others (Cheesman, 2010). Kelly Bates claims Alumina did not comply with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) legal limit of producing PHA. The drinking water in Lake Dira was found to be unsafe, which caused leukemia in her 10 year old daughter. The plaintiff has filed a million dollar personal injury lawsuit against Alumina to recover punitive damages (Business Regulation Simulation, 2009). Two of the possible tort violations in this simulation are negligence and liability. The potential for negligence in this case must be proven to contain breach of duty and duty of care. The liability tort must prove failure to protect and failure to warn. Alumina, Inc. has a clean record in compliance issues except the violation that took place five...
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...* Duty of care and dillgence – statute law – s180 * S588G imposes a duty upon directors to prevent their company trading whle it is insolvent . s588G requires directors to be continually monitoring the financial status of their coy (* only apply to directors) * S181 – duties to act in good faith in the interest of coy and for a proper purpose * S 191 – duties to avoid conflicts of interest * S182&S183 – not to make improper use of position or information (* apply to employee) * S9 – define officer of coy- have management responsibility relation to a coy in financial difficulties * Generally the duty will be owed to the members as a collective whole (not a minority) that should be considered by directors: * Generally there will be no duty owed to individual shareholders; The director needs to have been in direct and close contact with the individual member so that the director caused the member to act in a certain way which turned out to be detrimental to them: Here, the facts are similar to Brunninghausen v Glavanics, where a fiduciary arose to the individual. In that case there were only 2 shareholders (both were directors also), and B convinced G to sell their shares and resign as director so that B could act on an offer of sale (unknown to G). An individual fiduciary duty was found because G was the company, aside from B, and G relied on B for information about the company. Our situation is similar in that [reasons] and therefore [director]...
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...Examines the legal environment of business, the sources of American law, and the basis of authority for government to regulate business. Provides a survey of tort law, contracts and the UCC, and the federal and state courts. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS Required Resources Bagley, C. E., & Savage, D. W. (2010). Managers and the legal environment:2010 custom edition (6th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Supplemental Resources Fischbach, J., & Fischbach, M. (2005). Rethinking optimality in tort litigation: The promise of reverse cost-shifting. BYU Journal of Public Law, 19(2), 317-351. Kalen, S. (2008). The transformation of modern administrative law: Changing administrations and environmental guidance documents. Ecology Law Quarterly, 35(4), 657-720. Ward, E. (2007). Mandatory court-annexed alternative dispute resolution in the United States federal courts: Panacea or pandemic? St. John’s Law Review, 81(1), 77-98. COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES 1. Describe the legal environment of business, the sources of American law, and the basis of authority for government to regulate business. 2. Explain basic court procedures, types of courts, and alternative dispute resolution methods. 3. Describe the elements of a contract and explain the basic provisions of contract law relative to offer, acceptance, capacity, legality, fraud, third-party rights, performance, and breach of contract. 4. Explain the components of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) relative to sales and lease...
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...Professional Responsibility Mulligan versus Friedman perspectives on moral business decisions * Mulligan: Execs have most knowledge and will be better at at analyzing problems and implementing solutions * Friedman: Execs are not competent to solve moral problems – should be left to governemtn Director/Officer “Duty of Due Care Standard” in the Business Judgment Rule Statutory duty to act: 1. “In Good Faith” – NO SELF INTEREST 2. “With Care of an ordinarly prudent person” BE INFORMED 3. “In manner reasonably believed to be in best interest of corporation” Comparison to a Professional’s “Duty of Due Care”: 1. Duty of Care 2. Breach of duty of care by a reasonably prudent professional 3. breach causes damages that were foreseeable. 4. Negligence Theory: , Can negligence be criminal—US v Parks case Yes! If informed of an issue, should follow through and ensure action was taken (supermarket example) States’ Differing Public Policy on role of stakeholders in making a decision that is in the best interests of the company * Half of the states say the officers and directors can take into account stockholders and other stakeholders (employees, customers, supplies, communities). * Pennsylvania and Indiana allow officers to place the interests of stakeholders above stockholders Why most companies choose Delaware to incorporate Management friendly. Example: business judgement rule Drucker’s Aristotelian...
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...Question 1 Paul Price is clearly concerned about the Tefal Actifry. Explain to Paul Price about his rights regarding the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (amended). In your answer you are required to refer to the relevant sections of the Sale of Goods Act (SOGA) and relevant case law. Assuming the shop where the purchase was made had included an exclusion clause limiting liability briefly explain whether the company could rely on this clause. Q1) The problem encountered in this case concerns Paul Price and the multinational company Tefal, in particular with their new product the “actifry”. Paul has bought the actifry relying on Tefal’s suggestion that their new product was “low fat, easy to clean and safe” but unfortunately he found out the hard way that their latest statement was not exactly right. As a result of the accident happened when his actifry caught fire due to a ventilation deficiency while being used Paul is interested in his rights regarding the Sale of Goods Act 1979. According to section 13 of the SOGA 1979 there is a breach of contract if a good purchased in England, Wales and Northern Ireland does not correspond with the description given by the seller s.13(1), in this case Tefal’s statement that the product was safe did not correspond to reality, Paul relied on the company’s reputation and was mislead in buying the actifry. In the case of Beatle v Taylor (1967) 3 All ER 253 where the claimant had bought a car that did not correspond to the description...
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...Ethic at Work Name: Professor: Institution: Course: Date: Possible violations if complaint is true The likely violations if the grievance is real would fall under intentional torts and in particular the invasion of privacy. Under intentional torts there are four limbs of privacy torts. These are appropriation, intrusion, false light and public disclosure of embarrassing private facts. However, the fact pattern that is depicted in the case scenario discloses an element of intrusion which is an electronic, physical or mechanical intrusion in another person’s private space (McWay, 2010). This form of tort requires that the complainant show that there was a wrongful intrusion into private concern. In essence, the invasion of privacy encompasses a person intruding into the private activities of another in a manner that is offensive to a person of reasonable sensibilities. As such, the most conceivable violation by the physician who accessed the electronic medical record of another is the deliberate invasion of privacy. Further information the HIM director needs to acquire to verify the complaint Further information and key issues that a HIM director needs to obtain once the complaint is forwarded include establishing whether there are any potential witnesses, documents for review, whether the aggrieved physician had reasonable expectation of privacy and that the privacy was breached. These factors...
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...Nanette Toledo You Decide- Week 5 MGMT -597 The facts of this case are presented below. Coleman, an employee of Software Inc., worked mostly on the road servicing and visiting customers around the country. In one of his trips, he decided to stop by a jewelry store to buy a gift for his wedding anniversary to his wife, but was too expensive. Instead, he stole a ring because he could not afford it. After that he went on a business meeting at Jimmy’s Poor-Man’s Bar to see John, a customer. He spilled his drink and after that decided to do a flame with his mouth using grain alcohol. He killed Jimmy and did serious damage on the property. Software Inc. policy to fire employees is to have a final interview with him, but they fail to do so with Coleman, due to the severity of the happening. Even though he was fired, he arranged a meeting to do a sorry dinner for what happened at the bar with John, stating that Software Inc. would pay for everything. At the dinner, John called Coleman fat, and he responded by punching John in the eye and causing severe damage. Jimmy’s mom, John, Jimmy’s Poor-Man’s Bar (partnership owned by 5 partners), and the jewelry store sued Software Inc. for the damages caused by their employee. There are some questions or problems arising from this situation. First of all, Software Inc. needed to give Coleman the final interview upon as establish on Software Inc. employee’s contract. Can Coleman win this termination sue? Also if the incidents happened...
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...Answer to the question no-1(a). To know whether the combination of “whole of agreement clause” and “parole evidence rule” exclude the word-of-mouth bargain or not we have to know about these two particulars first. Whole of agreement clauses: Whole of agreement clauses often appear in contracts that are the subject of disputes. The clause’s exact terms & other proof may be critical to the court’s determination of its effect. Whole of agreement clauses state that the document as executed by the parties constitutes their “intact agreement”. It is general for business contracts consist of Entire Agreement Clauses (EAC) as part of the usual boilerplate clauses. Depending on the positions being adopted in a difference of opinion, parties may seek to enforce them or avoid them. An EAC may, depending on its wording, seek to: 1. confirmation the agreement of the parties that all the express terms are said in a document, thereby excluding other alleged express terms; i) prohibit a term that might otherwise be implied; ii) restrain (perhaps cease) a party from claiming that it was induced to enter the contract by some inaccurate representation of the other party; iii) specify that the parties need to deter courts from resort to "factual context" or "surrounding circumstances" when interpreting the contract; and/or 2. Nullify the effect of any earlier agreements or collateral contracts between the parties. An EAC may seek...
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