Business Law Notes

Law - enforceable rules governing relationships among individuals and b/w individuals and their society ● Establish rights, duties, and privileges that are consistent w/ the society they are in Business Activities & Legal Environment Ethics - principles governing what constitutes right or wrong behavior Sources of American Law Primary Sources of Law - source that establishes the law 1. The U.S. Constitution or the constitutions of various states. 2. Statutory law - including laws passed by congress, state legislatures, or local governing bodies 3. Regulations created by administrative agencies i.e. Food and Drug Administration 4. Case law and common law doctrines Secondary sources of law are books and articles that summarize and clarify primary sources of law. Constitutional law - federal government and states have separate written constitutions that set forth general organization, powers, and limits of respective governments. Article VI of Constitution - Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land ● A law in violation of the US constitution if challenged will be deemed unconstitutional and will not be enforced. Tenth amendment to the US Constitution - reserves to the states all power not granted to the federal government ● State constitution is supreme w/in its borders Statutory Law - laws enacted by legislative bodies at any level of government, i.e. passed by congress or by state legislatures make up the body of the law ● Ultimately included in federal code of laws ● Ordinances - statutes passed by municipal or county governing units to govern matters not covered by federal or state law (matters affecting local communities) ● Uniform law (model statutes) - laws that a state legislature may consider adopting, however could be changed or molded according to legislature’s wishes ● Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)- facilitates commerce among the states by providing a uniform, yet flexible set of rules governing commercial transactions Administrative Law - consists of the rules, orders and decisions of administrative agencies ● Administrative agency - a federal, state, or local government agency established to perform a specific function ● Affect almost every business’ operations ● Federal agencies includes executive agencies, i.e. FDA, or independent regulatory agencies, i.e. Federal Trade Commission or Federal Communications Commission. Case Law and Common Law Doctrines Case law - doctrines and principles announced in cases-- governs all areas not covered by statutory law or administrative law and is part of our common law tradition. Common Law Tradition Common law - a body of general rules that applied throughout the entire English realm. Eventually became part of the heritage of British colonies, i.e. U.S. Legal remedies - enforce a right or redress a wrong ● Courts of law - English king’s court awarded as compensation land, items of value, or money ● Remedies at law - normally takes the form of monetary damages - an amount given to a party whose legal interests have been injured ● Courts of equity - seek to supply a remedy when no adequate remedy at law was available. Remedies in equity - remedies granted by courts of equity 1. Specific performance - ordering a party to perform an agreement as promised 2. Injunction - an order for a party to cease engaging in a specific activity or to undo some wrong or injury 3. Rescission - cancellation of a contractual obligation Breaches - a failure to fulfill Equitable maxims - propositions or general statements of equitable rules, includes some of the following: ● Equity is more concerned with the fairness and justice than with legal technicalities ● Equity will not help those who neglect their rights for an unreasonable period of time -aka laches or “laxness”, i.e. laziness that can be used as defense Defense - argument raised by defendant (party being sued) indicating why the plaintiff (the suing party) should not obtain the remedy sought. Statutes of limitations - different types of cases are fixed by these to determine the appropriate period a case can go up for trial. ● After a limitation has expired, lawsuit cannot be brought to court, end of story. Doctrine of stare decisis - Latin for “to stand on decided cases” ● The body of principles and doctrines that form common law emerged over time as judges decided legal controversies ● Precedent - decision that influences an example or authority for deciding following cases involving identical or similar legal principles or fact patterns Two aspects of stare decisis 1. A court should not overturn its own precedents unless there is a compelling reason to do so 2. Decisions made by higher courts are binding on lower courts Binding authority - any source of law that a court must follow when deciding a case ● Includes constitutions, statutes, and regulations in addition to precedents If a court decides that a ruling precedent is is simply incorrect or that technological/ social changes have rendered that precedent inapplicable, the court might rule contrary to the precedent. ● Cases of first impression - where courts look at persuasive authorities (precedents from other jurisdictions) for guidance ● May also look at public policy which is based on widely held societal values Legal reasoning - judges harmonize their decision w/ those that have been made before, as doctrine of stare decisis requires Basic Steps in Legal Reasoning - IRAC Method ● Issue - what are the keys facts and issues? ● Rule - what rules of law apply to this case? ● Application - how do the rules of law apply to the particular facts and circumstances of this case? ● Conclusion - what conclusion should be drawn? Schools of Legal Thought Jurisprudence - involves learning about different schools of legal thought and how the approaches to law characteristic of each school can affect judicial decision making 1. Natural Law theory - a higher or universal law exists that applies to ALL human beings, and written laws should imitate these inherent principles 2. Positivist theory or legal positivism - written law of a given society at a particular time applies only to the citizens of that nation or society; no higher law than a nation’s positive law Historical school of legal thought emphasizes the evolutionary process of law by concentrating on the origin and history of the legal system. Legal realism - idea that law is just one of many institutions in society shaped by social forces and needs. Judges should take social and economic realities into account when deciding cases. Classifications of Law Substantive law - consists of all laws that define, describe, regulate and create legal rights and obligations. Procedural law - consists of all laws that outline the methods of enforcing the rights established by substantive law. ● Many statutes contain both substantive and procedural provisions. ● EX) Worker’s compensation for on the job injury (substantive law) however must notify employer about on the job injury, prove injury and submit proof (procedural law) Civil law - spells out rights and duties that exist b/w persons and their governments, as well as relief when person’s rights are violated ● Private party vs. another private party Criminal law - concerned w/ wrongs committed against the public as a whole Cyber law - emerging body of law that governs transactions conducted via the Internet Finding Primary Sources of Law Citation - identifies the publication in which a legal authority, i.e statute, court decision or other source, can be found. Finding Case Law Court system as follows: Trial courts (evidence + testimony given) → court of appeals (if trial court appeals) → state supreme court or US Supreme Court (highest court) Reported appellate decisions are filed in volumes called reports. ● When more than one reporter id cuted for the same case, each reference is called a parallel citation. How to Read and Understand Case Law Plaintiff - the party initiating the lawsuit Defendant - the party against whom a lawsuit if brought it Appellant - when a case if appealed from the original court or jurisdiction to another court or jurisdiction, this party appeals. Appellee - the party against whom the appeal is taken Opinions - decisions reached by reviewing or appellate, contains the court’s reasons for decisions, rules of law that apply, and judgment ● Unanimous opinion - all judges agree ● Majority opinion - majority of judges agree ● Concurring opinion - a judge goes along w/ majority opinion but does not agree w/ legal reasoning, writes out why he thinks he is correct ● Dissenting opinion - one or more judges who disagree w/ majority view ● Plurality opinion - decision not by the majority ● Per curiam opinion - does not indicate which judge wrote the opinion