Business law test 1

The concept of consideration in contract law includes:

an inducement to each party to make a return exchange.

In an article about a prominent judge, a newspaper indicates that the judge had organized crime connections. The judge sues. The judge will have a cause of action:

if the statement, which was untrue, was made with malice.

Losses due to computer crimes are estimated to be:

in the tens of billions of dollars.

By law, all apartment buildings in the state where Mary lives must have smoke alarms in the ceilings. Mary suffers smoke inhalation because the smoke alarm in her apartment building was not yet installed. To win a negligence action against the building owner, Mary would have to prove:

injury and causation

Francenie was digging a trench to install a drainage pipe along her property line and she accidentally tunneled under a small area on her neighbor's property. The entry onto the neighbor's property:

is a trespass

Stan doesn't like having neighborhood teenagers walk across his yard at night. He rigs an animal trap on the path the teenagers usually use to cross his land. One night, Tim and his friends are walking across the yard when Tim gets caught in the trap. He is taken to the hospital for his injuries. Stan:

is not free to inflict intentional injury on the trespasser.

Henry was burning leaves in his backyard. One of the burning leaves was lifted by the wind into Bob's yard next door. It landed on the lawnmower which exploded, setting fire to the wooden lawn furniture. Henry's best argument against liability to Bob would be:

it was not foreseeable that the lawnmower would explode.

The criminal intent necessary to commit a crime is known as:

mens rea

The rule which permits the jury to infer both negligent conduct and causation from the mere occurrence of certain events is:

res ipsa loquitur.

Mary's car was parked just outside the east door of the Civic Center. When she tried to exit, three ominous-looking gang members were blocking that door. She called the police who arrested the three for loitering. If Mary brings suit against them for fake imprisonment:

she will lose if there was another exit she could have used.

Seventeen-year-old Brice has just received his driver's license. He is driving a little too fast one day and slams into the back of another car, which has just stopped for a stop sign. In most states:

since Brice is engaging in an adult activity, he will be held to the same standard as an adult.

Velma and Walter devised a scheme to defraud unsuspecting readers and then sent a message via e-mail to thousands of computer users, hoping to get rich from those who responded. This was their first such attempt. They may have violated :

the CAN-SPAM Act.

The Supreme Court interprets the Commerce Clause:

as granting virtually complete power to Congress to regulate the economy.

Bodily contact that is harmful or offensive can give rise to the tort of:

battery

A defendant who is indicated will next:

be arraigned

Arnie negligently stopped his car on the highway. Beth, who was driving along, saw Arnie's car in sufficient time to attempt to stop. However, Beth negligently put her foot in the accelerator instead of the brake and ran into Arnie's car. In this case:

because both parties were negligent, in a state that follows the pure comparative negligence doctrine, both parties will share the liability for their injuries.

Tyler is self-employed and alters some receipts so he will show more expenses and therefore have a greater total of income tax deductions. Tyler has:

committed the crime of forgery

Anita included Bob's name and photograph in a list of the FBI's top ten criminals. Bob has never been convicted of any crime and is horrified by the thought of being considered a criminal. This:

could be either defamation or false light

Individuals may use reasonable force to protect individuals, themselves, and their property. Under the majority rule, reasonable force means:

deadly force is reasonable if an attack threatens the victim with serious bodily harm

The improper taking of another's property by one in lawful possession of it, that violates a trust, is:

embezzlement

The reasonable person standard is:

external and objective

If a statute is found to be applicable to a fact situation, then the courts will hold that an unexcused violation of that statute which causes an injury to another is:

negligence per se

Under the Third Restatement, possessors of land:

owe the same duty of reasonable care to all entrants on the land except for a category of entrants called "flagrant trespassers"

Is Janice, while driving her car, negligently runs into Paul, a pedestrian who is carefully crossing the street, Janice is liable for:

physical injuries Paul sustains from the collision because Janice's negligent conduct proximately causes harm to a legally protected interest.

Under RICO, a _____ is any of several criminal offenses such as murder, kidnapping, arson, extortion, and drug dealing.

predicate act

The _____ is composed of a distinguished group of lawyers, judges, and law teachers who assumed the task of preparing "an orderly restatement of the general common law of the United States."

American Law Institute

The party who files an appeal is the:

Appellant

The decision of an arbitrator is called a(n):

Award

An obligation imposed by law where there has been no agreement or expression of assent by word or act on the part of either party involves is a(n):

quasi contract

The definition of a default judgement is:

A judgement against a defendant who fails to respond to a complaint.

Which of the following is NOT true of a criminal suit?

A purpose of a criminal suit is repayment to the victim.

The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur would permit the court to infer negligence in which of the following situations?

A sign over a storefront fell on your head

The courts are likely to provide remedies in all but which of the following cases

A stranger refuses to help rescue drowning child

Because of the increasing complexity of the social, economic, and industrial life of the nation, the scope of _____ has expanded enormously.

Administrative law

The branch of public law that deals with the various regulatory functions and activities of agencies of the government is:

Administrative law

If Alice, a resident of Ohio, has obtained a valid judgement against Bill, a resident of Kentucky:

Alice can attach Bill's automobile in Ohio to satisfy her court judgement.

Glenna has been charged with arson of a storage building. The prosecutor must prove Glenna's guilt:

Beyond a reasonable doubt

If Anna by mistake delivers to Bob a plain, unaddressed envelope containing $50 intended for Cora:

Bob's obligation to return the money is quasi-contractual

The common law system is used in:

Both Australia and England

B & B, Inc. is incorporated in Delaware, but it has its principal place of business in Minnesota. It does much of its business in California. For purposes of diversity of citizenship, B & B is a resident of:

Both Delaware and Minnesota

If a Middle Eastern culture and the American culture differ as to the morality of a particular action, under ethical relativism:

Both cultures are correct

an employer directs his vice-president of marketing to fix prices with their company's competitors. The employee does so. Under these facts:

Both the employee and the employer are criminally liable.

A classic and important example of strict scrutiny of classifications based upon race is the 1954 school desegregation case of:

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

A criminal trial is similar to a civil trial, but there are some significant differences. These differences are:

Burden of proof on the prosecution is to prove criminal guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a criminal trial

An example of private law is:

Business law

A points an unloaded gun at B and threatens to shoot. Unobserved by A, C, who is B's wife, witnesses the threat and believes A's gun is loaded and that B is about to die. C pulls out a gun and shoots and kills A. In this case:

C can successfully invoke the privilege of defense of others because of her reasonable belief at the time she shot A.

The Contract Clause prevents a state from:

Changing contracts after they have been made

Which of the following are pleadings?

Complaint, summons, answer, reply

The nonbinding, informal process in which a third party is selected by the disputing parties to attempt to help them reach a mutually acceptable agreement is known as:

Conciliation

The requirement that each party to a contract must intentionally exchange something of value as an inducement to the other party to make a return exchange is known as:

Consideration

Nineteen-year old Martin was raised in a good, Christian home and attended parochial school through eight grade. Martin is a good student and citizen who conforms to the expectations of his church, family, and peers. He does so because he loves his family and church, is loyal to them, and trusts them. Under Kohlberg's schematic analysis, Martin is most likely at what stage of moral development?

Conventional

A motion to dismiss a lawsuit for failure to state a claim is a(n):

Demurrer

An auto designer chooses to devote his efforts to design an automobile that is the safest vehicle possible. He does so because he wishes to save lives and prevent disabling injuries. He believes he and his employer have a duty to provide the public with the safest possible vehicle. The designer's approach to ethical decision-making is best characterized as:

Deontological

The _______ Amendment prohibits excessive bail and prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.

Eighth

The intermediate equal protection test:

Eliminates the strong presumption of constitutionality that exists under the rational relationship test

Procedural due process pertains to governmental decisions depriving a person of all the following except:

Equal protection

Damages recoverable for the tort of disparagement may include:

Expenses for the cost of notifying customers

Critics of business offer all but which of the following arguments to support their contention that business must help resolve societal problems?

Expertise

In diversity of citizenship cases, federal courts apply:

Federal procedural and state substantive law

Because defamation involves a communication, the protection of the _____ Amendment applies

First

A false communication made with knowledge of its falsify and with te intent to induce another to act is known as:

Fraudulent misrepresentation

The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws:

Has drafted over 250 uniform laws

The U.S. Supreme Court:

Has original jurisdiction over certain types of cases

Carl thee a bomb into the office of his insurance agent, intending to kill the agent because the company has disallowed his claim. The agent wasn't in the building, but the bomb seriously injured his secretary, who was working in the office.

If Carl knew the secretary was in the office, even if he didn't intend to injure her, his intent to harm the agent is transferred to the secretary who can sue Carl for her injuries with an intentional tort cause of action.

Anita tells Bob that unless Bob pays her $5,000, she will tell his customers that he was once arrested for shoplifting as a teenager. The fact that Bob shoplifted as a teenager is true.

In most jurisdictions Anita has committed the crime of extortion.

A major criticism of utilitarianism as an ethical theory is that:

In some important instances it ignores justice

An action for negligence consists of which of the following elements which the plaintiff must prove?

Injury

The requirement that a classification have a substantial relationship to an important government objective is known as the:

Intermediate test

Which of the following is a common criticism of ethical relativism?

It assumes that a person's actions are always correct for that person, but if that is true, then all behavior is, by definition, moral.

The definition of business ethics includes which of the following points

It is a branch of applied ethics

In reading the title of a case, Smith v. Jones:

It is not always possible to determine from the case title which party is the plaintiff

When a trial is conducted with a jury, the judge determines issues of _____ and the jury determines questions of _____.

Law, fact

Generally, State A may exercise "long-arm" jurisdiction over a defendant located in State B if the defendant:

Made a contract in State A

Mark is out sailing in his boat one evening when he hears a young girl crying for help in the middle of the lake. Which of the following is true?

Mark must help the girl if he begins to rescue her and j creases her danger

Chris was driving a car with defective brakes very slowly down Fifth Avenue looking for a parking place. Mindy jumped out into the street five feet in front of his car. Chris could not help but hit her. What is Chris's best defense to the charge of negligence?

Mindy crosses in the middle of the street, which is against the law.

Which of the following is NOT considered to be an equitable remedy

Money damages

In Soldano v. O'Daniels, the court re-examined the common-law rule of nonliability for not taking affirmative action to save someone from peril. The court considered which if the following factors with respect to imposing duties for affirmative action by third parties?

Moral blame attaches to the defendant's conduct and the policy of preventing future harm.

Violation of a statute designed to protect underage, unlicensed drivers, as well as innocent third parties, from the consequences of juvenile car theft and "joy riding," by prohibiting car owners from leaving the keys in their car if the car is unattended, is likely to be characterized as:

Negligence per se

A woman claiming sex discrimination because she was passed over for a promotion by her employer, a local corporation specializing in the manufacture of automobile parts, would have her case reviewed under the _____ test of the Equal Protection Clause.

None

with respect to the tort of conversion, which of the following statements is true?

None

Which one of the following is NOT one of the torts included within invasion of privacy?

Nuisance

American jurists _____ and _____ defined law in a functional sense as predictions of the way that a court will decide specific legal questions.

Oliver Wendell Holmes and Benjamin Cardozo

The person who files or commences a civil lawsuit is the:

Plaintiff

The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution:

Prohibits unreasonable search and seizure.

Which one of the following is NOT true of a suit brought under criminal law

Proof of guilt must be "by preponderance of the evidence."

Under the common law as well as most statutes, _____ is larceny with the additional elements that (1) the property is taken from the victim or in the immediate presence of the victim, and (2) it is accomplished through either force or threat of force.

Robbery

Brian makes a material misrepresentation of fact regarding his house to Rosalind while out riding one day. Later that day, Rosalind makes an offer to buy the horse which Brian accepts, without correcting his earlier misrepresentation of fact. In this case:

Rosalind may avoid the contract

To a _____, whether telling a lie in a given instance would produce greater pleasure than telling the truth is less important than deciding if a general practice of lying would maximize society's pleasure.

Rule utilitarian

According to the UCC, an enforcement agreement involving the transfer of title of food from a seller to a buyer for a price is called a(n):

Sale

Pat and Sally started a charcoal fire for Sally's backyard barbecue and left it uncovered. Then Sally went into the kitchen to make hamburger patties. While Sally was inside, Pay backed up to catch a football and hit the grill, knocking the coals into his feet. In a pure comparative negligence state, who is liable?

Sally is liable for Pat's injuries in proportion to the degree of fault or negligence found against her.

Sarah joined a religious cult while a student at college. Her father hired a deprogrammed who spent several weeks with her, during which they occasionally went on outings. After Sarah met with her boyfriend one weekend, she rejoined the cult and sued her father and the deprogrammer for false imprisonment. In this case:

Sarah will lose because she was not confined within fixed boundaries, she was not harmed by the deprogrammer's presence, and she has a reasonable means of leaving.

Two boys held up a liquor store at gunpoint and ran off with a bag of money. The police saw them Tun into Jill's apartment building where there are only four apartments off a common hall and no apparent way out of the building but the front door. The police knock on Jill's door. She says she's the only one there. The police can:

Search the apartment without a warrant because they are in hot pursuit of the thieves

The doctrine aimed at preventing any branch of government from gaining too much power is:

Separation of powers

With a _____ the jury makes specific written findings on each factual issue, and the judge then applies the law to these findings.

Special verdict

The provision that private shall not be taken for public use without just compensation is found in:

State constitutions

The source of law best suited to making drastic or comprehensive change is:

Statutes

Tim and Steve are roughhousing in Tim's parents' front yard when Steve intentionally pushes Tim onto the neighbor's property. The trespasser(s) is/are:

Steve

The principle of _____ concerns the compatibility of a law of governmental action with fundamental constitutional rights such as free speech.

Substantive due process

The category of law that creates, defines, and regulates legal rights and obligations is known as

Substantive law

Which of the following is correct regarding the English courts of equity?

They would issue a decree ordering a defendant to do or to retain from a specific act.

Only the _____ Amendment to the Constitution, which abolishes slavery or involuntary servitude, applies to the actions of private individuals.

Thirteenth

Which of the following would not be considered an abnormally dangerous activity, subjecting the person who carries it out to strict liability?

Transmitting has through a gas pipe

To resolve a lawsuit, a court must have _____ different types of jurisdiction.

Two

Which of the following is correct with respect to the reasonable person standard?

Two of these but not all of these

An example of a special court in the federal judicial system is the:

U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Which of the following is correct with regard to treaties in the United States legal system?

Under the U.S. Constitution, they must be signed by the President and approved by the U.S. Senate.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviews decisions of which of the following?

United States Court of International Trade

Quasi contracts are used to provide a remedy when the parties enter into a(n):

Void contract

A court may meet the requirement of jurisdiction over a defendant in all but which of the following ways?

Voluntary submission to the court's power by the party's filing pleadings with the court.

In which of the following situations would a court be likely to find that the witness to the situation had an affirmative duty to act?

Where an airline attendant witnessed one passenger threaten another passenger

One method of appealing a case to the U.S. Supreme Court is by:

Writ of certiorari

The First Amendment's guarantee of free speech applies to:

• corporate political speech • defamation • commercial speech

The U.S. Constitution vests power in the branches of government that form a "checks and balances" system. Those branches of government include:

• executive • legislative • judicial

Which amendment prohibits the government from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law?

• fifth • fourteenth

Harms or injuries that are tortious may be inflicted:

• intentionally • negligently • without fault

Business torts consist of:

• interference with contractual relations • disparagement • fraudulent misrepresentation

Judicial review extends to:

• legislation • acts of the executive branch • decisions of inferior courts

An absolute privilege exists to protect which of the following defendants in defamation cases?

• members of Congress on the floor of Congress. • statements made by the President of the U.S. in the discharge of official duty. • statements about a third party made to one's spouse when the couple is alone.

The "discovery" stage of a trial includes which one of the following?

• production of documents • written interrogatories • depositions

The degrees of mental fault in criminal law include which of the following?

• subjective fault, which includes a purposeful, knowing, or reckless mental state. • objective fault, which would be a negligent or careless mental state. • liability without fault, where no requisite mental state or even knowledge of the act is required in some instances.

Which of the following can be raised as a defense to a claim of defamation?

• that the internet service provider was publishing information originating from a third party. • that there was a constructional privilege to comment about the plaintiff who is a public figure and that the statement was made without malice. • that there was a conditional privilege to publish a defamatory statement in order to protect a legitimate self-interest.

The power of the state to tax is limited by:

• the Commerce Clause • the Import-Export Clause • the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

Most long-arm statutes allow courts to obtain jurisdiction over nonresident defendants if:

• the exercise of jurisdiction does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice. • the defendant has committed a tort within the state.

According to the _____ Amendment, "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people

Tenth

Which of the following is not corporate characteristics?

The board of directors of the majority of publicity held U.S. corporations consist mainly or entirely of inside directors

In the Ferrell v. Mikel case, the Georgia Court of Appeals said that:

The elements of a cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress include either international or reckless conduct that is extreme and outrageous, a casual connection between the wrongful conduct and the emotional distress, and severe emotional distress.

Which of the following is correct with regard to the powers of government in the United States

The federal government is a government of enumerated powers

Arnold wrote a defamatory letter regarding Bill which he did not show anyone, but which he posted on a bulletin board in the laundromat. Arnold has committed:

The tort of libel.

Which of the following is correct regarding the decisions of state trial courts

They are generally not reported

Which of the following is a common criticism of deontological ethical theories

They are rigid and excessively formal

Bill is the accountant for Cheatam and Sons Co. For many years he has kept two sets of books, one with real figures and another with figures he will use in case the IRS audits. When Bill, while working on Cheatam's books, is arrested for fraud, what will happen to the books?

They may be admitted as evidence since they were taken pursuant to a valid arrest.

Stan sends for law school catalog from Ivory Towers University. According to the catalog, the law school applications are evaluated on the basis of undergraduate grades, standardized test scores, and references. Stan, who is a straight-A student, has high test scores and excellent references, applies and pays $100 application fee. His application is rejected. Later he finds out that others with low grades and test scores were accepted based in their family connections and donations made to the University. If Stan followed all the guidelines in the college catalog and paid the required application fee, then according to the court in Steinberg v. Chicago Medial School:

there is a valid contract; the school bound itself to honor the obligations set forth in the college catalog

Byron and Merv enter a contract for the sale of a computer. If Merv breaches the contract and Byron waits until the time specified in the statute of limitations has passed, the contract is now:

unenforceable

The U.S. Supreme Court has:

used the Contract Clause to restrict states from retroactively modifying public charters and private contracts.

James offers to sell his fishing boat to Brenda for $3,000. Brenda says she will apply for a loan and will buy the boat within a week. A contract is formed:

when Brenda tells James she will buy the boat

A newspaper article hints that a certain corporation is a front for illegal activity. The corporation:

will likely win a defamation suit if the statement is untrue.

Most states have statutes protecting merchants from charges of false imprisonment when detaining suspected shoplifters as long as the merchant detains the suspect:

with probable cause, in a reasonable manner, and for not more than a reasonable time.

In which of the following areas do special state trial courts have jurisdiction?

• Administration of wills and estates • Family courts with jurisdiction over divorce and child custody cases.

Bryant knowingly destroyed documents in order to impede an SEC investigation of his company. Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act:

• Bryant may be personally subjected to fines. • Bryant is subjected to imprisonment of up to 20 years. • Bryant's company may be subjected to criminal penalties.

The courts in common law systems have developed a body of law that serves as precedent for determination of later controversies. This is called:

• Judge-made law • Case law • Common law