BL 3305 Test 1, True/False

A criminal defendant may be convicted by a preponderance of the evidence.

False

A defamatory communication that is spoken or oral is referred to as "libel".

False

A defendant will be liable for all harm that can be traced back to the defendant's negligence

False

A letter sent to someone falsely accusing her of being a murderer constitutes the tort of defamation.

False

A licensee for purposes of tort law is a person invited upon land as a member of the public or for a business purpose.

False

A person cannot be guilty of trespass unless he or she intended to violate the other's rights.

False

A person who falls asleep while driving would not be liable for any resulting injury since it would be an unavoidable accident.

False

Administrative hearings are held before a jury, just as are court hearings.

False

Al, the bus driver on a cross-country Greyhound, kisses Susie, a passenger, while she sleeps. Al could be sued for assault.

False

An administrative agency must always use formal procedures to resolve matters.

False

An agency must provide notice of a proposed rule only if there is good cause.

False

Articles of Incorporation (Certificate of Formation) include a list of the company's officers.

False

Business law is primarily public law.

False

Civil law is a part of public law, whereas criminal law is a part of private law.

False

Comparative negligence by a plaintiff results in the plaintiff being completely unable to recover.

False

If a raccoon gets loose from a cage and harms someone, the owner can escape liability by showing that he took great care to keep the animal confined.

False

In order to be enforceable, a partnership agreement must be in writing.

False

Intentional infliction of emotional distress will protect a person from abusive language and rudeness.

False

John and Megan are at a crowded theater. In the press of people exiting the theater, John accidentally steps on Megan's big toe and breaks it. Megan can sue John for the intentional tort of battery.

False

Laws passed by Congress are the supreme law of the land in the United States and take precedence over the United States Constitution.

False

Liability under CERCLA does not include strict liability.

False

Mediation like arbitration is often a compulsory process in which the mediator can render a decision, which is binding upon the parties.

False

Neither a general partnership nor a limited partnership are required to file a certificate with the Secretary of State.

False

Only the federal government has enacted statutes to promote environmental concerns and prevent environmental damage.

False

Sam Student goes to the movies one Friday evening. The movie is boring and Sam falls asleep. At 2 a.m., the security guard locks the building. Sam awakens the next morning when the cleaning crew opens the door. Sam can sue for false imprisonment.

False

Shareholders are responsible for the major policy decisions of a corporation.

False

The "reasonable person standard" ordinarily applies to children in the same way as to adults.

False

The EPA may not impose civil fines.

False

The Environmental Protection Agency is the sole agency within the Executive Branch with environmental responsibility.

False

The Uniform Commercial Code is a Federal law that applies to commercial transactions among the states.

False

The burden of proof in a criminal case is the same as that in a civil case.

False

The defendant must testify in a criminal proceeding.

False

The federal courts and the state courts can never have concurrent jurisdiction over the same case

False

The federal courts have jurisdiction over all matters that have not been exclusively given to the state courts

False

The federal courts only have jurisdiction to hear cases involving federal law.

False

The law does not change; it is based on unchanging and universal truths.

False

True/False: General partners in a partnership have limited liability for debts of the partnership.

False

Under Constitutional privilege, a public official does not have to prove that the defendant published the defamatory and false comment with malice or negligence.

False

Under the Equal Protection Clause, all governmental action that treats two classes of citizens differently will be invalid.

False

Usual remedies granted in a criminal case include compensation for the victim.

False

When a decision is made by an administrative body, it is final; there is no recourse for appeal to a court of law

False

"Potentially responsible parties" include current and past owners of the property.

True

A blind person will be held to the standard of the reasonable blind person rather than that of the reasonable sighted person for purposes of determining negligence.

True

A corporation is a creature of statute and must be formed in substantial compliance with a state incorporation statute.

True

A court needs to have both subject matter jurisdiction and jurisdiction over the defendant involved before it can hear a particular case.

True

A decision of a state court is binding on all courts inferior to it in its jurisdiction. Thus, the decision of a state Supreme Court binds all other courts in that state.

True

A deposition is a pretrial discovery device, which consists of sworn testimony of a witness taken out of court and recorded by a court reporter.

True

A federal agency is granted its authority by an enabling statute enacted by Congress.

True

A felony is the most serious type of crime.

True

A judge deciding a common law case must look to similar cases previously decided for guidance.

True

A long-arm statute allows a state to obtain jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant when the nonresident defendant has sufficient contacts with the state.

True

A significant advantage of the corporation is the limited liability of shareholders for debts of the corporation.

True

Administrative agencies establish rules, and then act as both prosecutor and judge in determining whether the rules have been violated.

True

Administrative agencies sometimes act as if they are judicial bodies.

True

All conversions are trespasses but not all trespasses are conversions.

True

An important and fundamental part of administrative law is the limits imposed by judiciary review upon the activities of administrative agencies.

True

Arthur offers Bob, an employee of Carl, a yearly salary of $10,000 more than Bob receives under the contractual relationship between Bob and Carl. Arthur knows about the contract between Bob and Carl and knows that the contract should run for another five years, but Arthur badly wants Bob to work for him. Arthur probably is liable to Carl for intentional interference with contractual relations.

True

As a general rule, general partners have an equal voice in management of the partnership.

True

Business law topics such as contracts, agency, property and trusts are primarily governed by the common law.

True

CERCLA is an act that provides for government response to a release or substantial threat of a release of a hazardous substance into the environment.

True

Crimes consist of two basic elements.

True

Disparagement differs from defamation in that defamation pertains to personal reputation, whereas disparagement pertains to business interests.

True

Federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over bankruptcy, patent, trademark and copyright cases.

True

Generally, legislative rules must be promulgated in accordance with the procedural requirements of the APA.

True

If a defendant acts under emergency conditions, these conditions will be taken into account in applying the reasonable person standard.

True

In 1976, RCRA was enacted by Congress to provide a comprehensive scheme of treatment for hazardous solid waste.

True

In addition to acting as a broad source of Federal power, the commerce clause also restricts the power of the States to regulate activities if the result obstructs or unduly burdens interstate commerce.

True

In some instances, people may be held liable for injuries they have caused even though they have not acted intentionally or negligently.

True

In the majority of states in a case of negligence per se, the plaintiff would only have to prove violation of a statute in order to show negligent conduct

True

Infliction of emotional distress occurs when a person by extreme and outrageous conduct intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional distress to another person.

True

Judicial review is the process by which courts review governmental action to determine whether such actions conform with the U.S. Constitution.

True

Jurisdiction is defined as the power or authority of a court to hear and decide a given case.

True

Pleadings are a series of responsive, written statements by each side stating their claims and defenses in a lawsuit.

True

Punitive damages are available in tort actions and are designed to punish the defendant.

True

Robbery is a larceny accompanied by force.

True

Specific performance is an equitable remedy in which a court can order a party to perform a contract.

True

States have powers to enact regulations if Congress has not preempted state regulation by enacting legislation within its constitutional powers.

True

Subject matter jurisdiction refers to the authority of a particular court to adjudicate a controversy of a particular kind.

True

Substantive law creates legal rights and duties.

True

The Bill of Rights restricts the power and authority of the federal government.

True

The Clean Water Act established a program that generally requires sources to use the "best available technology" (BAT) to treat their wastewater before discharge.

True

The Clean Water Act makes it unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutant into U.S. waters unless the government grants a permit for the discharge.

True

The Commerce Clause allows the federal government to invalidate State laws that burden interstate commerce.

True

The Constitution provides that Federal statutes are the supreme law of the land.

True

The Minnesota Housing Authority plans to begin eminent domain proceedings to acquire 100 homes to rent to low income persons. The Housing Authority wants to pay as little as possible for the homes so that they can acquire more homes in the future, but the homeowners insist they are entitled to the fair market value of the property. In a court hearing on the matter, the homeowners are likely to prevail.

True

The Sunshine Act allows for closed meetings if they concern pending or anticipated litigation.

True

The U.S. District Court is the trial level court in the federal court system.

True

The U.S. Supreme Court can invalidate a law if it conflicts with the U.S. Constitution.

True

The appellate court does not hear any new evidence but rather takes the case upon the record, abstracts, and briefs.

True

The federal government's authority to govern economic matters flows from the Commerce Clause.

True

The final arbiter as to the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress or by the legislature of a state is the Supreme Court of the United States.

True

The increased need for uniformity in law has brought about the statutory codification of large parts of business commercial law.

True

The party bringing a civil lawsuit must prove the case by a preponderance of the evidence.

True

The primary function of the law is to maintain stability in the social, political, and economic system while simultaneously permitting change.

True

The principle of stare decisis gives stability to our system of jurisprudence

True

The standard of care used in tort law is that a person is under a duty to all others at all times to exercise reasonable care for the safety of other persons and their property.

True

The term "nuisance" in the law may mean two distinct types of wrongful actions, one a private nuisance, the other a public nuisance.

True

The term mens rea refers to the mental intent element of a criminal act.

True

The tort of appropriation protects a person's exclusive right to exploit the value of her identity.

True

Tim and his friend are playing catch in the back yard when Tim suddenly throws the ball over the fence into the neighbor's yard where it breaks the window. This is trespass to real property, even if Tim himself does not go onto the property to get the ball.

True

Today most crimes are covered by statutory law rather than by the common law, although many of the crimes in statutory form had their origins in the common law.

True

True/False: Under the RUPA, a new partner may be admitted to the partnership only with the consent of all of the partners.

True

Under the due process clause, a person is entitled to "notice" and an "opportunity to be heard" before they can be deprived of life, liberty, or property.

True

When compared to litigation, arbitration is usually faster and has the advantage of privacy.

True

White-collar crime is defined as a nonviolent crime usually involving deceit, corruption, or breach of trust.

True

Xeon Corporation is incorporated in the State of Texas. It now wants to open a retail outlet in Oklahoma. The company must obtain a certificate of authority to do business in Oklahoma.

True