Legal Environment brief hypotheticals

impose a tariff on the sale of corn from Mexico

Frannie is a farmer who raises corn as his main cash crop. Recently, domestic corn sales in the United States have hit an all-time low, and Frannie's business is really struggling. Most corn is being imported from Mexico, and local farmers like Frannie cannot compete with the low prices. Frannie and other farmers ask for governmental help with this problem. One way that the government can address the problem and help American farmers is to:

committed the tort of defamation because it is an untrue statement intended to harm Ethan's reputation, and she stated it to another person

Lucy cannot stand the fact that her ex-husband, Ethan, is about to get remarried. After all, it was a horrible breakup, and Ethan was really mean to her. Lucy decides to get her revenge by telling Ethan's employer that Ethan stole large amounts of money from his previous employer, even though Lucy knows it is not true. If Lucy follows through on her plan, she will have

State Law

Mary and Hanna, who are Tennessee residents, were traveling through Mississippi when they were involved in an automobile accident with Franco, who is a resident of Mississippi. Franco sues Mary, who was driving the car, in federal court in Mississippi and asks for $100,000 to reimburse him for his medical bills and lost wages. In deciding the case, what law will the federal district judge apply?

a default judgment may be entered against her

Rando and Shania are involved in an automobile accident. Rando decides to sue Shania for his injuries, so he files a complaint, a formal pleading that starts the lawsuit and sets out the allegations that Rando has against Shania. Rando has the complaint, along with a summons, served on Shania to give her notice of the lawsuit. If Shania does not respond to the complaint:

Bristol can be held criminally responsible if Sanford knew of Ahmed's criminal actions

Ahmed is an employee of Bristol Manufacturing Company. Bristol manufactures plastics, which creates large amounts of toxic waste that must then be disposed of. Ahmed is responsible for making sure this toxic waste is properly disposed of. To cut costs, Ahmed decides to divert the liquid waste into a local stream, instead of properly disposing of it. This is a direct violation of the Clean Water Act, a national law that protects the United States' waterways. Sanford is the director of the division in which Ahmed works and knows that Ahmed is doing this. When the authorities discover Ahmed's unlawful actions, can Bristol be held criminally liable?

punitive damages, in addition to compensatory damages, to punish Cooper Tires for its bad behavior

Alexander's SUV rolls over and crashes because one of the tires shredded. The tire was only six months old. Alexander's SUV is totaled, he incurs $80,000 in medical bills, loses four weeks of pay at work, and suffers horrendous pain. Alexander sues Cooper Tires, the company that manufactured the tire. Alexander finds out during the discovery phase of the lawsuit that Cooper Tires had been made aware of the tire shredding problem but made a business decision not to fix the problem or recall the tires because it would be very costly to do so. If Alexander is successful in his lawsuit against Cooper tires, the court is likely to award

lawsuits, large settlements, and bad publicity

Alexander, the CEO of Westwind Baby Furnishings, received a report from one of his quality inspectors about a possible defect in the Baby Sleeptime Crib Westwind had just started to market. The report said the bed was not safe for older babies, because there was a chance it would collapse if the baby climbed up onto the railing. Westwind had manufactured 20,000 Baby Sleeptime Cribs and would lose a great deal of money if it could not market the cribs. Alexander decided to proceed with the sale of the cribs anyway, to maximize company short-run profits. Possible consequences Westwind could face for such unethical conduct include:

arbitration

Andre is involved in a business dispute with his former partner, Ned. Instead of filing a lawsuit, Andre and Ned decide to use alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to settle their dispute. Andre and Ned choose to present their case to a neutral third party, and that third party will decide the case. The form of ADR that Andre and Ned have decided to use is:

nothing, because she did not have the mental state required to commit a crime

Angelina and Sophia attended a professional development retreat at Ferncliff Camp. They met at a downtown location and traveled to the camp by bus. After three days of team-building exercises, Angelina and Sophia returned on the bus to their respective cars. When Angelina arrived at home, she discovered the camp employee who unloaded the bus had given her Sophia's luggage by mistake. She called the camp to explain what happened and hopefully get her luggage back. Angelina can be charged with the crime of:

precedent

Angelina's neighbor Andrew tore down a fence that separated Angelina's property from Andrew's property. Angelina was outraged because she believed the fence was a part of her property and Andrew had no right to tear it down. Angelina sued Andrew, and after several months, they went to trial. In deciding the case, the court relied on the decision made in a previous case from the same jurisdiction that had similar facts and similar issues. The previous case the court relied on is referred to as:

that a reasonable surgeon would not have left a surgical instrument in her abdominal cavity

Anne Marie has surgery to have her gall bladder removed at Mt. Sinai Hospital. The surgery goes well, but several days later, Anne Marie experiences severe abdominal pain. X-rays reveal a small surgical instrument in Anne Marie's abdominal cavity. Anne Marie has to endure another surgery to remove the instrument. Anne Marie sues the surgeon for negligence. To win her negligence lawsuit against the surgeon, Anne Marie must prove

embezzlement

Bart works as an accountant for Good Times Restaurant. He is responsible for not only keeping the books current but also for making daily bank deposits for Good Times. Bart has been struggling financially, so he decides to put some of the daily bank deposits for Good Times into his personal account, instead of the bank account of Good Times. Every day, for one month, he takes ten percent of the cash receipts from Good Times and deposits them into his personal checking account. When the manager of Good Times discovers what Bart is doing, she contacts the police, and Bart is arrested. Bart can be found guilty of:

constitute defamation if the statements are not true

Beatrice runs a boutique clothing store called Jewel's Place. Beatrice's biggest local competitor is Andrea, who owns a similar shop called Rags to Riches. Beatrice makes several social media posts stating that Andrea purchases the clothing in her store from an overseas sweat shop that hires underage children and pays them only fifty cents per day. Beatrice's online posts:

No, requiring people to wear a face mask during a pandemic is a valid exercise of the state's police power

During the pandemic of 2020, the City of Mayberry passes an ordinance that requires all citizens to wear a face mask in public. Addison believes that the government cannot regulate his personal behavior and refuses to wear a mask; he says that forcing him to wear a mask violates his constitutional rights! A police officer stops Addison on the street and arrests him for violating the city ordinance. Can Addison successfully challenge the mask ordinance on constitutional grounds?

statutory law

Elton is a state representative for the North Dakota legislature. Recently, Elton and his colleagues in the legislature proposed a law that would increase the penalty drivers would have to pay if they pass a stopped school bus. The type of law that Elton and his colleagues will enact is known as:

No, she does not because laws that regulate economic or social issues are presumed valid, and the courts will apply minimum scrutiny in evaluating whether such laws discriminate against people.

Esther is pulled over for crossing the yellow line with her automobile. The officer suspects Esther is intoxicated, so she administers a field sobriety test. Esther blows a .16 on the test, so the officer arrests Esther for DWI. Esther decides to fight the charge. Her defense is that she is an alcoholic, and the laws against driving while intoxicated unconstitutionally discriminate against her and other alcoholics. Does Esther have a valid defense to her DWI charge?

Yes, the FTC can sue Bundle of Joy if it has an agreement with Bundle of Joy that allows the FTC the power to review Bundle of Joy's privacy and data practices and it violates its own policies

Evelyn is looking for a baby gift for her friend, so she visits an online social media site, Bundle of Joy, to get some ideas. Bundle of Joy is a social media site where expectant and recent mothers can visit and exchange ideas and concerns. It has a huge presence on the internet, almost as big as Facebook. Evelyn is always concerned about her privacy online, so she carefully reviews the company's privacy policy before she uses the website. The privacy policy clearly states that the site uses cookies to gather information from the user, but the information will be used only by Bundle of Joy to help the user connect with other users who share common interests. A week later, Evelyn begins receiving offers for baby items from multiple online retailers, each beginning with the words: "Because you visited Bundle of Joy....." Evelyn is enraged and complains to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Is there anything the FTC can do on Evelyn's behalf?

that a reasonable alternative design was available, and that as a result of the failure of Kawasaki to adopt the alternative design, the product was not reasonably safe

Fernando is riding his Kawasaki motorcycle and the front wheel falls off. Fernando is severely injured, of course. Fernando hires a mechanic to look at the motorcycle. The mechanic discovers that the bolt that holds the front tire in place had broken in half because it was not thick enough, and this is what caused the tire to fall off. The mechanic explained that using a thicker bolt would only have cost a few dollars more! Fernando sues Kawasaki for his injuries, claiming that Kawasaki had used a defective design in manufacturing its motorcycle. To be successful in his defective design product liability lawsuit, Fernando must prove

No, the drugs cannot be admitted into evidence at trial because they were illegally obtained

For some time, the police have suspected Abbie of selling drugs out of her apartment, but the police have not been able to gather any concrete evidence with which to prosecute Abbie. One night, the police decide to try a knock-and-talk procedure, where the police just knock on Abbie's door and see if Abbie will allow them inside. Abbie refuses to give consent for the officers to enter after they knock, but the police officers push past Abbie anyway. Once the officers are in the apartment, the officers see drugs in plain sight, so the police seize the drugs and arrest Abbie for possession with intent to sell. At Abbie's trial, can the drugs be entered into evidence?

in federal district court because the suit involves a copyright issue

For the past year, Zegrida has been writing a historical fiction novel based on the experiences of her family as they immigrated to the United States from Latvia during World War II. When finished, she contacted a publisher and was shocked to discover that her book had just been published two weeks ago with Fran, a business acquaintance of Zegrida, listed as the author. Two months ago, Zegrida had asked Fran to review the book and give feedback, but instead, Fran published the book under her own name. Zegrida plans to sue Fran for copyright infringement and is trying to decide in which court to sue. Zegrida must sue Fran:

what a reasonable person would have done under the circumstances

Freddy carries his books and school supplies in a large backpack. The hallways at Freddy's school are always very crowded. One day, Freddy turns around quickly to talk to a friend, and a sharp pencil that is sticking out of his backpack gouges Lorraine in the eye. Lorraine ends up losing the use of her eye. If Lorraine sues Freddy in a negligence action, the standard the court will use to determine whether Freddy is liable is

No, Hallie does not have a valid claim for wrongful termination because her posts violated the company's social media policy

Hallie has worked at Blue Stone Insurance Company for twelve years. Hallie has never had a discipline problem and has always excelled in her job as a human resources specialist. Yesterday, Hallie's supervisor Kimberly contacted her and told Hallie that she was being let go because of some controversial Facebook posts that Hallie had made that violated Blue Stone's media policy. Hallie had posted on Facebook pictures of herself smoking marijuana and made statements that Blue Stone's random drug testing policy was unfair. Hallie also listed the names of Blue Stone employees who were scheduled to be drug tested in the next week. Hallie wants to sue the company for unlawful firing; she believes that her First Amendment rights have been violated because Blue Stone accessed her Facebook account and fired her based on her posts. Does Hallie have a valid claim for wrongful termination?

win because the EPA did not give notice of the rule change regarding glyphosate

Harold is the owner of Fairway Lawn Service, which provides lawn-care services to residential and commercial customers. Harold regularly sprays his customers' lawns with a pesticide that contains glyphosate. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issues a citation to Harold for commercial use of the pesticide. The EPA says glyphosate can only be used in residential applications. Harold knows that this has not been the law in the past, so he searches the EPA website for information about glyphosate. Harold finds nothing that indicates glyphosate cannot be used in commercial applications, so Harold demands a hearing to dispute the citation he has been issued. Harold will probably:

compensatory damages and punitive damages

Helen purchases a cup of hot cocoa from the Yum Yum Shoppe. As Helen is leaving the shop, she tries to retrieve her keys from her purse and spills the entire cup of hot cocoa on herself. The cocoa is so hot that it causes third-degree burns and puts Helen in the hospital for two weeks. The Yum Yum Shoppe has received many complaints over the years about the cocoa being too hot but ignored the complaints because most of its customers enjoy the really hot cocoa. If Helen successfully sues the Yum Yum Shoppe in a negligence action, Helen could possibly receive

the judicial branch of state government

If Reginald decides to challenge the constitutionality of the statute on which the citation was issued, Reginald would do so through:

Business ethics

Jayne is opening her own bakery. As she develops her company policies, she is concerned about the morality of her actions and how those actions will affect her employees, her stakeholders, and herself. Jayne studying the rightness or wrongness of her actions as they apply to her business constitutes the study of:

can be legally used

Josef grew tired of making minimum wage at a local fast-food restaurant, so he decided to pursue a more lucrative venture. Josef started selling marijuana and meth, and soon built up a substantial business. Josef then posts about his success on Facebook, displaying a picture of himself surrounded by his "product" and fanning out a big stack of cash. After local law enforcement learn of the post, an officer friends Josef online to learn more about his contacts, so they can find out who his customers and suppliers are. Any information obtained through this online "sting"

Utilitarianism

Juan owns a manufacturing company that wants to expand its line of plastics. To expand and still make a profit, pollution into the local river will be significantly increased. In evaluating his decision, Juan tries to determine whether expanding the company's line of plastics would produce the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people. In doing so, Juan is following the ethical principle known as:

shareholder; stakeholder

Karishma and Stephen, co-owners of Roundtree Corporation, are discussing a new benefits package they are considering for their employees. The proposed plan is more expensive for the company than the current plan but will offer better benefits to the employees. Stephen wants to decide based solely on the effect on the owners of the corporation, while Karishma's position is that the employees should be taken into consideration as well. Stephen is more concerned with the _____________ theory of management, and Karishma is more concerned with the __________ theory of management.

No, the Mexican statute is not a violation of the USMCA because England is not a signatory to the USMCA.

Mexico, the United States and Canada entered into the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in 2020. One provision of the USMCA prevents any party from passing laws that restrict the cross-border flow of data. Mexico passes a statute that restricts the cross-border flow of data from England. Is the Mexican statute a violation of the USMCA?

suppress the evidence because the police did not have a warrant for the search

Mona raises marijuana plants in her basement. She has a few regular customers, even though marijuana is not legal in her state, but has never had any issues with the law. One day, the police show up at her house without a warrant. They request consent to search her house, and she declines. The police search the house anyway, find the marijuana plants, and arrest Mona for possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver. Savannah, Mona's attorney, moves to suppress the evidence before trial. After a hearing on the motion to suppress, the judge will probably:

lose because the trespass was warranted

Noah and Otto have been neighbors for years. They have also been arguing for years, and each of them prohibits the other from coming onto his property. One day, as Noah is getting in his car to go to work, he sees Otto's 15-year-old son Hank lying in Otto's front yard. Hank had been mowing the yard when he lost his footing and fell, and the mower ran over his leg. Noah rushes over to help Hank. Because Otto is not home, Noah helps the boy and waits with him until his mom comes home. Later, when Otto finds out what happened, he wants to sue Noah for coming onto his property. If Otto sues Noah for coming onto Otto's property without permission, Otto will

the statute is valid because it does not prohibit a substantial amount of protected speech

Oscar runs an internet site that creates and licenses access to computer-generated cartoons. Lately Oscar's customers have been asking for material that contains sexual content, particularly sexual content involving children. Oscar develops a cartoon of computer-generated characters that appear to be children engaging in sexual activity. Oscar loads the cartoon onto his website and makes it available for download. The cartoon looks quite realistic and contains no notice that the images are computer-generated and not actual people. The government prosecutes Oscar under a statute that makes it a crime to intentionally distribute virtual child pornography without indicating that it is computer-generated. Oscar defends on the basis that no actual children were involved in the cartoon, and the statute unconstitutionally infringes on his First Amendment right to free speech. The court is likely to hold that

the final order in the case unless the store appeals

Rhea, a 45-year-old supervisor in a women's retail clothing store, recently learned that a younger co-worker was promoted to a position she had applied for. Rhea has more experience and more time with the company and has always gotten excellent scores in her annual reviews. Rhea files an action with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for age discrimination. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) issues an order in favor of Rhea. This decision of the ALJ is:

if it is enforceable under Hong Kong law, the arbitral tribunal had proper jurisdiction, the defendant was given notice of the arbitration and an opportunity to be heard, and enforcement of the award is not fraudulent or contrary to public policy.

Rima Fashion Inc. purchases clothing from Oriental Fashions in Hong Kong. A dispute arises between Rima and Oriental over a large shipment of clothing for which Oriental claims Rima refused to pay. Oriental threatens to sue Rima for $500,000. The contract between the two companies states that all disputes must be submitted to arbitration, so Rima and Oriental have an arbitration proceeding in Hong Kong. The arbitration decision is in favor of Oriental, so Oriental seeks payment from Rima. If Oriental asks a United States court to enforce the arbitration award, the court will enforce the award:

Samantha and Samuel

Samantha has been the top salesperson at her company for the last six months in a row. Samantha has been using high-pressure techniques to meet the unrealistically high sales quotas in her division, including marking up the price so she can offer a good discount to the customers, lying about the quality of the product, and telling customers that the items are one-of-a-kind when they are not. Her manager, Samuel, is aware of the tactics Samantha is using but does not say anything because Samantha makes their division look great. Here, the parties guilty of unethical behavior include:

both subject matter and in personam jurisdiction in the case

Sanchez and Yan entered into a contract that required Sanchez to deliver twenty textbooks to Yan's bookstore every month by the fifteenth of the month. Six months after Sanchez and Yan entered into this contract, Sanchez breached the contract by not delivering the textbooks to Yan's bookstore. After Sanchez breached the contract, Yan sued Sanchez for her damages. Yan must choose the appropriate court in which to file her lawsuit. To do this, Yan needs to be sure the court has:

both Sanderson and Jim's Wholesale Foods

Sanderson drives a delivery truck for Jim's Wholesale Foods. As Sanderson is on his way to a local delivery, he rear-ends Sarah's car. Sanderson immediately gets out of the delivery truck to assist Sarah. Sanderson tells Sarah that he did not intend to hit her and that he is very sorry. Sarah's car is totaled, and Sarah is taken to the hospital with extensive injuries. Once Sarah is discharged from the hospital, she visits an attorney to discuss her options. Sarah's attorney advises her that she can sue

help deter Jen and others from committing similar bad behavior in the future

Sar signs a contract with a new customer, her biggest one yet. The next day, Sar learns that her biggest competitor, Jen, has convinced the customer to sign with Jen and break the contract with Sar. Sar is upset about the deal but does not want to sue. Sar's attorney, however, encourages Sar to sue Jen. Her attorney tells Sar that it is important to sue Jen, who acted badly, for policy reasons. In addition to compensating Sar for her losses, a lawsuit would

the World Trade Organization

The president of the United States issues a quota on the amount of steel that can be imported from England. England thinks the quota is unfair and that the quota has been imposed as a punishment for recent political activity in England that reflects badly on the United States. The proper body to resolve this dispute between the United States and England is:

Yes, it is a violation of procedural due process

Tillie is served with a lawsuit to collect a debt Tillie allegedly owes to Big Ben Clocks. The summons attached to the lawsuit says that Tillie has thirty days to answer the complaint. Fifteen days later, Tillie receives a copy of a default judgment in the mail, directing Tillie to pay $1000 to Big Ben Clocks. Does Tillie have any grounds on which to have the default judgment set aside?

the state legislature

While Reginald was vacationing in Florida, he visited an exotic pet shop and decided to purchase a baby alligator. When Reginald returned to his home state of New Jersey, he built an appropriate enclosure for his alligator that would allow for its growth. Reginald also made sure to post warning signs and install sufficient locks on all his gates to ensure that the public could not wander into his yard and be harmed by the alligator. What Reginald failed to do, however, was to research the law in New Jersey regarding exotic pets such as pet alligators. Two months after Reginald returned home with the alligator, a sheriff's deputy knocked on his door to issue a citation to Reginald for violating a state statute that makes it illegal to keep alligators as pets. The deputy confiscated the alligator and fined Reginald $500. The state statute that Reginald violated was created by:

win, because Zoey's intent to hit Aaron transfers to Zane

Zoey is really angry at her coworker, Aaron, because he constantly criticizes everything she does. One day, Aaron stops by Zoey's desk and is verbally abusive to her. Zoey just can't stand it anymore. As Aaron is walking away from her desk, Zoey picks up her heavy metal stapler and throws it at Aaron. The stapler misses its mark and hits Zane instead. If Zane sues Zoey for the tort of battery, Zane will likely