BLAW EXAM II Study Guide

An adjudicatory hearing at a regulatory agency will be presided over an Administrative Law Judge or ALJ. An ALJ is:

Civil service employee of the agency

The owner of a lost dog posts notices that she will pay $200 for its return. Someone who does not know about the reward finds the dog and returns it. The owner:

Does not have to pay the reward because the offer was not communicated to the person who found the dog.

You see someone stealing the highly prized hubcaps off of your car. You have the right to protect your property by using:

Force reasonable under the circumstances, which would not include shooting the thief.

Bart was supposed to deliver 100,000 firecrackers to Lisa by June 1, but his factory explodes in April so he suspends operations. The contract:

Has been terminated by impossibility.

Driving down the street you stupidly run a red light and hit a car legally going through the green light and knock that car into a parked car, which knocks a loaded gun out of the parked car that then falls down on the ground and fires a bullet that hits a person walking on the sidewalk. That person sues you in tort for damages will probably:

Lose because there is no proximate cause.

When an agency issues a substantive rule, it is generally required by the APA to:

Provide public notice and the opportunity for interested parties to comment.

For liability to be imposed when negligence is alleged, in many jurisdictions, the injured party must prove that the defendant's act was not only the cause in fact of the injury but also the ____ of the injury.

Proximate cause or substantial factor.

T/F: An individual liable under negligence might not have intended to injure another person.

True

T/F: An offer is made to the offeree.

True

T/F: An offer may be revoked before the offeree has a chance to respond to it.

True

T/F: Before an appeal of the decision of an administrative agency may be made to federal court, all appeal processes within the agency must be exhausted first.

True

T/F: Contract law is primarily state common law.

True

T/F: Due process rights are considered with the fairness of law enforcement procedures as well as with the content of legislation.

True

T/F: Evidence that shows a person's conduct is the cause of an event may establish the cause in fact of a tort.

True

T/F: If a party to a contract dies or becomes incapacitated the contract is discharged by impossibility.

True

T/F: In general, damages are to put the party who suffered from a breach of contract in the same economic position as if the contract had been performed.

True

T/F: Slander involves spoken defamatory communication.

True

A state statute prohibited corporations from making contributions designed to influence voting on questions on the state ballot. Based on what you have read, you can presume the Supreme Court held that this statute:

Was an unconstitutional infringement of the 1st amendment.

Intentional torts are based on:

Willful misconduct.

The commerce clause of the Constitution gives Congress the power to regulate trade:

With foreign nations and among the states.

To be enforceable, which of the following contracts require a written document under the statute of frauds?

Your promise to pay the debts your sister owes someone and you offer to buy a warehouse.

The tort that protects individuals from harm based on careless and unintentional conduct is called:

(None of the above) Negligence

Substantive (legislative) rules issued by agencies are:

Administrative statutes with the same force and effect of law as statutes passed by congress.

Basic elements of a contract must include:

Agreement and Consideration

Which of the following is usually not a requirement for a contract to be valid?

All of the above are required.

Elements of a contract must include:

An agreement among the parties, lawful subject matter, consideration and parties with legal capacity.

Congress grants to an agency the power to perform regulatory functions. A statute delegating power to an agency is called

An enabling statute.

Which of the following categories of people have the right to walk away from a contract that they made to buy a new house?

An insane person, a minor, and a heavily intoxicated person.

Intentional torts:

Are based on actions that defendants meant to engage in, and concern the interference with personal or property rights.

Intentional conduct that places a person in fear of immediate bodily harm or offensive contact is the tort of:

Assault

Defenses to a negligent act include:

Assumption of risk, and comparative negligence

The doctrine of comparative negligence permits damages to be:

Decreased by the percentage of plaintiff's injuries caused by plaintiff's negligence.

Administrative agencies engage in rulemaking to:

Develop regulatory policies.

Roberta says "Susan, I will sell you my car for $5,000." Susan says, "I'll give you $4,500." Roberta says "No." Later Susan calls Roberta and says "I have $5,000 and want the car." Roberta:

Does not have to sell the car to Susan due to the counteroffer, which is a rejection

T/F: A battery is intentional conduct that places a person in fear of immediate bodily harm.

False

T/F: A party injured by an administrative rule always has the right to seek review of the rule in federal court.

False

T/F: A state may charge higher fees for disposal of hazardous wastes if the wastes are generated outside the state than for hazardous wastes that are generated in-state.

False

T/F: Agency regulations issued under proper rulemaking procedures require subsequent approval by the President.

False

T/F: Businesses do not have to provide confidential information to a government agency in administrative law matters.

False

T/F: Decisions of Administrative Law Judges are the final resolution of administrative complaint matters.

False

T/F: If a party fails to perform a nonbinding promise the law will provide a remedy.

False

T/F: If a state bans the sale of milk that is not produced by cows in the state, the ban will probably be upheld as constitutional because it helps ensure the freshness of milk.

False

T/F: If there is a product about which consumers are ignorant, such as prescription drugs, the states may prohibit the advertising of such products and their prices.

False

T/F: The Fourth Amendment protects individuals against self-incrimination at trial.

False

T/F: The Statute of Frauds states that all contracts that involve more than $1,000 must be in writing.

False

T/F: The mailbox rule holds that offers, acceptances, and revocations of offers are effective the date they are mailed (postmarked).

False

T/F: The only defense in case of negligence is that of assumption of risk.

False

T/F: The primary purpose of tort law is to inflict punishment on the wrongdoer.

False

T/F: Under the rule of strict liability in tort the injured part must show that the manufacturer failed to meet the standard of care of the industry in question.

False

T/F: When an assault occurs, a battery also occurs.

False

T/F: You are the goalie of a college ice hockey team. If your jaw is broken by an opponent who accidentally hits your face with his stick, you may sue the opponent for assault.

False

Twenty years after you leave college you are rich and famous. Your college calls on you for a $5 million gift to renovate a classroom building and name the building in your honor. You tell them you will be glad to give the gift because you learned so much and that is why you are successful. A year later the building is renovated and the college asks for the money. You decide to spend it on a new jet and tell the college to get stuffed. You:

Have to pay the money under the rule of promissory estoppel.

The tort of assault is:

Intentional conduct directed at a person that places the person in fear of immediate bodily harm.

A tort is:

None of the above

Contract law is primarily:

None of the above

If Congress imposes a regulation on business, the states:

None of the above

When an agency proposes a legislative (substantive) rule it must publish it for public inspection in the:

None of the above

While you are sound asleep, your roommate hits you in the head with a brick. This is most likely to be the tort of:

None of the above.

A binding promise may be defined as:

One that may be enforced by law in case of breach.

The Fifth Amendment:

Protects corporate executives from testifying against themselves and protects individuals from self-incrimination.

Termination of an offer by the parties involved can be done by all of the following except:

Revocation after acceptance.

Proximate cause limits liability to harms:

That bear a reasonable relationship to the defendant's negligent conduct.

The first ten amendments of the U.S. Constitution are called:

The Bill of Rights

Suppose the Texas legislature ruled that all motorcycle drivers and passengers under the age of 21 had to wear helmets. This could be attacked, by a motorcycle driver who did not want to wear a helmet as a violation of:

The due process clause because it is a restriction on personal freedom. The due process clause because it does not advance a state interest. The equal protection clause because it applies to people under 21.

Prohibiting the introduction of oral evidence when it contradicts the terms of a written contract is an example of:

The parol evidence rule

Consideration will be present if:

The promisor receives a legal benefit and the promissee suffers a legal detriment.

Which is not a necessary element of negligence?

The wrongdoer's actions were motivated by malice.

Dude, under a five year contract to play for the Rackets, has a great third year. He demands a pay raise for the next year because he played so well. If he were to get a pay raise for his fourth year to reward his play in the third year:

There would be no consideration to support the raise. The raise would be a gift, not a contract obligation. There was a preexisting duty.

Administrative agencies are often created by Congress because:

They can consider technical details more effectively than Congress and They have the ability to monitor a regulated industry on a continuous basis.

T/F: A business is liable for the tort action of its employees if carried out within the scope of their jobs.

True

T/F: A minor may ratify a contract, upon reaching the age of majority, that she had the right to disaffirm is she so desired.

True

T/F: A void contract is never a valid contract.

True

T/F: Acceptance of an offer must be unconditional, unequivocal, and legally communicated to be effective.

True

T/F: In general, the Supreme Court holds it constitutional for Congress to regulate most every aspect of business.

True

T/F: Intentional torts arise in situations where the person who committed the tort intended to inflict the injury suffered.

True

T/F: Intentional torts concern willful interference of a protected personal or property right.

True

T/F: Liquidated damages are usually determined by the parties to a contract in the contract itself.

True

T/F: Specific performance is a type of remedy employed by the courts where money damages would be inadequate.

True

T/F: The Administrative Procedures Act requires that notice of proposed agency rules appear in the Federal Register so there is a chance for the public to see the rule.

True

T/F: The Statute of Frauds holds that if you are going to paint my house two years from today, the contract should be in writing.

True

For a contract to be valid, its subject matter must be lawful. A contract is illegal and unenforceable if its subject matter:

Violates the common law, is contrary to public policy, and violates state or federal statutory law.

For Amy's sixteenth birthday her parents giver her money so she can make a down payment on a car she wants. She enters into a contract with a car dealer to make payments. This is a:

Voidable contract.