Business Law Chapter 1
Equitable maxims
1) anyone who wished to be treated fairly must treat others fairly 2) the law will determine the outcome of a controversy in which the merits of both sides are equal 3) The plaintiff must have acted fairly and honestly 4) equitable relief will be awarded when there is a right to relief and there is no adequate remedy at law 5) equity is more concerned with fairness and justice than with legal technicalities 6) Equity will not help those who neglect their rights for an unreasonable period of time
Remedies
Legal means to enforce a right or redress a wrong
Sources of American Law
US Constitution Statutory Law Regulation created by administrative agencies Case law and Common Law Doctrines
Common Law
a body of general rules that applied throughout the entire English Realm
Precedent
a decision that furnished an example or authority for deciding subsequent cases involving identical or similar legal principles or facts
Positivist School
a school of legal thought centered on the assumption that there is no law higher than the laws created by the government. laws must be obeyed, even if they are unjust, to prevent anarchy
legal realism
a school of legal thought that advocates a less abstract and more realistic and pragmatic approach to the law and takes into account customary practices and the circumstances surrounding the particular transaction. legal realism strongly influenced the growth of the sociological school of jurisprudence, which views law as a tool for promoting social justice
Historical school
a school of legal thought that stresses the evolutionary nature of law and looks to doctrines that have withstood the passage of time for guidance in shaping present laws
substantive law
all laws that define, describe, regulate, and create legal rights and obligations
Remedies in equtity
also called equitable remedies. Include specific performance (ordering a party to perform an agreement as promised), an injunction (ordering a party to cease engaging in an activity), and rescission (cancellation of a contract obligation)
deductive reasoning
also called syllogistic reasoning. employs syllogism- a logical relationship involving a major premise, a minor premise, and a cconclusion
binding authority
any source of law that a court must follow when deciding a case
breach
breaks, or failure to perform a contract
Doctrine of Stare Decisis
common law is a judge-made law. means to stand on decided cases.
reasoning by analogy
compare the facts in the case at hand to the facts in previous cases and to the extent that the patterns are similar, to apply the same rule to the present case
criminal law
concerned with wrongs committed against the public as a whole. Criminal acts are defined and prohibited by local, state, or federal government statutes
procedural law
consists of all laws that delineate the methods of enforcing the rights established by substantive laws
Case Law
doctrines and principles announced in cases
Statutory laws
laws passed by Congress, state legislators or local governing bodies
Uniform laws
model laws
natural school of law
one of the older and more significant schools of legal though. those who believe in natural law hold that there is a universal law applicable to all human beings. this law is discoverable through reason and is of a high order than positive (national) law
linear reasoning
proceeds from one point to another with the final point being the conclusion
cyber law
refer to the emerging body of law that governs transactions conducted via the internet
civil law
spells out the rights and duties that exist between persons and between person and their governments, ass well as the relief available when a person's rights are violated
Ordinances
statutes (laws, rules, orders) passed by municipal or county governments
Jurisprudence
study of law
reporters
where cases are published, also called reports