April 1st Notes

Business Law
April 1, 2010

NEWS
Student Introductions
There will be group work in this class.
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Class 1: Civil and Criminal Liability

Sources of Law
1. Constitutions  (federal/state)
-Citizens Union case: companies are people and were given 1st Amendment rights (still fighting)

2. Legislation  (federal/state/local)
-inspiring how much input they use in forming law in Olympia

3. Judge-made law (federal/state)
-Made by appellate law, is published law

4. Agency regulations (federal state)
-limiting their power where applicable

Court System
-3 Tier system

Trial Court
    -municipal, district, superior

Intermediate court of Appeals
    -statewide decisions
    -div 1, div 2, div 3

Supreme Court

Primary Authority
    -law itself

Secondary Authority
    -About the law
    -Restatements
        -highly respected authority relied on my our courts or adopted by our courts

    -Uniform Laws
        -drafted by experts in the field by committee, that states can decide on what to take

Legal Analysis
-prima facie case
    -be able to prove case at trial
    -elements of the case to match the facts of the case

-defenses
    -basic defenses
    1. it didn't happen
    2. justified in doing it
    3. procedural barrier that prevents from pursing case

IRAC
    -issue
    -rule
    -application of the rule to facts
    -conclusion

Law of Torts
    3 Main Areas:
    1. Personal Injury Actions
    2. By and Against
    3. Business Entities

-WA Digest is preferred for torts

Intentional Torts
-Defamation (Slander/Libel)
    -statement
    -that is false
    -published (by spoken, written, communicated in one way)
    -causes injury
    -Defense: TRUTH, Opinion can be valid
-Courtney Love Case: comments on blog about designer, sued her for libel (this is still going on)
-Case for science book on false Darwinism, reviewer called him a crackpot and he sued the reviewer

-Businesses can get caught up in emails
    -how do you manage this risks?
    -several suits from employee emails by talking about customers and other employees
    -public record statements

-different standard for public figures
    -need to show it was malicious and reckless disregard

Libel per se
1. professional character
2. unchaste unmarried person
3. person has infectious disease
4. person has committed a serious crime

-plaintiff does not have to prove there is injury, it is presumed
 
-Assault/Battery
    -Assault
        -intentional act that creates reasonable apprehension of
        -intended the act, not the harm
        -immediate harmful or offensive
    -Battery
        -an intentional act that
        -can be something put in motion or by something
        -creates a harmful or offensive contact
    Defenses:
        -Consent, self-defense

-False Imprisonment
    -intentional act that causes actual and unlawful confinement or restraint
    -through force or threat of force
    -against the will of the detainee
    -can be the force of authority
        -shoplifter cases detained
    Defenses:
        -Detention was justified and reasonable.
        -Consent

-Invasion Privacy/Commercial Exploitation
    1. disclosure of personal information
    2. intrusion into another person's private affairs
    3. appropriation of the likeness of another
    4. putting someone in a false light

-Lindsay Lohan case suing for superbowl commercial where her name was used

-WA has a tort of privacy
    Reed v. Pierce County
        -photographs of corpses in various stages
        -used them for other uses

-Tort of Outrage
    -intentional infliction of emotional distress
        -intentional act that is
        -extreme and outrageous
        -and causes
        -severe emotional distress

-page 70-71 example
    -collection agency can't find man and told mother a grotesque lie to find him

-used in discrimination cases
    -when they are fired adding this tort

-Fraud
    -False statement as to existing fact
    -intent to deceive
    -justifiable reliance
    -injury

-phillip morris 1950's ad that science backs cigarettes

-materiality of the statement, that is wasn't just incidental, something they relied on
9 elements of Fraud

Interference with Contracts
-existence of a valid contractual relationship or business expectancy
-knowledge of the relationship or expectancy by the alleged interfering party
-intentional interference inducing or causing breach or termination of the relationship or expectancy and
-resultant damage

-Hoffer v. State case
    -wa state power public project whoops cases

Negligence
4 Elements
1. Duty of care owed to the plaintiff
    -where do you look for that?
        -statutory duty (drivers), regulation (certain mirrors or lights), foreseeable

2. Breach of the duty

3. Which results in (causation)
    -causation in law
    -causation in action
   
4. Injury

Defenses:
1. contributory negligence
2. assumption of risk

-WA has waived sovereign immunity and means damages can be unlimited

Negligence Theory
-foreseeable rick
-threatened danger
- unreasonable conduct measure in light of the danger
-Mother case over son's ashes not being in urn properly, dismissed

-Toyota
    -150 class action lawyers are looking at the cases

Strict Liability
-in participating in some limited activities a business will be liable for harm even though no duty was breached no intentional tort committed

-fireworks and hazardous activity is here, whether you intended it or not
-RCW 7.72

Defenses: Assumption of risks, misuse of product

Damages
1. compensatory special
    -medical expenses, lost wages, insurance benefits, pension benefits

2. compensatory general
    -physical pain (past and future), mental/emotional

3. punitive
    -none in WA

4. nominal damages
    -usually in defamation

-Attorney Fees

Criminal Law
-businesses as offenders and as victims
RCW 9A

Business as Victim
-theft
    -shoplifter
    -cost $16 billion annually
-fraud
-embezzlement
-arson

Business as Criminal
-how does a business commit a crime?
    -who forms the intent?
    -who commits the act?

-usually against the employee

RICO
-Racketeering statutes, Criminal Organization
-USC 19.64
-prohibits 2 or more "racketeering acts" to accomplish
    -invest in or acquiring a legitimate business with criminal money
    -maintaining or acquiring a business through criminal activity
    -operating a business through criminal activity