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BLAW 3391 Pleasant Midterm

Terms in this set (97)

**Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
1952, a set of laws that govern various commercial transactions and are designed to bring uniformity to the laws of the states
stare decisis
"to stand on decided cases"
common law
the english system - recorded decisions that courts later rely on
precedent
court decision on which later courts rely in similar cases

only precedent if highest court in that area agrees
statutory law
laws passed by congress or by state legislatures
ordinance
law passed by a local government
** 8 Sources of Law
1. constitutional law
2. executive orders
3. treaties
4. common law
5. precedent
6. case law
7. statutory law
8. administrative law
treaties
written agreement between 2 or more countries. becomes legally binding when approved my 2/3 of senate
reporter
court decisions are published in books called reporters
citation
names of parties, volume numbers, name of the reporter, beginning page number
jurisdiction
authority of a court to hear a case
Sarbanes-Oxley
a federal statue that placed an onus on upper management to monitor closely the financial dealings and disclosures of their firms and that established a board to oversee accounting practices in the US

resulted after Enron
ethics v. morals
ethics refers to the series of rules provided to an individual by an external source

morals refer to an individuals own principles regarding right and wrong
values
beliefs or standards considered worthwhile, and from which a society derives its moral rules
whistleblower
an employee who discloses to the government, media, or upper management that the company is involved in wrongful or illegal activities

Erin Brockovich
Karen Silkwood
W. Mark Felt
"deep throat"
leaked info about Watergate
real property
the ground and everything permanently attached to it

land, building, trees, and shrubs
personal property
tangible and intangible property that is not real property
inter vivos gift
a gift between the living that meets all of the legal requirements for a gift
gift in causa mortis
a gift given by a living person who expects to die from a known cause
accession
the right of an owner of property to increase in the property

ex) owner of cow owns calves born to the cow
severalty
ownership of a particular piece of property that is held by one person
joint tenancy
when two or more persons own equal shares of personal property with right of suvivorship
tenancy by the entirety
form of joint ownership of property by husband and wife in which both have a right to the entire property and the right of survivorship
tenancy in common
a form of joint ownership of property by two or more persons in which any owner's interest can be sold, transferred, or inherited
community property
property acquired during marriage that, in some states, belongs to both husband and wife
easement
a right or interest in land granted to a party to make beneficial use of the land owned by another
fee simple
when an owner of a freehold estate holds it absolutely
life estate
a freehold estate in which a person has ownership interest only for his or her lifetime
deed
the instrument, or document, that conveys an interest in real property between parties
eminent domain
when ownership of real property is taken by the government and the previous owner is compensated at the fair market value of the property
adverse possession
when title to land is acquired by a person's exclusive, continuous, open, known, and hostile use of the property over a period of time
winding-up period
the time after dissolution of a partnership during which there is an orderly liquidation of the partnership assets
joint venture
activity in which individuals become partners for only a short period of time or only for a single project
limited liability partnership (LLP)
all partners have limited liability from other partners' negligence

ex) law firms, accounting firms, medical practices
corporation
a business formed as a separate legal entity

owned by shareholders
articles of incorporation
a document that lists the general powers of a corporation
by-laws
a document that provides rules for the meetings of a corporation
quorum
the minimum number of shares necessary to be present at a corporate meeting in order for action to be taken

should be stated in by-laws
subchapter S corp
a corporation that is taxed as a partnership
proxy
a legal document that transfers the right to vote in a corporate election to another person
fiduciary responsibility
a legal requirement that a person will exercise his or her authority while working under a duty of loyalty and a duty of care
duty of care
a legal and ethical obligation placed upon a director to act diligently and prudently in conduction the affairs of the corporation
duty of loyalty
a legal and ethical obligation placed upon a director to administer to the affairs of the corporation with personal integrity, honesty, and candor
limited liability company (LLC)
relatively new organizational form available in most states that provides ALL of the owners with limited liability

taxed as a partnership
operating agreement
the agreement between LLC members
3 branches of gov
legislative
executive
judicial
legislative branch
consists of elected representatives who have the responsibility for passing laws that represent the will of the people
executive branch
consists of an elected executive, including his or her appointed staff
judicial branch
determines if there have been violations of the law and interprets the law if there are questions about what the law means in particular situations
**types of administrative agencies
executive agency
independent agency
hybrid agency

"fourth branch of gov"
1st administrative agency: interstate
**executive agency
"cabinet-level"

ex) FDA, FAA (aviation)
**independent agency
governed by the board of commissioners appointed by the president with "advise and consent" of US senate

ex) federal trade commission, SEC
**hybrid agency
characteristics of an executive and independent agency

ex) environmental protection agency
**administrative procedures act (APA)
they limited their rule making (informal, formal, and hybrid rule-making)
**freedom of information act (FOIA)
requires that federal agencies publish in federal register places where public can access agency information

any individual or business may make an FOIA request
**government sunshine act
1. requires that agency meetings be open to public if agency headed by collegiate body - such agencies must keep records of closed meetings
2. federal agency may not disclose info about an individual to other agencies without written consent
**privacy act
...
**internal revenue service test (IRS test)
aids individuals in determining whether a worker fits the status of an employee or an independent contractor
**doctrine of employment at will
an employer may terminate an employee's employment at any time for a good reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all
**defamation
a current or former may sue his employer for defamation if the employer provides info to a third party that is untrue, irrespective of whether it relates to the employee's job performance

slander if spoken
libel if written
**negligence
a tort that allows a plaintiff to bring a lawsuit against a defendant under state law for causing personal injury or property damage
**fair labor standards act of 1938 (FLSA)
a law that sets standards for the minimum age an employee can be, the minimum wages an employee can earn, and the rate at which an employee is paid if he or she works more than a certain number of hours in a work week
**occupational safety and health act of 1970
the federal statue designed to promote safety and health in the workplace
**worker's compensation
a type of insurance that provides that employees may recover damages for work-related injuries and illnesses without having to prove negligence on the part of the employer
exclusive remedy
an employee who sustains a work-related injury or illness can recover damages only through workers compensation and may not file a lawsuit against his employer

may sue if it was the employers intentional conduct that cause it
ergonomics
a science that deals with designing workplaces to promote safety and health
affirmative action plans
detailed records that demonstrate that an employers practices are non discriminatory
**civil rights act 1964
protects individuals from illegal discrimination
**title VII
portion of civil rights act that deals with discrimination in employment
**equal pay act of 1963 (EPA)
a statue that prohibits any employer from engaging in wage discrimination based on sex
**age discrimination act of 1967
federal statue designed to protect individuals from illegal discrimination in employment on the basis of age (40)
**pregnancy discrimination act of 1978
federal statue designed to protect individuals from illegal discrimination in employment on the basis of pregnancy
**americans with disabilities act of 1990 (ADA)
federal statue desined to protect individuals from illegal discrimination on basis of disability

a physical or mental impairment that limits one or more of the major activities of life
**civil rights act of 1991
federal statue that provides additional remedies to an employee who can prove that he or she was a victim of discrimination
collective bargaining agreement
a contract between a union and an employer that covers all terms and conditions of employment
wildcat strike
a strike without the unions consent
**family and medical leave act of 1993 (FMLA)
federal statue that provides eligible employees with the right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for medical reasons or to care for a child, spouse, or parent
**national environmental policy act of 1970 (NEPA)
federal statue that requires that any project with significant federal involvement must have an approved environmental impact statement prior to the commencement of any work on the project (a damn, stadium, highway)
environmental protection agency
federal agency that conducts environmental research
**clean air act of 1970
all states are required to develop air quality standards that are at least as rigorous as the federal standards

primary standards: protect human life and health

secondary: protect property, vegetation, climate and aesthetic values
**clean water act of 1972
sets minimum standards for water purity

"fishable and swimmable"
**comprehensive environmental response, compensation, and liability act (CERCLA)

SUPERFUND
regulates dumping of waste onto land
**nuisance
a condition that affects a person's health, causes property damage, or interferes with a persons well being
acid rain
form of pollution cause by the discharge of sulfur emissions into the atmosphere
**the resource conservation and recovery act of 1976 (RCRA)
governs the storage and disposal of toxic substances
greenhouse effect
the rising of global temperatures due to the increased burning of fossil fuels that has loaded the atmosphere with heat-trapping CO2
ozone layer
the release of chlorofluorocarbons into the air had damaged the ozone layer
remand
to send back
reverse
to overthrow, invalidate, repeal, or revoke
summary judgment
procedural device to promptly dispose of a case without a trial
affirm
to establish or reassert
**bates v. dow agrosciences, LLC
-plaintiffs used a registered label that was to be safe around peanuts, they used it and it destroyed their peanut crops, not even the weeds
-both parties filed claims, if defendants were forced to change their labels then the state law would conflict the provisions of federal law
-district court and court of appeals agreed with defendant
*US Supreme court VACATED and REMANDED to appeals
**teresa harris v. forklift systems, inc
-president of company repeatedly insulted her due to her gender and made sexual innuendos
-plaintiff complained, he continued, she quit
-plaintiff filed for creating an abusive work environment based on gender
-district court favored the defendant, court of appeals affirmed
*US Supreme court REVERSED and REMANDED
**oncale v. sundowner offshore services, inc.
-employees forcibly subjected the plaintiff to sex-related actions on several occasions, he was physically assaulted threatened to rape
-district court granted the employers motion for a summary judgment, appellate court affirmed bc they were of same sex
*Court of appeals for 5th circuit was REVERSED and REMANDED in favor of plaintiff
**actual v. apparent authority
actual is the legal authority a person has as the result of a law or contract

apparent a person or company inaccurately claims to be an agent or another person
**administrative law judge (ALJ decisions)
presides over administrative hearings; may attempt to encourage parties to settle but has power to enter binding decisions
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