Business Law Test 1 Review 09 20 2013 Law can be defined as a set of rules enforced by a government Plaintiff is the party which files a lawsuit against another party Defendant the person being sued Cause of action which is a set of facts giving rise to a valid lawsuit Must have in order to sue another person Contract is a legally enforceable promise or set of promises Breach of contract is a failure to fulfill contractual obligations Tort is a civil noncriminal wrong other than breach of contract for which the law provides a remedy Negligence is an unintentional violation of a legal duty to use a standard of care Common Law is a system of court made law where the rules are derived from previously decided cases called precedents Stare Decisis which requires courts to follow precedent It has been decided Practically speaking this means that once one court decides how a set of facts should be dealt with under the law the next court to consider the issue will rely on the previous court s reasoning Judicial Review is the legal doctrine which says that courts determine the constitutionality of statues Philosophical Schools of Law Natural Law School o believes that law comes from principles inspired by God and or evident from nature Example Declaration of Independence Positivist School o believes that the established government s laws are supreme Traditional School of Law o espouses the theory that laws which have worked in the past are best suited to shape present law The Legal Realists of law o believe that there is no uniform way to interpret or apply the law Practical Sources of Law Federal Law o Constitution is the highest authority within federal law State Law Case Law o is the law created by courts when they declare the law particularly in the areas of contracts and torts and when it interprets the laws already found in constitutions and statues Persuasive Authority o Law which is not binding on a lawmaker but which may be influential is called persuasive author Uniform Codes or Model Codes Are statutory frameworks covering a certain area of law which have been compiled by experts for adoption by state legislatures Restatements are common law schemes compiled by experts to influence courts and to encourage nationwide consistency Administrative Law o Administrative agencies are units of executive branch created by a legislature to regulate ain a certain area o Independent agencies are agencies designed to be free from the direct authority of the president or governor o Executive agencies are administrative agencies whose heads are directly subject to the authority of the president Criminal law involves wrongs against society punished by the federal state or city government through prosecution Civil Law involves wrongs committed against persons or entities who enforce their rights by filing lawsuits to obtain money property or other remedies Substantive law defines the rights and duties of persons in our society Procedural Law tells us the process by which we enforce rights within our society Statutory Law is the law adopted by a legislative body Case Law is the law created by court decisions either in creating new common law or in interpreting common statutory law Common Law case the plaintiff is entitled to a jury trail and typically sues seeking money damages for breach of contract or a tort Court of Equity one typically seeks an order of the court that something be done or status be changed Res Judicata Means that a controversy decided in one case between parties is binding upon those parties in another case involving the same situation It s been decided Class Action typically one or more members of a group Class of injured parties sue as plaintiffs on behalf of the rest of the group Standing Is the legal requirement that a person or entity must have a tangible interest in a lawsuit before the person or entity can become a party to the lawsuit Jurisdiction Refers to the authority of a court to decide a case not only authority to decide the type of case but also authority over any defendant who has been sued Venue is the place where a lawsuit is being tried proper venue is the place where a case may be validly heard under the law Proper Venue is the place where a case may validly be decided under the law Adjudication is the process of litigation resulting in a binding judgment Adversary System We use in our courts requires that opposing parties in a lawsuit present evidence to a judge or jury rather than having a judge calling and questioning witnesses as is done in some countries Evidence is the testimony documents and objects admitted at trial for consideration by the fact finder Courts of limited Jurisdiction Are trial courts which are either limited as to the type of case which may be heard or limited on the amount of money which may be involved in their cases Courts of general jurisdiction are trial courts which may hear any type of case which is not specifically assigned to another court Appellate Courts hear appeals from trial courts which may be filed by any party who is adversely affected by the judgment in the lower court Supreme Court The highest appellate court in both the state and federal system Intermediate appellate court is typically the first court to which an appellant will appeal Federal Circuit Court of Appeals State Missouri Court of Appeals Next lowest in authority are the courts of general jurisdiction Circuit Court District Court State Court System Small Claims Circuit Court Court of Appeals Supreme Court Personal Jurisdiction is the authority of a court over a defendant 1 Resident of the state where the courts sits 2 persons or entities with at least the minimum contacts with the state where the court sits Subject Matter Jurisdiction is jurisdiction over the type of lawsuit which the plaintiff is filing against the defendant Exclusive means the particular court either State or Federal is the only court which can hear the case Concurrent Jurisdiction means that either a state or a federal court could hear the case Federal Question Jurisdiction is where federal courts will have jurisdiction over questions of federal law Examples Bankruptcy Patent laws or suits against the government Diversity of Citizenship A situation where the plaintiff and the defendant are from different states and the amount involved in the lawsuit exceeds 75 000 Alternative Dispute Resolution ADR Arbitration o Is the process where the parties present evidence to an arbitrator who