UNIT 1 COURSE OVERVIEW INTRO TO LAW Business Law Courses Objectives 1 Awareness of Legal Pitfalls pitfalls lead to the potential to be sued caused to customer because of our negligence lawyers identify issues legal problems associated with something businesses should take extra steps to prevent legal pitfalls 2 Communication with Lawyers important because if you can efficiently speak you can spend less money a Fee Structure gives way to issues dealing with lawyers 1 Hourly Rate usually high 350 2 Job or Task time is irrelevant 3 Contingent Fee if wins client pays percentage of fees usually 30 conditional upon winning win a trial OR settlement the case no win no fee usually involves personal injury cases or medical malpractice charge percentage of any recovery ie class action lawsuits www wrongfullyinjured com lawyers do well if they get a settlement The Legal Method of Thinking 1 Separate relevant from irrelevant make your statements concise and accurate 2 Be prepared to vigorously justify your position with an arsenal of supportive essential data and facts with prior case decisions previous court cases ie going back to the past to provide support for the current situation 3 Develop an ability to think on your feet cases are volatile sound reasonably intelligent when caught off guard Business Law Course Tools 1 Semantics meaning of words precision of expression is extremely important exactly the right wording BUT words mean different things technical vs general meanings judges jury non professional interprets words ie in vs on in sexual battery rape penetration life in prison on molestation 15 years in prison max CASE Koikos case Kokios and plaintiff s vs Travelers Insurance occurrence BACKGROUND Kokios is sued based on negligent failure to provide adequate security arising from separate shootings of multiple victims Travelers defined occurrence as an accident including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions PRECEDENT Insurance vs World Trade Center occurrence All losses or damages that are attributable directly or indirectly to one cause or to one series of similar causes All such losses will be added together and the total amount of such losses will be treated as one occurrence irrespective of the period of time or area over which such losses occur COMPLAINT occurrence each shot kokios plaintiff vs whole incident insurance VERDICT because the definition of occurrence was not precisely defined by Travelers Insurance it was decided that each shot would be considered one occurrence Travelers policy placed a cap on liability 2 Logic extracting legal rules from past cases by inductive reasoning what law permits vs what sound business practice dictates Descendant Lives in FL Dies in GA Owns real estate in NC What laws come into play after death State where a person lives applies but where property is owned apples to that property Conflicts of Law rules to deal with multiple states SEE Daddy s Will A B vs C D signing of will BACKGROUND Fathers will stated that went to A went to B and nothing to C D COMPLAINT C D sued A B when their father signed his will as Daddy signature was defined as any symbol adopted by a party to authenticate legal documents LAW C D wanted to utilize Intestate Laws laws applicable to those who die without a valid will ie 3 surviving children without a surviving spouse equally divide assets VERDICT A B C D appealed Went back and forth eventually A B won but had to pay 500 000 in lawyers fees 3 Stare Decisis the doctrine of precedent what happened before let the decision stand judges rely on other cases that have already been decided same or similar circumstances benefit from the wisdom of previous judges Advantages 1 Certainty in the law same facts same decision 2 Equality in the law A decision B same decision 3 Makes judicial decisions easier regarding controversial cases build on previous judges thoughts research leads to judicial efficiency Disadvantages stagnation in the law there are situational environmental differences regarding time period 4 Common Sense the law is not an enemy of common sense millions of laws exist so therefore we use common sense to predict laws that we don t know ie Noneconomic Damages in Pet Litigation Florida laws on dogs CONFLICT A s dog bites B in A s home who is responsible VERDICT A is responsible except when there is an intruder or the guest provokes when there is a child involved guardian or homeowner when there is a visible sign Bad Dog except children 6 UNIT TWO COURTS AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION THE STRUCTURE OF THE FLORIDA JUDICIAL SYSTEM TRIAL COURT 1 67 County Court at least one judge in each county 67 counties judges preside individually 15 000 misdemeanors 2 20 Circuit Court 20 judges circuits judges preside individually 15 000 felonies if you lose your case in circuit court you have the right to appeal once to the next higher court APPELLANT COURT 3 5 District Court of Appeals 5 districts 1st Tallahassee 15 Pensacola Tallahassee Gainesville cases are reviewed by three judge panels make arguments before panel 4 1 Supreme Court 7 justices 5 justices constitute quorum CATEGORIES OF THE LAW 1 Criminal crimes committed against society to protect society 2 Civil resolve disputes between people persons can t arrive at decision themselves want a judge jury to make a decision for them 3 Substantive what of the law rules and regulations 4 Procedural how of the law procedures county court cases circuit court cases real estate and mortgage foreclosure civil filings are significantly lower in 2010 2011 economy and housing market is getting better JURISDICTION where do you file your plea power of court to hear a case I Subject Matter Jurisdiction authority of a court to hear a case based on the subject matter of the lawsuit A Diversity Jurisdiction when US federal district court has the power to hear a civil case because the parties involved are from different areas states countries 1 Federal District Court hears case if a AND b a parties are from different states b involves damages 75 000 if 75 000 goes to state court state of plaintiffs choice B Concurrent Jurisdiction when 2 courts simultaneously have jurisdiction over a case 1 two courts have authority to hear case can be heard by federal AND state courts ie BACKGROUND accident in GA from FL CONFLICT what court should hear case LAW 75 000 in damages from accident since accident occurred in GA can sue in state personal jurisdiction and
View Full Document
Unlocking...