Business Law Exam 1 Study Guide 02 01 2014 Business Law courses Objectives Awareness of legal pitfalls Communication with lawyers o Fee structure Hourly rate Job or task Contingent fee The Legal Method of Thinking how lawyers approach their problem solving Separate relevant from irrelevant o Only talk about the things that are important save time and money be prepared to vigorously justify your position with an arsenal of supportive data and fact o look at cases that precede your case develop an ability to think on your feet Business Law Course Tools the meaning of words Semantics the branch of the science of language that deals with o in vs on o reasonable jury or judicial question have to determine what reasonable means o infant anyone under 18 o Koikos Case Occurrence World trade center one or 2 occurrences Logic extracting legal rules from past cases by inductive reasoning o Example Daddy s Will wills are void Law By statue law passed by legislature all unsigned Have to look at different state laws lived in FL died in GA property in VA Facts this will is unsigned Signature any symbol adopted by a party to authenticate a writing Signed the Will as Daddy instead of legal name Deciding whether that is a legal signature or not If there are surviving children but no surviving spouse the inheritance is equally divided amongst the children Florida Interstate Law Cannot disinherit a spouse they get at least 30 Can disinherit a child Decision The will is void Stare Decisis the doctrine of precedent before o What the law permits vs what sound business practice dictates o Not to unsettle things that re settled let the decision stand o Advantages Certainty in the law Equality in the law Makes judicial decision making easier o Disadvantages perpetuating a mistake stagnation of the law civil rights decisions times are changing Common Sense The law is not an enemy of common sense The Structure of the Florida Judicial System Appellate Courts used when a person wants to appeal higher court reviewing o Supreme Court Highest court system US Supreme court has 9 justices Florida has 7 justices that serve six year terms appointed by the governor merit retention vote Sits in Tallahassee Five justices constitutes a quorum Jurisdiction The court hears direct appeals in all cases where a final decision of trial court has imposed a sentence of death or validated bonds or certificates of indebtedness where a district court of appeal has declared invalid a state statute or provisions of the state constitution or where a statewide agency has taken action relating to rates or service of electric gas or telephone utilities Constitutional authority to issue the writs of prohibition mandamus quo warranto and habeas corpus Extraordinary writ an order commanding a person or entity to perform or to refrain from performing a particular act Habeas corpus may be invoked by any person who seeks release from custody or confinement which is asserted to be unlawful Prohibition a court may prevent a lower tribunal from acting upon matters that are not within its jurisdiction or from exceeding its lawful powers Mandamus by which a court may compel an official to perform a duty which the law requires but which the official has either failed or refused to perform Quo warranto available to challenge the right of a public official to occupy the office to which the official claims entitlement o District Court of Appeals Six year terms merit retention vote Five Districts 1st district Tallahassee 15 judges Pensacola to Tallahassee down to Jacksonville and Gainesville Cases are reviewed by three judge panels Jurisdiction Appeals from final judgments or orders of trial courts The district courts have been granted the power to review most actions taken by state agencies in carrying out the duties of the executive branch Constitutional authority to issue the writs of certiorari prohibition mandamus quo warranto habeas corpus As a general rule decisions of the district courts of appeal represent the final appellate review of litigated cases Trail Courts o Circuit courts Big court six year terms non partisan contested election twenty judicial circuits judges preside individually jurisdiction civil criminal felonies more than 15 000 o County Courts lowest of importance six year terms non partisan contested election judges preside individually Jurisdiction Civil criminal misdemeanors less than 1 year jail time or less than 15 000 Jurisdiction the power of a court to hear a case Subject Matter Jurisdiction civil o Diversity Jurisdiction Federal District Court hears cases if Parties are from different states Case involves damages 75 000 o Concurrent Jurisdiction you have choices Two courts have authority to hear a case In Personam Jurisdiction the person business cases o Minimum Contacts o Long Arm Statutes because you ve been there in order to force a person to come to state Office in State Products shipped to state Tort committed in state Contract made in state Any of these four qualifications have to be met Carnival Cruise line case Defendant was from Washington but the occurrence happened on a Carnival Cruise Line whose offices are in Miami Defendant wanted the case tried in Washington and wanted the attorneys from Carnival Cruise line to come to Washington They disagreed because they had all their offices and materials in Miami Categories of Law Criminal most serious Civil resolution of dispute and cannot decide on their own o Family law custody o Anything involving money Substantive The what of the law o Rights and duties stating what the law is You must pay your taxes annually Procedural how of the law o Enforcement Taxes must be filed by April 15 with this criteria met Stages of a Lawsuit and so on Pleadings filing papers asking or requesting o First stage of a lawsuit documents Complaint filed by the plaintiff complaining about something year Style of the case last name vs last name Vs adversarial enemy proceeding Case no 09 year 123 number of cases for the Alleges states facts yet to be proved Trying to prove it to the judge or jury Negligence careless it s your fault Statute of limitations 4 years As a result causation saying defendant caused your injury Wherefore conclusion Economic damages Medical expenses add up the bills Wage loss calculate how much money was lost by not working Property damage Non economic damages Pain and suffering Loss of capacity to enjoy life Loss of consortium companionship Answer response to
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