Business Law Notes

Agency Relationships

One party (agent) agrees to act on behalf of another (principal).

Obedience

Following the principal’s instructions.

Loyalty

Avoiding conflicts of interest, protecting confidential information.

Notification

Keeping the principal informed.

Apparent Authority

When a principal gives a third party reason to believe an agent has authority.

Emergency Power

An agent's ability to act in an emergency when unable to contact the principal.

Respondeat Superior

A principal-employer is liable for harm caused by an agent-employee within the scope of employment.

Automatic Termination of Agency

Death, insanity, impossibility, changed circumstances, bankruptcy, war.

Termination of Agency By Act of Parties

Principal gives reasonable notice to the agent; termination is called revocation by the principal and renunciation by the agent.

Tort Law

Designed to compensate for losses or injuries due to another's wrongful act.

Intentional Tort

An act committed with intent to interfere with another’s interests, not permitted by law.

Negligence

Injury due to failure to meet a required duty of care.

Special Damages

Quantifiable losses (e.g., medical expenses, lost wages).

General Damages

Non-monetary losses (e.g., pain and suffering).

Assault

Threat of immediate harm or offensive contact.

Battery

Unauthorized harmful or offensive physical contact with another person.

Defamation

Wrongfully hurting a person’s good reputation.

Libel

Written or permanent form of defamation.

Slander

Oral form of defamation.

Slander per se

Statements about loathsome diseases, professional improprieties, serious crimes, or sexual misconduct.

Trespass to Land

Unauthorized entry onto another's property.

Trespass to Personal Property

Interference with another's use or enjoyment of personal property.

Elements of Negligence

Duty, breach, causation, damages.

Foreseeability

Established by Palsgraf case as test for proximate cause.

Defenses to Negligence

Assumption of risk, superseding cause, and contributory/comparative negligence.

Defamation and Public Figures

Public figures must prove actual malice to sue for defamation.

Invasion of Privacy

Intrusion into affairs or seclusion, false light, public disclosure of private facts, and appropriation of identity.

Wrongful Interference

Occurs when enticing someone to breach a valid contract.

Strict Liability

One application of strict liability is for damages proximately caused by an abnormally dangerous, or ultrahazardous, activity.

Product Liability

Manufacturers and sellers can be liable for harm caused by defective products.

Rationale for Strict Liability

To spread the cost of injury by increasing prices and treating it as an operating expense.

Negligence in Product Liability

The failure to exercise the degree of care that a reasonable, prudent person would have exercised under the circumstances.

Who Can Sue in Product Liability?

Consumers, users, and bystanders harmed by a defective product.

Defective Products

Unreasonably dangerous when dangerous beyond an ordinary consumer's expectation; or a safer alternative existed, but wasn't used.

Types of Product Defects

Manufacturing, Design, and Inadequate warnings.

Design Defect Claims

Requires proof that a reasonable alternative design was available and wasn't adopted.

Preemption

Government regulations preempt claims.

Product Misuse

Unintended use not reasonably foreseen.

Assumption of Risk

User knew the risk and proceeded anyway.

Substantial Change

The product was altered after leaving the manufacturer's control.

Lack of Proximate Cause

Harm not a direct result of the defect.

Strict Product Liability

Requires that the product was defective, that the defendant is engaged in the business of selling the product, that the product was unreasonably dangerous, that the plaintiff incurred physical injuries and/or property damage, & the defective condition was the proximate cause of the injury/damage.

Criminal Law

Deals with crime and duties to society.

Elements of a Crime

Required act (actus reus) and Required intent (mens rea).

Verdict Standard

Must be found “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Crime Classifications

Felony, misdemeanor, petty offense.

Types of Crime

Violent, property, public order, white-collar, organized, and cyber.

Criminal Recklessness

Involves consciously disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk.

RICO

Makes it a federal crime to use income from racketeering activity to purchase any interest in an enterprise.

Defenses to Criminal Liability

Self-defense, necessity, duress, insanity, mistake.

Criminal Procedure

Designed to protect individual rights and prevent government abuse.

Search Warrant

Probable cause must be presented to a judge for approval.

Exclusionary Rule

Illegally obtained evidence is inadmissible.

Suspects must be informed of their rights (to remain silent

Sole Proprietorship

The owner and the business are one entity.

Franchise

An arrangement where the owner of intellectual property licenses others to use it in selling goods or services.

Partnership

A voluntary association of individuals formed by agreement.

Agency Relationships

One party (agent) agrees to act on behalf of another (principal).

Overtime Rules

Employers must pay certain employees at least one-and-one-half times their regular hourly rate for overtime (hours exceeding 40 per week).

Obedience

Following the principal’s instructions.

Loyalty

Avoiding conflicts of interest, protecting confidential information.

Notification

Keeping the principal informed.

Apparent Authority

When a principal gives a third party reason to believe an agent has authority.

Respondeat Superior

A principal-employer is liable for harm caused by an agent-employee within the scope of employment.

Tort Law

Designed to compensate for losses or injuries due to another's wrongful act.

Assault

Threat of immediate harm or offensive contact.

Battery

Unauthorized harmful or offensive physical contact with another person.

Defamation

Wrongfully hurting a person’s good reputation.

Negligence

Injury due to failure to meet a required duty of care.

Wrongful Interference

Occurs when enticing someone to breach a valid contract.

Product

Manufacturers and sellers can be liable for harm caused by defective products.