Business Law I Midterm: Key Concepts, Court Systems, and Contract Elements

United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS)

The highest court in the land. It is a federal court.

SCOTUS Jurisdiction

SCOTUS has two types of jurisdiction: Appellate Jurisdiction and Original Jurisdiction.

Appellate Jurisdiction

The power to review a lower court's decision. This is by far the more common type of jurisdiction.

Original Jurisdiction

The power to hear a case for the very first time (e.g., disputes between states).

Court of Limited Jurisdiction

A court whose subject matter jurisdiction is restricted to certain types of cases (e.g., traffic court, small claims court, or specialized courts like bankruptcy court in the federal system).

Court of General Jurisdiction

A court that has the authority to hear all types of cases within the geographical area where it is located (e.g., a state trial court or a federal district court).

Precedent

A rule or principle established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court when deciding subsequent cases with similar facts or issues.

Stare Decisis

A Latin phrase meaning 'to stand by things decided.' It is the legal principle that courts should follow precedent.

Common Law

Created by judges through court decisions over time.

Statute (Statutory Law)

Created by the legislature (Congress at the federal level, or state legislatures).

Legislative Branch

Congress, as outlined in Article I of the US Constitution.

Executive Branch

President, as outlined in Article II of the US Constitution.

Judicial Branch

Courts, including SCOTUS, as outlined in Article III of the US Constitution.

Checks and Balances

A system ensuring no single branch of government becomes too powerful.

Federal Bill Becoming a Law

The specific constitutional process is called Bicameralism and Presentment.

Bicameralism

A bill must pass both chambers of Congress (the House of Representatives and the Senate).

Presentment

The bill must then be presented to the President to be signed into law.

Presidential Veto Power

The President has the authority to veto a bill passed by Congress, preventing it from becoming law.

Override Support

A $rac{2}{3}$ (two-thirds) vote is required in both the House and the Senate to override a presidential veto.

Commerce Clause

Grants Congress the power 'to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.'

Federal Circuit Location

Oklahoma is located in the 10th Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

Code of Hammurabi

An ancient legal text.

Bible

An ancient legal text.

US Constitution

An ancient legal text (or US Bill of Rights).

English Bill of Rights

An ancient legal text.

Magna Carta

An ancient legal text.

Twelve Tables

An ancient legal text.

Assault

The intentional, unlawful threat or attempt to cause a harmful or offensive contact with another person, which creates in the other person a reasonable apprehension of imminent battery.

Battery

The intentional and unpermitted physical contact with another person that is harmful or offensive.

Negligence

An act that unintentionally causes injury.

Duty

The defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff.

Breach

The defendant breached that duty of care.

Causation

The defendant's breach of duty caused the plaintiff's injury.

Actual Causation (or 'Cause-in-Fact')

The injury would not have occurred 'but for' the defendant's act.

Proximate Causation (or 'Legal Cause')

The injury was a foreseeable result of the defendant's act.

Damages

The plaintiff suffered legally recognizable injury/harm.

Shopkeeper's Privilege

A common law defense against torts like false imprisonment or defamation, allowing a shopkeeper to detain a suspected shoplifter on reasonable grounds and for a reasonable time without liability.

Tort Damages

Measure of Damages: Money (both compensatory and punitive).

Compensatory Damages

Money awarded to cover the actual loss/injury suffered by the plaintiff (e.g., medical bills, lost wages).

Punitive Damages

Money awarded to the plaintiff not to compensate for loss, but to punish the defendant and deter similar conduct in the future.

Purpose of Punitive Damages

To punish and deter.

Elements of Fraud

Fraud is an intentional misrepresentation of fact resulting in damages.

Misrepresentation of a material fact

A key element of fraud.

Knowledge by the wrongdoer that the fact is false (scienter)

A key element of fraud.

Intent to induce the victim to rely on the misrepresentation

A key element of fraud.

Justifiable reliance by the victim on the misrepresentation

A key element of fraud.

Damages suffered by the victim as a result

A key element of fraud.

Minimum Contract Elements (The 'First 3')

A basic contract needs a minimum of three core elements: Offer, Acceptance, Consideration.

Legality of Subject Matter

A valid contract cannot be about illegal subject matter (e.g., contracts for illegal drugs, murder for hire, etc.). Such contracts are void.

Statute of Frauds Acronym: MY LEG

Represents types of contracts that must be in writing to be enforceable: Marriage, Year, Land, Executor/Estate, Goods, Surety.

Definition of a 'Good' (UCC)

A 'good' is generally anything that is movable at the time of identification to the contract for sale.

Express Warranty

A guarantee or promise explicitly made by the seller or manufacturer.

Implied Warranty

A guarantee that the law imposes on the seller, even if they did not explicitly promise it.

Implied Warranty of Merchantability

A warranty that the goods are fit for the ordinary purposes for which such goods are used.

Implied Warranty of Fitness for a Particular Purpose

A warranty that the goods are suitable for the buyer's specific purpose.

Contract Damages

Compensatory Damages: Money awarded to put the non-breaching party in the position they would have been in had the contract been performed.

Signature

A 'signature' is broadly defined and may include a handwritten mark, electronic signature, stamp, or company letterhead.

Mediation vs. Arbitration

Mediation is non-binding, while arbitration is often binding and more formal.

Civil and Criminal Liability

Civil and criminal liability may attach for the SAME act.