Business Law Lecture – Incorporation, Civil Procedure, Appeals, ADR, Family-Law Risks & Tort Intro

Reasons to incorporate:
- Shields owners from personal liability (professor’s business-law perspective).
- Accounting/tax advantages (as stressed in accounting classes).
Incorporation homework items to know:
- Step-by-step filing process (LLC or Inc.).
- Meaning/function of a Registered Agent.
- Required documents: Articles of Organization/Incorporation, filing fee, annual report.
- SunBiz.org = Florida Dept. of State Division of Corporations portal.
- Houses public filings (corporate charters, amendments, annual reports).
- Serves as evidence of corporate existence—useful when defending lawsuits.
Practical link to litigation: Once properly formed & listed on SunBiz, only the entity’s assets (not the owner’s personal assets) are exposed to creditors’ claims.

Do I sue? (Cost/benefit, alternative routes.)
Complaint drafted & filed (defines parties, jurisdiction, causes of action, prayer for relief).
Service of Process — officially deliver the complaint.
Responsive Stage (answer, motion to dismiss, add parties, etc.).
Discovery (professor’s “favorite part”): interrogatories, requests to produce, depositions, subpoenas, IMEs.
Trial
- Voir dire (jury selection).
- Opening statements (plaintiff first).
- Evidence presentation: witness -> direct exam -> cross exam -> redirect; real/demo exhibits; objections (hearsay, relevance, etc.).
- Closing arguments.
- Verdict (must be unanimous in Florida; otherwise hung jury ⇒ mistrial).
Appellate Process
- Review for errors of law, not facts (no new evidence/jury).
- Panel decisions: majority vote (odd number of judges).

U.S. District Courts (trial). • So. Dist. of FL for Miami.
U.S. Court of Appeals $11^{th}$ Circuit (Atlanta) — hears FL/GA/AL.
U.S. Supreme Court (Washington, $9$ justices, lifetime tenure).
• Cert granted to ~ $2–3\%$ of petitions.
Rare path: State‐Supreme ➔ U.S.-Supreme if case raises significant federal question (e.g.
Bush v. Gore).

Direct Negotiation (cheapest, quickest; rarely used wisely).
Mediation
- Neutral mediator; non-binding; can happen pre-suit, mid-suit, multiple times.
- Eleventh Circuit FL requires mediation before jury trial.
Arbitration
- Panel of $3$ neutrals; binding or non-binding (majority rules).
- Often mandated by commercial contracts.
Tribunals — union-specific arbitration panels.
Private Judges (civil only; agreed scheduling, faster). Retired judges/attorneys act as fact-finder ➔ verdict appealable.
Collaborative Law (family-law only) — joint neutral experts, holistic settlement.

Date: Next Wednesday, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. (Exam released after 5:40–7:00 lecture)
Format: $30$ MCQs (2 pts each) + $4$ short essays (10 pts each) = $100$ pts.
Cameras ON at 7 p.m.; email answers by 9 p.m.

Formula = Gross Income of each parent + Percentage of Overnights.
Shared-time presumption $50/50$ since 2023.
Enforcement tools if $\geq$ arrears:
- Income Withholding Order (up to $55\%$ wages).
- Bank garnishment, tax refund intercept.
- Suspend driver’s/professional/hunting licenses.
- Revoke U.S. passport if arrears $>\$2{,}500$ .
- Liens, asset sales (cars, motorcycles, even horses).
- Incarceration for contempt.
- Cannot be discharged in bankruptcy.
Retroactive claim: up to $2$ years pre-filing.
Paternity:
- Mother easily known; father can be legal vs biological.
- Signing birth certificate → legal father; must rescind within $30$ days or remain obligated even if DNA later disproves.
- Petition to Disestablish Paternity exists but arrears to date still payable.

Permanent Alimony abolished in FL (2023); now limited to $\approx$ half the length of marriage or until payor’s retirement.
Other types:
- Lump-Sum.
- Rehabilitative (e.g.
  finish degree/licensing).
- Durational (capped).
- Temporary (pendente lite).
Prenup/Post-nup cannot waive child support or temporary support but may regulate alimony & equitable distribution.

Presumption $50/50$ split of marital assets & debts:
- Real estate, businesses, bank/retirement accounts, vehicles, pets (property), collectibles, frequent-flyer miles, credit cards, loans.
- Non-marital assets: premarital property unless enhanced by marital contributions (increase in home value during marriage can be split).

Definition: Civil wrong causing injury to person and/or property.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers paid on contingency:
- $\le 33\frac13\%$ pre-suit.
- $40\%$ after filing.
- $45\%$ if appealed + costs.
Business relevance: lawsuits do not add profit; risk-management essential (premises safety, food safety, adequate insurance).
Three broad categories:
1. Strict Liability (no fault needed – e.g.
  abnormally dangerous activity, defective products).
2. Intentional Torts (battery, defamation, conversion, etc.).
3. Negligence (duty, breach, causation, damages – “big daddy”).
Professor’s mantra: “I don’t see dead people; I see torts.”

Shielding money during litigation: Delay = maintain/invest cash until judgment.
Role of procedure as business defense: motions, discovery tactics can “slow down, slow down” lawsuits.
Importance of documentation: pay support via traceable methods (Zelle/Venmo) not cash.
Jurisdiction hinges on where incident/contract occurs; cannot forum-shop freely.
Tribal land, military bases, cruise ships: different sovereign legal systems ➔ understand where your feet are.
Staying off the “grid” may avoid state registration but sacrifices access to societal benefits (schooling, ID, tax compliance).