Legal Concepts and Jurisprudence Study Guide

Ways to recover attorney's fees:
- Stated in statute.
- Bad faith actions by a party.
- Contractual agreements between parties.
Noted difficulties with dropdown questions requiring exact correctness for points.

Legal realism focuses on practical outcomes and how law operates in real life, rather than just moral considerations.
Positivism is more about the established law as moral minimum; individuals must exceed this minimum.
Emphasis on how the law is applied in everyday scenarios, such as policing practices.

Understanding who to sue in a breach of contract scenario:
- Example of JK's company entering a contract with a credit company out of New York.
- Contract signatures done not as individuals but on behalf of the company.
Factors affecting jurisdiction:
- Principal place of business for JK in Indiana.
- The importance of contract clauses stipulating governing law (e.g., New York).
- Federal vs state court jurisdiction:
- Requirements for federal court: complete diversity and amount in controversy must exceed $75,000$ .
- JK (Indiana) vs. One Credit (New York) demonstrates a case for diversity jurisdiction.
- Noted that the amount in controversy was only $50,000$ , insufficient for federal court.

Civil and criminal case burdens:
- Must prove beyond reasonable doubt in criminal cases.
- In civil cases, the burden of persuasion is generally on the claimant.
Definitions of probable cause in criminal situations vs civil burdens.

Types of civil law discussed:
- Contract law as primary focus of the course.
- Noted types of arguments in secured debt situations (Quasi-contract, etc.).
- Importance of stating claims clearly in court, i.e., if attorney fees are not requested, the court may not recognize them.

Key principles:
- Acceptance must match the offer (mirror image rule).
- Mailbox rule: acceptance is effective when sent, but revocations must be received.
- Example presented about the necessity for the exact manner of acceptance.

Consideration of undue influence in contracts:
- Examples of legal scenarios indicating undue influence (e.g. exploiting educational background).
- Physical threat vs improper threat as forms of duress.
- Analysis of contractual promises (e.g. agreements not to sue).

Discussion on the necessity of contracts to be in writing:
- General rule: contracts typically do not have to be in writing unless specified by statute.
- Specific examples mentioned (e.g., sale of goods, land contracts).
Overview of exceptions covered under the statute:
- Importance of context in contracts (e.g., common marriage contracts).

Contracts can typically be assigned unless explicitly stated otherwise in the agreement.
Importance of priority in assignment:
- First assignment holds over subsequent assignments, unless the later assignment involved a bonafide purchase.

Explanation of intended beneficiaries:
- Types include creditor beneficiaries and donee beneficiaries.
- Example to illustrate creditor beneficiaries (e.g., insurance policy cases).

Review of important statutes and concepts as discussed in class sessions.
Insight into the complexities of contract law, jurisdiction, and enforceability of contracts in the context of real-world applications.
Acknowledgement of confusion from legal terminology and the need for clarity in legal communication and documentation.