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Sources of Arizona business law, courts, the judicial system, and litigation
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Sources of U.S. Law: There are two levels of constitutions. The U.S. Constitution and individual state constitutions. The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Statutes are passed by legislative bodies, either the federal Congress or state legislatures. Statutes are generally signed into the law by the President or a state governor. An ordinance is a law enacted by a city or county legislative body. Case law, also known as common law, is derived from written court decisions rendered over time. Precedent: In stare decisis, also known as precedent, the decision of a previous similar case is used to help decide the outcome of a current case. This process acknowledges the experience and wisdom of the past, and at the same time creates the common law. The functions of this process are to promote uniformity, stability, and predictability of court decisions so that future litigants may have a butter understanding of the viability of their case. Judicial Remedies: Specific performance is a remedy that requires the parties to a contract to abide by the provisions of that contract. It is a remedy given in lieu of money damages and is used when money damages are not sufficient to compensate for damages incurred. Injunction is an order to stop some activity that will cause irreparable harm that could not be repaired through the award of money damages. Types of Law: An example of substantive law can be found in the rule that a person who, through her own fault, injures another and must pay damages. Procedural law establishes methods of enforcing the rights created by substantive law. It regulates the process to initiate a lawsuit, to select the court in which the lawsuit should be filed, and to determine which legal papers should be filed. Customer Legal Issues: Mr. Murray has a large, crooked nose and consults with a plastic surgeon, Dr. Dell, regarding the possibility of getting a “nose job”. Dr. Dell makes such statements as “I will make you look handsome. I will make your nose very small and straight”. Mr. Murray decides to undergo surgery, and he is very disappointed by the results. Mr. Murray feels that, although the surgery resulted in a somewhat straighter and smaller nose, his nose is still large and crooked and unattractive compared to most people’s noses. If Mr. Murray threatens to sue Dr. Dell, Dr. Dell has a good defense in that he was merely puffing. Now change the fact scenario: Mr. Murray has a large nose and consults with a plastic surgeon, Dr. Dell, regarding the possibility of getting a “nose job”. Dr. Dell makes such statements as “I have measured your nose and it is currently 5.8 inches long. I will make your nose half that size. I will make it 2.9 inches long”. Following surgery, Mr. Murray is disappointed because his new nose is 3.5 inches long. If Mr. Murray threatens to sue Dr. Dell, under this factual scenario Mr. Murray has a claim for false advertising. Supply Chain Legal Issues: Company XYZ purchases copper wire and other hardware supplies from its vendor, Vic’s Hardware. As this supply-chain relationship evolves, Vic’s Hardware might require Company XYZ to keep certain information confidential, such as Vic’s pricing strategy. Down the chain, Company XYZ manufactures those supplies in its factory and turns them into widgets. Company XYZ offers those widgets for sale on its website, and a new supply-chain relationship will evolve between the company and its customers. Company XYZ is required to maintain customers’ privacy by preventing a leak of their credit card numbers. Quiz: 1. The Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education cases are presented by the text to demonstrate: 2. The U.S. Trade Commission, a federal government agency, filed ____________ complaints against marketers of electric abdominal-muscle-stimulating belts. 3.__________ is a remedy, other than a money damage award, which is a legal means to enforce personal rights or to correct a wrong. 4. A plaintiff may ask a court to issue a decree of injunction that orders a defendant to perform the acts that he or she promised to do in a contract. 5. A plaintiff might request a decree of specific performance to prevent a certain activity from happening or to stop an activity from continuing. 6. A statute is a law enacted by a city or county legislative body. 7. An investor usually expects a monetary return from a business’s activities. This return comes from the business’s: 8. An ordinance is a law passed by a legislative body, that is, Congress or a state legislature, and generally is signed into law by the President or a governor. 9. As a result of fraudulent advertisements in the past, advertising is regulated by the Securities Exchange Commission. 10. Businesses have legal mandates to provide a safe working environment for their employees. 11. Civil law involves a violation or wrong committed by a person; although the wrongful action may involve only one person, it is also considered an offense against society. 12. Congress reacted to the discovery that its suppliers were engaging in fraud and overcharging it by passing this Act: 13. Criminal law is the body of law that governs commercial transactions. 14. Development of the law over time is basically a ___________ process. For example, laws forbidding computer crimes were not written before the first crime of that sort was committed. 15. Employers have a legal duty to treat employees in a reasonable manner when hiring, training, compensating, and dismissing them. 16. Employment laws exist at: 17. Former employees are increasingly filing lawsuits, at a rising rate, against their former employers. 18. Generally, trial court decisions are published. 19. If a court __________ a case, it is disagreeing with the lower court’s decision. 20. If a court __________ a case, it is upholding or agreeing with the lower court’s decision. 21. If a court __________ a case, it sends the case back to the lower court to carry out the appellate court’s instructions. 22. In the E-barge matter, Enron reported $7 million from Merrill Lynch as “income”, when it fact it was: 23. In the matter of A&M Records v. Napster, Inc., the plaintiffs were seeking: 24. In the Oliverira v. Amoco Oil Company case, in which the plaintiff sued under the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, the court stated the policy behind the Act is: 25. In the U.S. v. Consumer Insurance Group case, in which a postmaster sought to be classified as a whistle-blower, the court held that: 26. It is usually the responsibility of the board of directors to decide when to pay dividends to shareholders. However, in the Dodge v. Ford Motor Company case, a court ordered the corporation to pay dividends. 27. Joe is a member of the board of directors of XYZ Corp. Therefore Joe is a _______ of XYZ Corp. 28. Known as the doctrine of stare decisis, the judge uses __________, that is, the decision of a previous similar case, to decide the outcome of the current case. 29. NAFTA is an example of a(n) __________; these are relationships made between or among heads of state. 30. One of the key ways a company could prevent litigation is: 31. Owners of large corporations that are publicly traded, on the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ stock exchange, are often referred to as: 32. Owners of small and medium-sized companies, which are closely-held, are often referred to as: 33. Stakeholders form a network with a stake in the decision made by business; these groups must be considered by businesses making decision which might impact the stakeholders. 34. Stakeholders include: 35. Stare decisis has several functions: efficiency, uniformity, stability, and predictability. 36. The government receives information from a number of sources regarding instances in which its suppliers engage in fraud and overcharging; these sources are known as: 37. The government’s ability to tax and to adopt statutes has little influence on business behavior. 38. The law has ________________ as constitutions, statutes, cases, executive orders, and administrative regulations have changed to reflect changes over time. 39. The length of time documents should be retained as a company policy, should be based on: 40. The matter of A&M Records v. Napster, Inc., was: 41. The owner of the unique Hope diamond enters into a contract to sell it; this is an example of the potential court remedy of specific performance. 42. The owners of a corporation are its __________________. 43. The owners of a corporation, holding an equitable interest in the business, are called: 44.The rule of stare decisis serves which of the following functions? 45.The time limitations set for filing a lawsuit are called: 46. The U.S. Constitution has two functions: to establish the government and to protect people from overreaching government powers. 47. The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land. 48. These issues center around quality, safety, pricing, availability, fraudulent business practices, confidentiality and advertising. 49. These stakeholders are unlikely to tolerate a company’s polluting the environment: 50. This Act authorizes the federal government to sue any party filing a fraudulent payment claim for products or services. 51. This type of law addresses wrongs against society; the burden of proof is guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. 52. This type of law encompasses the legal rights and duties that exist among persons or between citizens and their governments. It is concerned with a person’s legally recognized right and duties in a relationship with others; examples include contract law, corporate law and partnership law. 53. This type of law establishes the processes and methods of enforcing the legal rights created by definitive law. 54. To help prevent litigation, a business owner should make sure her company’s contracts are written in __________ English. 55. Tyco’s CEO and its General Counsel ran into legal trouble because they received millions of dollars in compensation from Tyco and failed to report that compensation, as required, to: 56. When briefing a case, attorneys use the acronym: 57.Which of the following is NOT an area covered by employment law: 58. Written court decisions constitute the common law, also known as case law. 59. The acronym ‘EIN’ stands for ‘educator identification number’. 60. The acronym ACC stands for: 61. Both LLCs and corporations can be formed by a single person or member.
62. The acronym LLC stands for Legal Liability Company. 63.Which pieces of information are required on an LLC’s articles of organization? 64. An LLC is treated like a person, meaning that it can enter into its own contracts and incur its own debts. 65. Owners of LLCs report income, losses, credits and deductions on their personal income tax returns. 66. By law, corporations must hold annual board of directors meetings. 67. To form an LLC, the members must file ‘Articles of Incorporation’. 68. Owners of corporations and LLCs do not have to pay an income taxes on their profits 69. Articles of organization for new LLCs or corporations are filed with: Answer: C 70. The purpose of an EIN is to function like a social security number for a business. |
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