Donald R. Simon, J.D./LL.M.

1
Business Law I

• Donald R. Simon, J.D./LL.M.
• Adjunct Faculty
• KCKCC - Leavenworth Center

2
Business Law I

• Week 1
• Introduction to the course.
• Website, syllabus and classroom policies.
• Get acquainted.
• Citizenship test.
• Lecture Nature of the law.

3
Business Law I

• Chap. 1
• The Nature of Law

4
Chapter 1

• Where does the law all come from?
• Constitutions federal and state.
• U.S. Constitution sets out the framework of the
  federal government, how each branch will work,
  etc.
• Each state has its own constitution patterned to
  a large extent after the federal constitution.
  State constitutions may not limit freedoms
  guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, but they can
  guarantee greater liberties.
• Statutes enacted by legislatures and interpreted
  by the courts.

5
Chapter 1

• Where does the law all come from?
• Administrative rules and regulations laws
  passed, enforced, and adjudicated by
  administrative agencies, like the FCC, FTC, SEC,
  IRS, and EPA.
• Congress delegates authority to agencies.
• Agencies are part of the executive branch.
• Case law judicial interpretation of statutes and
  administrative regulations.

6
Chapter 1

• Categorizing the law

7
Chapter 1

• Categorizing the law
• Is the wrongdoer held accountable to a private,
  injured part or to society?
• Civil law
• Private disputes where an individuals,
  corporations, or government sue another
  individual, corporation, or government in order
  to get some legal remedy, usually money.
• Plaintiff has the burden of proof ?
  preponderance of the EV lt 50.
• Two sub-categories contracts and torts.

8
Chapter 1

• Categorizing the law
• Contract law enforcing rights and obligations
  that arise when people enter into contracts.
• 1) lease of office space between landlord and
  tenant 2) 5-year license for the use of
  point-of-sale software or 3) employment
  agreement between an employer and an employee.
• If someone doesnt own up to their contractual
  obligations, they can be sued for breach of
  contract for money damages. No criminal
  prosecution for breach of contract.

9
Chapter 1

• Categorizing the law
• Torts every other civil wrong, other than breach
  of contract.
• e.g., defamation, invasion of privacy,
  intentional infliction of emotional distress, etc.

10
Chapter 1

• Categorizing the law
• Criminal law
• Government prosecutes a crime on behalf of
  society.
• Purpose is to impose punishment, not to
  compensate an injured party.
• In criminal cases, government has the burden of
  proof ? preponderance of the EV lt 99.99 much
  greater than in civil cases.
• O.J. ? found not guilty of murder in the criminal
  trial, but liable for wrongful death in the civil
  suit.

11
Chapter 1

• Functions of the law
• Peacekeeping criminal law and private dispute
  resolution.
• Checking government power and promoting personal
  freedom checks-and-balances and the 1st
  Amendment.
• Promoting economic growth through free
  competition antitrust laws and deregulation.

12
Chapter 1

• Functions of the law
• Promoting social justice give citizens equal
  access to lifes basic goods.
• Protecting the environment federal
  environmental statutes.

13
Chapter 1

• Functions of the law
• The laws various functions can and do clash.
• Economic growth vs. environmental protection.
• Right to a fair trial vs. freedom of the press.
• Lawmakers and judges attempt to strike a balance
  between conflicting interests.

14
Chapter 1

• Precedent
• A prior judicial decision serves as a governing
  model for future cases under similar facts.
• Is binding only for courts in the same
  jurisdiction or system ? Supreme Court of KS
  binding on all lower KS courts, but is only
  persuasive in e.g., MO.
• Taken very seriously only in rare instances will
  a court overrule itself. If this were done too
  often, it would jeopardize legal stability.

15
Chapter 1

• Legal reasoning
• Basically deductive, with legal rule as a major
  premise and the facts as a minor premise.
• Result is a product of the two.
• Court may stand on precedent or distinguish prior
  case from current one.
• In precedent inapplicable, new rule developed.

16
Chapter 1

• Legal reasoning - Case Law
• Case law law extracted from decided cases.
• E.g., employment-at-will rule.
• Under this rule, an employee may be fired at any
  time for any reason or no reason at all.
• Exception a contract between the parties
  detailing employment duration or reasons for
  dismissal.
• Firing must also not violate various civil rights
  law.

17
Chapter 1

• Legal reasoning - Case Law
• E.g., employment-at-will rule.
• Assume in a precedent case, that an employee who
  had been doing a good job was fired.
• In a wrongful termination case, court ruled
  against him on the basis of the
  employment-at-will rule.
• Later case, employee was fired in retaliation
  blowing the whistle on employers improper biz
  conduct.
• Court deciding this later case would not be bound
  by the rule and would be free to develop a public
  policy exception for whistleblowing.

18
Chapter 1

• Legal reasoning - Statutes
• Statutes law enacted by the legislative branch
  of a government.
• Natural ambiguity of language serves as one
  reason courts face difficulties when interpreting
  statutes.
• Difficulties arise when statutory words are
  applied to situations the legislature did not
  foresee.
• Legislatures may deliberately use ambiguous
  language when they are unwilling or unable to
  deal specifically with each situation the statute
  was enacted to regulate.

19
Chapter 1

• Legal reasoning - Statutes
• Statutes law enacted by the legislative branch
  of a government.
• When this happens, the legislature expects courts
  and/or administrative agencies to fill in the
  details on a case-by-case basis.
• Courts use various techniques of statutory
  interpretation.

20
Chapter 1

• Legal reasoning - Statutes
• Plain meaning rule court applies statute
  according to usual meaning of words.
• Legislative history materials generated in the
  course of creating legislation.
• Committee reports, bills and their amendments,
  hearing transcripts, and floor debates.
• Used for discovering legislative intent by
  determining the specific meaning of statutory
  language and the overall goal of the legislation.

21
Chapter 1

• Limits on the power of courts
• Courts are limited to deciding only cases or
  controversies that are brought before them.
• Plaintiffs must also have standing to sue.
• Some direct, tangible, and substantial stake in
  outcome of the litigation.

22
Chapter 1

• Reading and briefing cases
• You will encounter casesjudicial opinions
  accompanying court decisions.
• Opinions are generally part of the appeals
  process in a case.
• The losing side at trial files an appeal.
• Party filing the appeal is called the appellant
  and the other side is called the appellee.

23
Chapter 1

• Reading and briefing cases
• Each case has a case name with some of the
  parties of the case.
• Each case also has a citationthe volume and page
  number of the legal reporter in which the full
  case appears, plus the court name and the
  decision year.
• E.g., 540 U.S. 581 (U.S. Sup. Ct. 2004)

24
Chapter 1

• Reading and briefing cases
• At the beginning, there will be a statement of
  facts, which contains important facts that gave
  rise to the case.
• Next, a procedural history will detail what other
  courts have handled the case.
• Then comes the courts opinion where the court
  details the applicable law and applies it to the
  facts.

25
Chapter 1

• Reading and briefing cases
• Opinions
• Majority opinion represents the views of a
  majority of judges who considered the appeal.
  Becomes the law.
• Concurring opinion agree with the ultimate
  outcome of the case, but not with how the
  majority reached its decision.
• Dissenting opinion a disagreement altogether
  with the majoritys ruling.

26
Chapter 1

• Reading and briefing cases
• At the very end of the case, youll find the
  courts decision. You may see
• Judgment reversed.
• Reversed and remanded.
• Affirmed.
• Affirmed in part and reversed in part.

27
Chapter 1

• Reading and briefing cases
• You may find it helpful to brief cases.
• Brief statement of facts and legal reasoning.
• It may contain
• A short statement of facts
• Cases prior history
• Question(s) or issue(s) the court had to decide
• Answer to those question(s)
• Reasoning the court used to justify its decision
• The final result

28
Business Law I

• Week 2
• Resolution of disputes.
• Court systems.
• Types of jurisdiction.
• Civil and criminal procedure.
• ADR
• Quiz Chaps. 1 and 2.