Legal Environment of Business (Mgmt 518)

1
Legal Environment of Business (Mgmt 518)

• Professor Charles H. Smith
• The Modern Environment of Business (Chapter 1)
• Spring 2005

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Course Introduction

• Introduction.
• Call roll.
• Review syllabus.
• My e-mail chsmith_at_fullerton.edu
• My website http//faculty.fullerton.edu/chsmith
• Warning! Survey of law often involves some kind
  of wrongful conduct (illegal, immoral or both)
  due to this wrongful conduct, cases and examples
  presented in class may deal with offensive
  material presented for educational value, not
  shock value.

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Why Should a Law Course be Part of the Business
Curriculum?

• Why not? Examples of legal issues which can
  arise in any type of business
• Money.
• Contracts.
• Marketing.
• Worker relations.
• Premises/equipment.
• Student examples.

4
Law vs. Ethics

• Law rules which must be followed by everyone
  in society.
• Ethics your own rules, such as personal
  beliefs, religious doctrine, moral code, cultural
  traditions, etc.
• Ethics often inspire law, but law does not
  necessarily inspire ethical behavior.
• Example of ethics becoming law religious
  doctrine re killing another person now found in
  homicide laws.
• Example of following law without being ethical
  MLB team changes name from Anaheim Angels to Los
  Angeles Angels of Anaheim contract requires that
  Anaheim must be in teams name.

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Bases of American Law

• Constitutions federal plus every state
  everyone in U.S. subject to federal constitution
  plus one or more state constitutions at all
  times creates government structure and
  guarantees individual rights.
• Statutes federal, state and local also called
  ordinances, regulations and codes.
• Common or case law decisions by judges, who
  interpret constitutions, statutes and/or prior
  decisions (precedent) to make decision in
  current lawsuit stare decisis ordinarily
  requires judges to follow past decisions, which
  creates predictability and stability in legal and
  business matters.
• Administrative law decisions and rules of
  federal, state and local administrative agencies
  (e.g., IRS, DMV) important since many laws
  require going through administrative agency
  before being able to file case in court (note
  that courts often give great deference to
  administrative agencys decision).

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Categories of Law

• Substantive and procedural substantive law
  defines legal rights and limitations procedural
  law provides the methods for seeking and
  defending legal rights and limitations.
• Public and private public law involves matters
  of public interest private law involves matters
  of private interest.
• Civil and criminal civil law relates to duties
  between individuals, businesses and/or
  governments criminal law relates to wrongs
  against society and is investigated, prosecuted
  and administered by government.
• Law and equity plaintiff requests money in
  action at law plaintiff requests non-monetary
  relief (e.g., injunction, specific performance)
  in equitable case jury trial available in action
  at law only.

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Civil Lawsuit Terminology

• Parties in the trial court
• Plaintiff, defendant, cross-complainant,
  cross-defendant, petitioner, respondent.
• Parties on appeal
• Federal appellant, appellee, cross-appellant,
  cross-appellee.
• California appellant, respondent,
  cross-appellant, cross-respondent.
• Pleadings filed in the trial court
• Complaint (by plaintiff), answer (by defendant or
  cross-defendant), cross-complaint (by
  cross-complainant).
• Briefs filed on appeal
• Appellants opening brief, respondents brief,
  reply brief, petition for writ of mandate,
  petition for writ of certiorari (U.S. Supreme
  Court), petition for review (California Supreme
  Court).

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Case Studies

• Soldano v. ODaniels (pp. 21-22) what is the
  legal duty, if any, to provide help to someone
  who needs it?
• U.S. v. Stanley (pp. 23-24) should a soldier be
  able to sue the U.S. government for injuries
  sustained during military service?