Considering Some Cases from West's Legal Environment of Business by Cross and Miller - Assignment Example

Law Question One (a) In such a case, Ariel may file a case of negligence against Atlantis Golf Resort for the injuries suffered within the golf course. In law, the general law is that a business is absolved for any liability that may result due to the wrongful acts of independent contractor but the liability subsists if the task is inherently dangerous (Cross and Miller, 2004). The general rule of respondent superior inflicts accountability on a manager for the torts of a worker who is acting on behalf of the employer and therefore despite the waiver or release, the operators of the resort are deemed to have employed Titan and by extension, Ursula and she acted negligently leading to the injury. (b) However, Atlantic Golf Resort may argue that it should be absolved from blame in that the law provides that when a person takes part in an activity with the knowledge that there is an unavoidable risk of injury, that person is not protected by the inherently dangerous activity. Therefore, Ursula and Titan may not claim that the golf resort should be charged for negligence on the injury suffered by Ariel. The implication of this is that when a person is injured by the inherent dangerous activity brought by him, he is not able to recover damages due to the injuries resulting from the dangerous activity. (c) The exculpatory clause has the effect of modifying the obligation that would otherwise arise on Atlantic Golf Resort by implication of the law or under the statute in which the contract was made. The exemption clause that released Atlantic from any form of liability will not generally not of itself serve to protect any person including Titan and Atlantic from liability whether they were the independent contractor or the owner of the company. Atlantis Golf Resort therefore is not capable of using the clause to escape liability while Ursula and Titan may also not rely on the clause to escape joint liability with the golf company. Question Two (a) In the United States, it is unlawful to harass a person because of the sex of that person and this includes sexual harassment, which may include unwelcome advances, requests for sexual favors, or verbal or physical harassment that are sexual in nature and includes remarks (Cross and Miller, 2004). The constant calling of Christina as ‘honey bunny’ by Adam Levine may be deemed to be sexual harassment only if they were frequent or severe that it created a hostile and offensive environment for her to carry out her tasks. (b) In analyzing the wrongful termination case by Christina Aguilera, it is important to note that her employment is an employment at will agreement. This means that the contract can be terminated by either the employee at any time for any reason and does not have to be necessarily good reason. As long as she is within the jurisdiction of the United States, the claim by Christina for wrongful termination will not subsist, as her employment was that of employment at will and could be terminated at any given time by the employer. However, exceptions may be found and the employer Adam held for wrongful dismissal of Christina, for example if Adam breached the employment contract or an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing or a violation of public policy. In the case beforehand, Christina cannot be reinstated or compensated as she has violated her terms of work or the job references. Question Three (a) Product liability applies when victims suffer defective products especially when improperly designed, manufactured or packaged, the individual will be entitled to compensation, and the elements of strict liability must be met. Jim and Michelle can bring a claim based on negligent infliction of emotional distress in that the manufacturers of the Chevrolet had a legal duty to avoid causing emotional distress to the couple and are liable to pay them monetary damages (Cross and Miller, 2004).  (b) For their claim to succeed, they must prove that the lock was defective and refused to open stopping them from escaping and this was all due to the unprofessionalism of the manufacturers of the vehicle. The proof should also show that due to them being locked in the car because of the jammed lock, they suffered exhaustion, dehydration, cut fingernails and emotional distress. Question Four (a) Due to the fact that there is an agreement in the ownership of Legend Inc between Bob and Ziggy, the partnership may continue even after the death of Bob but must follow what the agreement states. This may include criteria on the specification on the interests of the partner, procedure for payout for the shares, assets and liabilities held by bob before his death. (b) In general, partnership, the partners do not have to comply with the formalities to create their business but have to comply with the relevant laws of the specific state and each of these treat the death of a partner in a different manner. If the state in which Bob and Ziggy incorporated the partnership adopted the Uniform Partnership Act then the death automatically dissolves the partnership. If it was formed under the Revised Uniform Partnership Act, the partnership may still exist after the death of Bob in what is known as dissociation. Question Five (a) Spongebob has violated the law on insider trading in that he has bought and sold a security in breach of his fiduciary duty as well as that of trust and confidence, while in possession of the material, non-public information about the security in this case the new product. This is contrary to the requirements and regulations by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). (b) Spongebob has violated the rule as he has taken his confidential knowledge of the product and delayed announcing it so that he could buy it and later on sell it at an inflated price having taken advantage of his position of confidence in the company. Question Six The Age Discrimination Act of 1975 forbids the prejudice based on age and protects applicants of over forty years and above from discrimination on the basis at the time of hiring. The claim by Tom may not succeed because the law also allows for mandatory retirement of employees due to age for safety based on age and therefore the claim against Jetways Inc will not succeed. Question Seven Ms Doubtfire can form a private limited liability company by shares, which is a flexible enterprise and provide a limited liability to her in terms of assets and liabilities. This is because it is easy to form or incorporate and easier to manage with limited resources. Reference Cross, F. B., & Miller, R. L. R. (2004). West's legal environment of business: Text, cases, ethical, regulatory, international, and e-commerce issues. Mason, OH: Thomson/South-Western, West. Read More