law 1

Constitutions, statues & ordinances (laws), Case law, administrative agency reg, common law

• Federal vs. Stateo
• Always the last word

• levels (codes)
• Ordinances = county/city
• ordinances

• “stare decisis” = follow prior
• decisions

• Created by legislature (no
• discrimination, disability act)

Uniform Law of England

• 1 Contracts/buying and selling goods
• 2 National Conference and
• Commissions
• 3 Uniform Commercial Code

• -States regulate contracts within
• the same state)
• -Created UCC

• 1 Privately drafted (not federal law)
• 2 Adopted by every state at least in part
• 3 Contract for buying/selling personal property

• Substantive Law vs. Procedural Law
• Public vs. Private
• Civil vs. Criminal
• Remedies ($) in Law and Equity

• 1 Substantive: law of basic principles of
• contact/rules to follow (ex: tort)

• 2 Procedural: how a law will be
• applied/operated
• Ex: Evidence
• Due Process = process of law

• Public: Government involvement (criminal prosecution, admin reg)
• Private: Everything else

• Civil: Person vs. Person
• Criminal: Person vs. State

• Remedies: what the person wants (usually money)
• Law: money (damages)
• Equity: the right thing to do/an order for someone to do something (mandatory) - man damus, injunction, repleven (someone took my property i want it back), specific performance, recision
• Equity courts: Divorce and probate courts (moral concept, from law of england)

the authority of a court to hear a case

• Personal service (notice of a lawsuit)
• Long – Arm Statute: business can be sued by
• consumer (jurisdiction over business doing business in a state even if their home office is not in that particular state)

• Appeals = Reviews
• Original = Starts the lawsuit

• “In Rem” = getting jurisdiction over a property
• Real Property = land and everything attached
• Personal Property = everything else (furniture, t.v.,

• -Has nothing to do with jurisdiction
• -Where lawsuit is heard
• -Geographic location of trial
• -Pretrial publicity (in regards to jury) – would bring
• in jury from another county but within the same state

• Oldest court
• Constitution court
• Wisconsin= 7 justices
• U.S. = 9 justices
• Limited original jurisdictions – usually appeals

• -Where a lawsuit is started
• -Circuit courts

• -Review only, no witnesses
• -Error of law in trial?
• -Cannot file lawsuit

• -Citizens of two separate states
• -Need to guarantee the out of state citizen a fair trial
• -Moved to federal court if damages exceed $75,000 AND
• the individual requests the case to be moved

• -At the same time
• -One act violates two jurisdictions – Federal and State

• -9 justices appointed for life
• -President appoints
• -Limited U.S. jurisdiction (appeals)

• Trial Courts
• Federal lawsuit starts here (most)

• -Don’t need an attorney, but most have one
• -Summon = a notice that there is a lawsuit and you are required to respond within “x” amount of days
• -Et al = “and others”
• Complaint has to identify theparties

• -Filed
• -Judge randomly assigned – can
• request one change
• -“Personal service”

20 days

don’t need to respond but you must show up

• Motion to dismiss (ex: wrong person), attacks complaint
• Answer = admit or deny claim
• Counterclaim = burden of proof on the defendant
• Cross Complaint = 3rd party files a complaint, bring in 3rd party

• -Occurs with judge and attorneys
• -Try to settle (What’s going on in case)
• -Scheduling order = Setting a
• deadline for naming witnesses and talking to witnesses

• -Motion to dismiss = temporarily dismisses case
• -Summary judgment motion = both sides have reached an
• agreement – no facts, just a matter of law

• Fact finding
• Depositions:
• -Sword testimonies, admissible at time of trial
• -Watch to see if person changes story
• -Done before trial at lawyer’s
• office
• -Preserve evidence, likely to settle because facts are presented

• -questions sent to other side, less expensive
• -sent back and forth

order to show up and bring “x” documents

• -Judge decides unless a party requests a jury
• -If there will be a jury, the first step is to select the jurors (eliminating people)

• asking questions to jury
• start with 18 and each side gets rid of 3 each

• -Have this if you have a jury
• -Outlines the case
• -Both sides give, but defendant usually waits to hear the plaintiff’s case

• -Witnesses
• Regular = 1st hand info
• Experts = can give opinion
• -Documents
• Other exhibits: pictures,
• drawings

no leading questions (what did you see, what did youhear, what happened then)

leading questions (isnt it true that, suggesting the answer) - yes,no, i dont know, i dont remember

• -Usually done by defendant
• -Asking judge to direct the verdict in their favor

• -Usually when defendant gives opening statement (gives counterclaim also at this point)
• -The rest is the same as plaintiff’s case

• -Not evidence
• -Reviewing the trial – witnesses
• -Plaintiff, defendant, plaintiff

• -Verdict done by jury (if jury)
• -Judge gives instructions to jurors
• -Judge can throw out jury verdict and request a new jury
• -Judge can enter a judgment against jury verdict
• -Judge can raise or lower money amount

Judge cannot prohibit an appeal

• Act or omission that causes injury to
• another.

• Intentional Torts (usually crimes)
• Intentional torts against property
• Business Tort
• Negligence (Carelessness)
• Strict Liability

• Battery
• Assault
• Fraud
• Defamation of Character
• Slander
• Libel
• Common defense

unwanted touching

subjective/hard to have assault without battery

• = intentional misrepresentation of face
• reasonably relied upon by another person (commonly on contracts)

• Slander = Oral/Public
• Libel = Written
• Common defense = “Truth”

• making an untrue statement about a product
• (false advertisement)

• Trespass to land
• Trespass to personal property
• Conversion
• Nuisance

occurs when there is “no trespassing” sign

not theft, but taking something of someone’s

• -personal property
• -In WI, landlords cannot hold
• personal property from tenants

• -Owner of real property
• -Zoning: Can’t run a business
• out of your house if living in residential area
• -Attractive nuisance
• EX: pool in backyard needs to
• be protected with a fence

• -Copyright or trademark infringement
• -“I own this”
• -Music, poetry, stories, computers, ect.
• -Interference with contractual relationships

• -Causing someone to break acontract
• -Max time an employor can keep you from taking customers = 2 year
• -Ex: New employer forcing new
• employee to use customer from old company

• -Failure to exercise reasonable care (care exercised by a reasonable person)
• -No negligence under age 7

(Leases)

• -negligence on the part of the injured person (usually the plaintiff)
• - could also be defendant on counterclaim

• -Comparing responsibility
• -Plaintiff’s award (or defendant on counterclaim) is reduced by the plaintiff’s percent of negligence
• -To win anything, the plaintiff’s (defendant’s on counterclaim) percent must be equal to or less than the defendant’s
• -As soon as the injured person is more responsible for his or her injkury than any other one individual (you cant recover if you are more liable for your own injuries)

• -automatic liability (control of dangerous instrumentality)
• -contributory negligence is not possible.
• -Negligence does not apply (need a common dangerous factor)
• -Injured person cannot be negligent
• -High explosives
• -Wild animals
• -Product liability

• Duty
• Outcome
• Corporate Social Responsibility

• Religious
• Kantian (human nature)
• Right/Duty

• -Shareholders = investing money with expectation of making profits
• -Employees = medical insurance,401K
• -Society

Reporting an employee (has to do with financial outcome of company, public view of accounting).

• -Board of Directors (determine CEO’s salary)
• -Stock options
• -Misleading regulators (reporting issues in quarterly reporting, ect.)

• Bribes/Accounting
• $2 million
• $100,000/5 years in prison

• Express vs. Implied:
• Quasi-Contracts:
• Bilateral vs. Unilateral:
• Formal vs. Informal:
• Executed vs. Executory
• Valid, Void, Voidable, & Unenforceable
• Standardized Contracts:

• Express: giving terms of agreement (can be oral or written)-price, specifications, delivery
• Implied (in fact): agreed services to be performed, but implied a reasonable price. (

• -Implied in law contract
• -Not a real contract
• -Equitable remedy
• Ex: A white picket fence was installed at the wrong house. However, when the company went to remove
• the picket fence, the house wanted to keep it. Therefore, the law requires the couple to pay a reasonable price in order to keep the fence.

• Bilateral: 2 promises (promise for promise)
• Unilateral: promise in exchange for action

• Formal: simple, promising note (seal, SS under signature)
• Informal: everything else

• Executed: full performance by both parties
• Executory: one or both need to perform an action

• Valid: If a contract consists of all components (Agreement, consideration, competent parties, and legality)
• Void: One of the elements is missing therefore not a valid contract
• Unenforceable: Void contract because missing
• the element of legality

• Ex: Car contract
• Contract for real estate

• Intention (objective theory):what most people would have thought based on comments and statements EX; what happens if you look for used car and you go on ebay and you see a intersting car. Are you going to pay the price? No because advertisements are invitations to negotiate (intent to make an offer)-most important
• Definiteness: subject matter, parties (enough terms to indicate an offer)
• Communication: offers are affected when received

• Sale to third party does not automatically revoke offer
• By operation of law:
• -Lapse of time (if not stated in offer, by a reasonable time) EX automatically ends in 15 days
• -Destruction of the subject matter
• -Death or incompetence of either party
• By action of the parties
• Revocation(not a rejection but taking back,effective upon recieved):
• -Made by person who made offer(anytime before acceptance)
• -Option Contracts: cannot be revoked (money has been paid to keep offer open)
• -UCC (Uniform Commercial Code): only professional
• merchants/not applying to services or real estate
• -Rejection
• -Counter offer – conditions on yes, but.

• -Merchants cannot revoke a firm offer
• -Personal property (tangible)– not real estate
• -By a merchant
• -Must be written and signed by
• merchant (specific time not exceeding 90 days)

• Mailbox rule: offers are accepted when sent
• Unequivocal: Yes or no? Clear language, no conditions
• Silence as Acceptance: Silence is not acceptance unless parties have a pre-arrangement.

• If no special means of communication is not specified
• Exceptions:
• -Not used by offeree
• -Otherwise, effective upon receipt if specified in offer
• -Where there is a rejection followed by an acceptance

• -Something of value
• -SUBJECTIVE – this is what the parties decide
• -Bargain for exchange

-Must be legally sufficient (individuals are promising/doing something that they are not legally obligated to do or refraining from something).

giving up a right – common way disputes are settled

• -Quantity – how much
• -Subjective
• -Ex: If you name your child after me I will give you $5,000. But if you already named your child after me before I asked, I do not owe you $5,000.
• -$1.00 – transferring of land for development

• -Performing a pre-existing duty (Ex: a cop can’t collect rewards for finding a criminal)
• -Employee states that they want more money for performing the exact same duties.

• When a person making the promise can reasonably expect the other person to rely on it and the only way to avoid injustice is to enforce the contract.
• -cant revoke your promise

mplied in law

• -Promising to give a gift
• -Not enforceable (usually no consideration)