Business Expense Law Questions

True or False

1. The basic elements of a valid contract are: an offer, an acceptance, consideration, the capacity of the parties to contract and a legal purpose.

2. The law requiring that certain contracts, such as contracts involving an interest in land, be in writing is the Statute of Limitations.

3. A Sole Proprietor is not personally responsible for all debts and judgments entered against his or her business.

4. In order to be upheld, a covenant not to compete must have a valid business purpose, and it must also be reasonable as to time and as to distance.

5. The continuity of a corporation is very much affected by the death of one of its shareholders.

6. A defect in the manufacture of a product occurs when a manufacturer fails to (1) properly assemble a product; (2) properly test a product; or (3) adequately check the quality of the product. All three elements must be present to prove a case in strict liability.

7. In a civil case, the burden of proof of the moving party is beyond a reasonable doubt. In a criminal case, the state must prove its case by a preponderance of the evidence.

8. An executory contract is one that the contracting parties have not yet fully performed.

9. A Limited Liability Corporation combines both the tax benefits of a partnership in terms of passing income through to its members, and the benefits of a corporation in terms of limited liability protection for its members.

10. Employment at will means that an employer does have to show good cause for terminating an employee.

11. A false statement about someone that appears in a letter, newspaper, magazine, book, photograph, movie, video and the like is called slander.

12. Under the Doctrine of Comparative Negligence, damages in a civil case are apportioned according to percentage of fault of each of the parties.

13. In a Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress case, the plaintiff must prove that (1) a relative was killed or injured by the defendant, (2) the plaintiff suffered severe emotional distress, and (3) that the plaintiff's mental distress resulted from a sensory and contemporaneous observance of the accident.

14. The Dram Shop Acts make a tavern and bartender civilly liable for injuries caused to or by patrons who are served too much alcohol.

15. Statutes often establish duties owed by one person to another. The violation of such a statute that proximately causes an injury is called negligence per se.

16. One purpose of the law is to forbid people from engaging in certain undesirable activities.

17. In a legal opinion, the "holding" of the Court is the actual decision reached by the Court in the case.

18. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) imposes record-keeping and reporting requirements on employees, and requires them to post notices in the workplace informing employers of their rights under the Act.

19. The Fair Labor Standards Act was passed in 1938 to protect employers. It prohibits child labor and establishes minimum wage and overtime pay requirements.

20. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act is a Federal act designed to prevent fraud and other abuses associated with public pension funds.

21. The most used common law exception to the employment at-will doctrine is the public policy exception, which states that an employee can be discharged if such discharge is the public policy of the jurisdiction.

22. Workers Compensation Acts do not bar workers injured on the job from suing their employer to recover damages.

23. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Law, an employer has duty to reasonably accommodate the religious observances, practices, or beliefs of its employees, even if it does cause an undue hardship on the employer.

24. Preemption requires lawsuits to be heard by the Court with jurisdiction nearest the location in which the incident occurred or where the parties reside.

Short answer problems:
25. X is the manager of both Y and Z at Company Q. You are the Vice President of Human Resources.

X has observed that Y seems to struggle regularly with his job editing the company newsletter, and employees have commented on its lack of quality.

Z, informs X that Z is aware of false statements on the Resume of Y, a Resume that was pivotal in hiring Y.

X, who has been given poor performance reviews in the past for failing to "check" information on Resumes, knows she never checked the information on Y's Resume. As such, X is not inclined to pursue possible issues related to the information on the Resume, fearing the loss of her own position.

Nevertheless, X does discuss the accusations made by Z with Y who informs her that he knows Z is a convicted pedophile who should not be allowed to oversee the Company Q daycare facility. Y further tells X that if she had done a criminal background check per company policy, X would have learned same before placing Z in this position. However, Y offers no proof of what is on his Resume. What legal issues do you face as to:

1. X -
2. Y -
3. Z -

26. It comes to your attention as Risk Manager for a baseball organization that your best pitcher has punched his wife about her face in a local tavern. The team desperately needs his services, but both you and the city in general are appalled by his crass criminal conduct. The team is flooded with calls as to how the matter is going to be handled, and what the appropriate punishment should be. You are assigned to handle the situation for the organization. Describe 1 legal issue that arises based on information you read in the text for this course. Be sure to number each subpart.