The Legal Environment of Business, 14th Edition
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TABLE OF CONTENTS oj oj oj
Chapter 1. Today’s Business Environment: Law and Ethics
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Chapter 2. The Court Systems
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Chapter 3. Trials and Resolving Disputes
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Chapter 4. The Constitution: Focus on Application to Business
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Chapter 5. Criminal Law and Business
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Chapter 6. Elements of Torts
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Chapter 7. Business Torts and Product Liability
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Chapter 8. Real and Personal Property
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Chapter 9. Intellectual Property
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Chapter 10. Contracts
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Chapter 11. Domestic and International Sales
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Chapter 12. Business Organizations
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Chapter 13. Negotiable Instruments, Credit, and Bankruptcy
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Chapter 14. Agency and the Employment Relationship
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Chapter 15. Employment and Labor Regulations
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Chapter 16. Employment Discrimination
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Chapter 17. The Regulatory Process
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Chapter 18. Securities Regulation
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Chapter 19. Consumer Protection
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The Legal Environment of Business, 14th Edition
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Chapter 20. Antitrust Law oj oj oj
Chapter 21. Environmental Law oj oj oj
Chapter 22. The International Legal Environment of Business oj oj oj oj oj oj oj
CHAPTER 1 oj
Table of Contents oj oj
Answer to Discussion Question................................................................................................................................... 1
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Answers to Case Questions........................................................................................................................................... 1
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Answers to Ethics and Social Questions ................................................................................................................... 3
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Answer to Discussion Question oj oj oj
Should the common law maxim “Ignorance of the law is no excuse” apply to an immigrant who speakslittle Eng
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lish and was not educated in the United States? How about for a tourist who does not speak English? Everyon
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e knows criminal acts are prohibited, but what about subtler rules that differ across countries and so may be
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misunderstood by foreigners? oj oj
Answer: It is generally true that ignorance of the law is no excuse. Citizens are deemed to have constructive k
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nowledge of the law. Yet, as well known as this rule is, it is surprising how often it is proffered as an excus
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e. (A Westlaw search cases finds hundreds of examples). Examples include: Deluco v. Dezi (Conn. Super)
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(lack of knowledge regarding the state‘s usury laws is no excuse for the inclusion of an illegal interest rat
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e in a sales contract); and Plumlee v. Paddock (ignorance of thefact that the subject matter of the contrac
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t was illegal was not excuse). The courts have provided a small exception to the rule when it comes to pe
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ople in lack of English language skills. Consider Flanery v. Kuska, (defendant did not speak English was a
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dvised by a friend that an answer to a complaint was not required); Ramon v. Dept. of Transportation, (n
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o English and an inability to understand the law required for an excuse); Yurechko v. County of Alleghen
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y, (Ignorance and with the fact that the municipality suffered no hardship in late lawsuit filing was an exc
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use).
Answers to Case Questions oj oj oj
1. Facts from an English judge’s decision in 1884: “The crew of an English yacht .................... were cast away in
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a storm on the high seas . . . and were compelled to put into an open boat. ................. They had no supply
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of water and no supply of food. . . . That on the eighteenth day . . . they .................. suggested that one
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should be sacrificed to save the rest. . . . That next day . . . they . . . went to the boy ........................ put a knife
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into his throat and killed him . . . the three men fed upon the body............... of the boy for four days; [then]
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The Legal Environment of Business, 14th Edition
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the boat was picked up by a passing vessel, and [they] were rescued. . . . and committed for trial. . . .
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if the men had not fed upon the body of the boy they would probably not have survived to be sopic
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ked up and rescued, but would ................. have died of famine. The boy, being in a much weaker
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condition, was likely to have died before them ............ The real question in this case [is] whether killing
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under the conditions set forth ......... be or be not murder.” Do you consider the acts to be immoral?
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[Regina v. Dudley and Stephens, 14 Queens Bench Division 273 (1884)]
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Answer: This points out that the legal system has limits. Its acceptability is dictated by legal culture--
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whichdetermines whether law will be enforced, obeyed, avoided, or abused. It is limited by the informal r
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ules of the society-- oj oj oj
its customs and values. One limit is the extent to which society will allow the formal rules to be imposed w
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hen a crime is committed in odd circumstances. Here there was an intentional murder. Does the motive f
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or the murder, the effort to save several lives by sacrificing one
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The Legal Environment of Business, 14th Edition
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