July ’19 Flashcards

1
Q

A municipality must have ___ of a defect on public property in time to have it remedied before…

A

actual or constructive notice.

…liability attaches.

A municipality has constructive notice of a defect in a public way adjoining a street when the defect has existed for such a period of time that the defect could have been discovered by the exercise of ordinary care.

No liability if open and obvious defects.

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2
Q

Municipalities have no sovereign immunity to ___ functions.

A

Proprietary (as opposed to governmental).

A function is governmental if it
is the exercise of an entity’s political, discretionary, or legislative authority. If the function is a ministerial act and involves no discretion, it is proprietary.

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3
Q

Shareholders have ___ to enter into agreements that are…

A

broad latitude.

…set forth in either the articles, bylaws or a written agreement signed by all the shareholders

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4
Q

Partners who formed a professional corporation but continue to ___ may have their ___ determined according to the law of partnership.

A

conduct their business as a partnership; rights and liabilities

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5
Q

To obtain judicial dissolution of a corporation, plaintiff shareholders must prove:

A

either (1) deadlock in the management of the corporation, (2) oppressive or illegal conduct by the majority or (3) waste of corporate assets.

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6
Q

Where one of the parties to a marriage is already married, the marriage is…

A

…void without any further proceeding.

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7
Q

If a grant demonstrates ___, then a purported tenancy by the entirety that fails for lack of marriage will create a…

A

the intent to create a survivorship interest.

…joint tenancy with the right of survivorship.

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8
Q

Constructive trusts arise…

A

…independently of the intention of the parties, by construction of law; being fastened upon the conscience of him who has the legal estate, in order to prevent what otherwise would be a fraud. Proof by clear and convincing evidence.

E.g., wife is “to remain beneficiary” of life insurance policy as consideration for divorce then replaced before death and replacement has received payment.

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9
Q

[skipping a lot of question 4.]

A
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10
Q

A formal delivery of a deed or gift is not essential where…

A

…the acts of the grantor or donor manifest an intent that as to him the transaction is complete.

If the donor has present donative intent, the donor may also reserve a right of possession (a gift in praesenti with a postponed right of enjoyment). This is not a will:

An instrument which is to operate in the lifetime of the donor, and to pass an interest in his property before his death, even though its absolute enjoyment by the donee is postponed till the death of the donor, or even if it is contingent upon the survivorship of the donee, is a deed, contract, or gift, and not a will.

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11
Q

How to establish paternity?

A

Paternity must be established by clear and convincing evidence.

Evidence of paternity:
- open cohabitation with mother
- designation on birth record
- approved use of surname
- government documentation claiming paternity
- express admission
- implied admission (e.g. support payments)
- scientific testing
- prior judicial determination

No claim of succession based upon the relationship between a child born out of wedlock and a deceased parent of such child shall be recognized unless, within one year of the date of the death of such parent (i) an affidavit by such child or by someone acting for such child alleging such parenthood has been filed in the clerk’s office of the circuit court of the jurisdiction wherein the property affected by such claim is located and (ii) an action seeking adjudication of parenthood is filed in an appropriate circuit court.

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12
Q

Under intestacy, if a decedent has a child born to someone other than their current legal spouse…

A

…the spouse gets 1/3 and the rest passes to the children.

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13
Q

The surviving spouse and minor children whom the decedent was obligated to support are entitled to a reasonable family allowance in money out of the estate for their maintenance during the period of administration…

A

…for up to one year and up to a max of $24k. The allowance takes priority over creditors.

The surviving spouse (or if none the minor children) is also entitled to a $20,000 homestead allowance from the estate that is taken in liu of the share provided for them in the will. If the spouse takes an elective share, they may still take the family and homestead allowances.

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14
Q

The surviving spouse of a decedent is entitled to exempt personal property from the estate…

A

…of value up to $20k. The exemption takes priority over creditors.

If there is no surviving spouse, the minor children of the decedent are entitled in equal shares to such property of the same value.

If the value of the exempt property selected in excess of any security interests therein is less than $20,000, or if there is not $20,000 worth of exempt property in the estate, the spouse or minor children are entitled to other assets of the estate, if any, to the extent necessary to make up the $20,000 value.

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15
Q

Under the plain view exception to the warrant requirement, police may seize illegal items…

A

…which they observe in plain view so long as they have the right to be where they observe the items and that it is immediately apparent to them that the items are contraband.

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16
Q

In execution of a warrant to search for an object, police are permitted to search…

A

…any place or container where the object of the search may reasonably be found.

17
Q

In dealing on behalf of a client with a person who is not represented by counsel, a lawyer shall not…

A

…state or imply that the lawyer is disinterested.

When the lawyer knows or reasonably should know that the unrepresented person misunderstands the lawyer’s role in the matter, the lawyer shall make reasonable efforts to correct the misunderstanding.

18
Q

A lawyer shall not knowingly fail to disclose a fact when disclosure is…

A

…necessary to avoid assisting a criminal or fraudulent act by a client.

First action should be to “remonstrate with the client confidentially, advise the client of the lawyer’s duty of candor to the tribunal and seek the client’s cooperation with respect to the withdrawal or correction of the false statements,” but further remedial action might be required.

To the extent a lawyer reasonably believes necessary, the lawyer may reveal such information which clearly establishes that the client has perpetrated upon a third party a fraud related to the subject matter of the representation.

If that fails, the attorney may consider withdrawal from representation.

19
Q

A lawyer shall abide by a client’s…

A

…decisions concerning the objectives of representation.

20
Q

A lawyer shall ___ whether to accept an offer of settlement of a matter.

A

abide by a client’s decision, after consultation with the lawyer.

A lawyer who receives from opposing counsel an offer of settlement in a civil controversy or a proffered plea agreement … should promptly inform the client of its substance unless prior discussions with the client have left it clear that the proposal will be unacceptable.

21
Q

A lawyer should pursue a matter on behalf of a client despite…

A

…opposition, obstruction or personal inconvenience to the lawyer.

E.g., don’t fail to notify the client of a settlement offer for 90 days because of an illness.

22
Q

To establish a claim based on negligence per se, which is essentially a strict liability claim, a plaintiff must:

A

(1) prove that the defendant violated a statute that was enacted for public safety, (2) establish that he belongs to the class of persons for whose benefit the statute was enacted, and (3) prove that the statutory violation was a proximate cause of his injury.

23
Q

A common law negligence action ___ lie against a vendor who provided alcoholic beverages to a person who later drove an automobile and injured a third party.

A

Does not.

24
Q

For diversity, an individual is a citizen of the state in which they are ___, which is…

A

Domiciled.

…a) where the individual has a physical residence, and (b) the intent to make the residence his or her permanent physical residence.

25
Q

May a plaintiff aggregate damages from claims against multiple defendants to meet the amount in controversy requirement for diversity jdx?

A

Not unless those defendants’ negligence jointly contributed to a single injury, such that they are jointly liable.

26
Q

How to calculate amount in controversy where an injunction is sought?

A

Cost of compliance with injunction.

27
Q

In federal court, can transfer be made to a venue that would have been improper in the first instance?

A

No.

28
Q

How to determine venue in federal court?

A

a. In any district in which any D resides (provided all Ds also reside in the same state),
b. In any district in which a substantial part of the claim arose or in which a substantial part of property that is subiect to the action is situated, or
c. If no district can satisfy a) or b) above, venue is proper in any district in which any D is subject to PJ

Residency for venue purposes:
- People: determined by domicile
- Entity with the capacity to sue or be sued in its common name, whether or not incorporated: resides in any state in which it is subject to PJ.

29
Q

In fed court, appeal may only be taken from a…

A

…final judgment, meaning trial court has made an ultimate decision on the merits of the entire case.

There are exceptions (“interlocutory appeals”), most notably for injunctions.