Law Book Definitions Quiz 2 Flashcards
definition of law
any act or omission forbidden by public law
felony vs. misdemeanor
felony: a serious crime
misdemeanor: a less serious crime
vicarious liability
liability imposed for acts of employees if the employer directed, participated in, or approved of the acts
liability of a corporation
under certain circumstances, a corporation may be convicted of crimes and punished by fines
white collar crime
nonviolent crime involving deceit, corruption, or breach of trust
computer crime
use of a computer to commit a crime
larceny
trespassory taking and carrying away of personal property if another with the intent to deprive the victime permanently of the property
embezzlement
taking of another’s property by a person who was in lawful possession of the property
false pretenses
obtaining title to property of another by means of representation one knows to be materially false; made with intent to defraud
robbery
committing larceny with the use of threat or force
burglary
under most modern statutes, an entry into a building with the intent to commit a felony
extortion
making threats to obtain money or property
bribery
offering money or property to a public official to influence the official’s decision
forgery
intentional falsification of a document to defraud
bad checks
knowingly issuing a check without funds sufficient to cover the check
defense of person or property
individuals may use reasonable force to protect themselves, other individuals, and their property
duress
coercion by threat of serious bodily harm, a defense to criminal conduct other than murder
mistake of fact
honest and reasonable belief that conduct is not criminal
entrapment
inducement by a law enforcement official to commit a crime
4 defenses to crimes
defense of person or property
duress
mistake of fact
entrapment
battery
intentional infliction of harmful or offensive bodily contact
assault
intentional infliction of apprehension of immediate bodily harm or offensive contact
false imprisonment
intentional confining of a person against her will
infliction of emotional distress
extreme and outrageous conduct intentionally or recklessly causing severe emotional distress
defamation
false communication that injures a persons reputation
libel
written or electronically transmitted defamation
slander
spoken defamation
defenses
truth, absolute privilege, conditional privilege, and constitutional privilege are defenses to a defamation action
appropriation
unauthorized use of a person’s idenity
intrusion
unreasonable and highly offensive interference with the seclusion of another
public disclosure of private facts
highly offensive publicity of private information about another
false light
highly offensive and false publicity about another
real property
land and anything attached to it
trespass to real property
wrongfully entering on land of another
nuissance
a nontrespassory interference with another’s use and enjoyment of land
personal property
any property other than land
trespass to personal property
an intentional taking or use of another’s personal property
conversion
intentional exercise of control over another’s personal property
defenses to intentional torts
consent
self-defense
consent
a person may not recover for injury to which he willingly and knowlingly consents
self-defense
a person may take appropriate action to prevent harm to himself where time foes not allow resort to the law
definition of negligence
conduct that falls below the standard established by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm
duty of care
a person is under a duty to all others at all times to exercise reasonable care for the safety of the others’ person and property; however, except in special circumstances, no one is under a general duty to avoid the unintentional infliction of economic loss or aid another in peri;
reasonable person standard
degree of care that a reasonable person would exercise under all the circumstances
reasonable person standard children
must conform to the conduct of a reasonable person of the same age, intelligence, and experience under all the circumstances
reasonable person standard physical disability
a disabled person’s conduct must conform to that of a reasonable person under the same disability
reasonable person standard mental disability
a mentally disabled person is held to the reasonable person standard
reasonable person standard superior skill or knowledge
if a person has skills or knowledge beyond those possessed by most others, these skills or knowledge are circumstances to be taken into account in determining whether the person has acted with reasonable care
reasonable person standard standard for emergencies
the reasonable person standard applies, but an unexpected emergency is considered part of the circumstances
reasonable person standard violation of statute
if the statute applies, the violation is negligence per se in most states
harm to legally protected interest
court determines which interests are protected from negligent interference
burden of proof
plaintiff must prove that defendant’s negligent conduct caused harm to a legally protected interest
contributory negligence
failure of a plaintiff to exercise reasonable care for his own protection, which in a few states prevents the plaintiff from recovering anything
comparative negligence
damages are divided between the parties in proportion to their degree of negligence; applies in almost all states
assumption of risk
plaintiff’s express consent to encounter a known danger; some states still apply implied assumption of the risk
defenses to negligence
contributory negligence
comparative negligence
assumption of risk
strict liability
liability for nonintentional and nonnegligent conduct
abnormally dangerous activity
strict liability is imposed for any activity that
1. creates a foreseeable and highly significant risk of harm
2. is not one of common usage
defenses to strict liability
NOT contributory negligence
comparative negligence
assumption of risk
common law
most contracts are governed primarily by state common law, including contracts involving employment, services, insurance, real property (land and anything attached to it), patents/copyright
uniform commercial code (UCC)
article 2 of the UCC governs the sale of goods
sale
the transfer of title from seller to buyer
goods
tangible personal property (personal property is all property other than an interest in land)
international contracts
involve additional issues beyond those in domestic contracts, such as differences in language, legal systems, and currency; the united nations convention on contracts for the international sale of goods governs all contracts for international sales of goods between parties located in different nations that have ratified the cisg
contract
a binding agreement that the courts will enforce
breach
failure to perform a contractual obligation properlym
mutual assent
the parties to a contract must manifest by words or conduct that they have agreed to enter into a contract
consideration
each party to a contract must intentionally exchange a legal benefit or incur a legal detriment as an inducement to the other party to make a return exchange
legality of object
the purpose of a contract must not be criminal, tortious, or otherwise against public policy
capacity
the parties to a contract must have contractual capacity
requirements of a contract
mutual assent
consideration
legality of object
capacity
express contract
an agreement that is stated in works, either orally or in writing
implied in fact contract
a contract in which the agreement of the parties is inferred from their conduct
bilateral contract
a contract in which both parties exchange promises
unilateral contract
a contract in which only one party makes a promise
valid contract
one that meets all of the requirements of a binding contract
void contract
no contract at all, without legal effect
voidable contract
a contract capable of being made void
unenforceable contract
a contract for the breach of which the law provides no remedy
goods
moveable personal property
sale
transfer of title of goods from seller to buyer for a price
lease
a transfer of right to possession and use of goods in return for consideration
consumer leases
leases by a merchant to an individual who leased for personal, family, or household purposes for no more than $25,000
finance leases
special type of lease transaction generally involving three parties: the lessor, the supplier, and the lessee
sales transactions
governed by article 2 of the code, but where general contract law has not been specificially modified by the code, general contract law continues to apply
lease transactions
governed by article 2a of the code, but where general contract law has not been specifically modified by the code, general contract law continues to apply
transactions outside the code
include employment contracts, service contracts, insurance contracts, contracts involving real property, and contracts for the sale of intangibles
purpose of ucc
to modernize, clarify, simplify, and made uniform the law of sales and leases
good faith
the code requires all sales and lease contracts to be performed in good faith, which means honesty in fact and the observance of reasonable commercial standards of fair dealing
unconscionability
a court may refuse to enforce an unconscionable contract or any part of the contract found to be unconscionable
procedural unconscionable
unfairness of the bargaining process
substantive unconscionable
oppressive or grossly unfair contractual provisions
course of dealing
a sequence of previous conduct between the parties establishing a common basis for interpreting their agreement
usage of trade
a practice or method of dealing regularly observed and followed in a place, vocation, or trade
sales by and between merchants
the code establishes separate rules that apply to transactions between merchants or involving a merchant (a dealer in goods or a person who by his occupation holds himself out as having knowledge or skill peculiar to the goods or practice involved or who employs an agent or broker whom he holds out as having such knowledge or skill)
freedom of contract
most provisions of the code may be varied by agreement
validation and preservation of sales contract
the code reduces formal requisites to the bare minimum and attempts to preserve agreements whenever the parties manifest an intention to enter into a contract
definiteness of an offer
the code provides that a sales or lease contract does not fail for indefiniteness even though one or more terms may have been omitted, the code provides standards by which missing essential terms may be supplied for sales of goods
option
a contract to hold open an offer
firm offer
a signed writing by a merchant to hold open an offer for the purchase or sale of goods for a maximum of three months
variant acceptances
the inclusion of different or additional terms in an acceptance is addressed by focusing on the intent of the parties
manner of acceptance
an acceptance can be made in any reasonable manner and is effective upon dispatch
auction
auction sales are generally with reserve, permitting the auctioneer to withdraw the goods at any time prior to sale
contractual modifications
the code provides that a contract for the sale or lease of goods may be modified without new consideration if the modification is made in good faith
firm offers are not revocable for lack of consideration
statute of frauds
sale of goods costing $500 or more (or lease of $1000 or more) must be evidenced by a signed writing to be enforceable
writing or record
the code requires some writings or record sufficient to indicate that a contract has been made between the parties, signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought or by her authorized agent or broker, and including a term specifying the quantity of goods
alternative methods of compliance
written confirmations between merchants, admission, specially manufacutred goods, and delivery or payment and acceptance
parol evidence
contractual terms that are set forth in a writing intended by the parties as a final expression of their agreement may not be contradicted by evidence of any prior agreements or of a contemporaneous oral agreement, but such terms may be explained or supplemented by course of dealing, usage of trade, course of performance, or consistent additional evidence
