Missed Rules

Question 1

Contracts: Gratuious promises

Answer 1

Gratuitous promises without consideration are not enforceable.

Question 2

Crim: Accessory after the fact

Answer 2

An accessory after the fact is one who receives, relieves, comforts, or assists another, knowing that he has committed a felony, in order to help the felon escape trial, arrest, or conviction.

Question 3

Crim: Self-defense (excuse)

Answer 3

Self-defense is an excuse for battery

Question 4

Property: Adverse Possession and Recording Acts

Answer 4

Recording acts do not protect BFPs against a title that was acquired through adverse possession becuase there is no document that the possessor could have recorded.

Question 5

Agency: General Definition of an Agency Relationship

Answer 5

Agency is a fiduciary relationship that exists between an agent and principal where the agent acts on the principal’s behalf and is subject to the principal’s control.

Question 6

Secured Transactions: Definition of Equipment

Answer 6

Goods other than inventory, farm products or consumer goods are classified as equipment.

Question 7

Secured Transactions: Definition of Accession

Answer 7

Accessions are goods that are physically united with other goods in such a manner that the identity of the original goods is not lost.

Question 8

Secured Transactions: SI in Accessions

Answer 8

A security interest in goods that is perfected before the goods become accessions continues after the goods become accessions.

Question 9

Secured Transactions: SI in Accession vs. SI in the whole

Answer 9

Article 9 makes an exception that a security interest in an accession is subordinate to a security interest in the whole which is perfected by compliance with the requirements of a certificate of title statute.

Question 10

Corporations: Fiduciary Duties of Directors

Answer 10

Directors owe a corporation the fiduciary duties of loyalty and care.

Question 11

Corporations: Duty of Care

Answer 11

Duty of Care: The duty of care is met if directors manage the corporation to the best of their ability in good faith, with the care that a reasonably prudent director in a like position would exercise, and in a manner reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the corporation.

Question 12

Corporations: Business Judgment Rule: Interested Director

Answer 12

The business judgment rule does not shield an interested director from liability.

Question 13

Corporations: Duty of Loyalty

Answer 13

The duty of loyalty prohibits profiting at the expense of the corporation.

Question 14

Corporations: Interested Director Transaction

Answer 14

A conflicting interest will not be set aside unless the interested director discloses all material facts and the deal is approved by a disinterested majority of directors or the shareholders, or the transaction was fair and reasonable at the time it was made.

Question 15

Corporations: Articles of Incorporation, Exculpatory Provision

Answer 15

A corporation’s Articles of Incorporation may include an exculpatory provision shielding its directors from liability to shareholders for money damages by failing to properly exercise their duties as directors. There are limitations on these provisions including when the directors received an improper personal benefit, engaged in intentional misconduct or violations of law, or in some states breached a fiduciary duty of loyalty or acted in bad faith.

Question 16

Civ Pro: Motion for Relief from Judgment

Answer 16

A court may relieve a party from a final judgment or order based on fraud, misrepresentation, or other misconduct of an adverse party, and such a motion must be made within a reasonable time not to exceed one year.

Question 17

Contracts: Performance

Answer 17

Performance at common law means each party’s duty to perform is conditioned on the other party’s performance. If a party fails to perform either completely or substantially then the other party is relieved from performance.

Question 18

Contracts: Substantial Performance

Answer 18

In evaluating whether performance was substantial, the courts consider factors including the amount of the contract performed, hardship to breaching party, circumstances of breach, and whether the breach was willful.

Question 19

Contracts: Material Breach

Answer 19

Where time is of the essence under the contract, the breach is considered material and is unexcused.

Question 20

Contracts: Remedy for Breach of Contract

Answer 20

For breach of contract, the injured party may be entitled to expectation damages. Actual or expectation damages seek to put the nonbreaching party in the position he would have been in but-for the breach.

Question 21

Contracts: Calculation of Damages

Answer 21

Calculation of these damages aims to provide the nonbreaching party with the benefit of his bargain.

Question 22

Contracts: Consequential Damages

Answer 22

Contract damages must be foreseeable to be recoverable. This takes into consideration damages that are a foreseeable consequence of the breach, i.e., consequential damages.

Question 23

Contracts: Consequential Damages: Lost Profits

Answer 23

Courts are reluctant to award lost profits to new businesses since such profits are generally too speculative to meet the standard of reasonable certainty.

Question 24

Crim: Malice Aforethought

Answer 24

Malice aforethought requires a killing with the (1) intent to kill, (2) the intent to inflict great bodily harm, (3) the intent to commit a felony, (4) a depraved heart or (5) with reckless disregard or a high degree of indifference to the value of human life.

Question 25

Crim: Depraved Heart Murder

Answer 25

In instances where a person recklessly causes the death of another, the individual may be charged with “depraved-heart” murder if the person acted with extreme indifference to human life.

Question 26

Crim: Involuntary Manslaughter

Answer 26

Involuntary manslaughter is an unintentional killing of another.

Question 27

Crim: Murder Causation

Answer 27

The conduct must be the actual (but-for) and proximate (foreseeable) cause of the resulting death.

Question 28

Crim: Duress (MPC)

Answer 28

Under the Model Penal Code (MPC), the affirmative defense of duress is defined as a threat that a reasonable person would be unable to resist.

Question 29

Property: Fee Simple Determinable vs. Fee Simple Subject to Condition Subsequent

Answer 29

Where a conveyance is ambiguous, the court has held that there is a presumption of a fee simple subject to condition subsequent. This is based on the court’s reluctance to find a forfeiture.

Question 30

Property: Partially Condemned Leases

Answer 30

Obligated to pay full price, but entitled to share in the condemnation award

Question 31

Torts: Comparative Contribution

Answer 31

Each defendant found to be at fault for an indivisible injury is liable to the plaintiff for the entire amoung of the damages

Question 32

Property: Hold-over Tenant

Answer 32

Landlord may (i) treat hold-over tenant as trespasser and evict him, or (ii) bind tenant to a new periodic tenancy

Question 33

Evidence: Part of Statement Introduced

Answer 33

When part of a statement is introduced into evidence, the adverse party may introduce any other part of the statement, which in fairness ought to be considered

Question 34

Crim: 6th Amendment Right to Counsel: Grand Jury Proceeding

Answer 34

No right to counsel at grand jury proceeding

Question 35

Torts: Strict Liability: Source of Injury

Answer 35

The damage to the plaintiff must have come from specific danger of activity

Question 36

Torts: Exception to Negligence Per Se

Answer 36

Exception to negligence per se if compliance with statute is more dangerous than non-compliance

Question 37

Torts: Owners of Land: Duty to Those Outside Premises

Answer 37

Owe a duty of care to those outside of the premises within a foreseeable zone of danger

Question 38

Civ Pro: Post-judgment JMOL: Contents

Answer 38

The post-judgment JMOL is limited to the grounds raised by intial JMOL

Question 39

Civ Pro: Post-Judgment JMOL: Timing

Answer 39

A renewed JMOL must be made within 28 days of entry of judgment

Question 40

Civ Pro: Post-Judgment JMOL: Grounds for Granting

Answer 40

A post-judgment JMOL may only be granted if court finds that a reasonable jury would not have legally sufficient basis to find for that party

Question 41

Civ Pro: Post-Judgment JMOL: Evidence

Answer 41

Court must view evidence in light most favorable to the non-moving party

Question 42

Civ Pro: Post-Judgment JMOL: Weight of Evidence

Answer 42

When ruling on a renewed JMOL, judge is not allowed to weigh evidence or judge credibility of witnesses

Question 43

Civ Pro: Motion for a New Trial: Grounds for Granting

Answer 43

A court may grant a new trial based on a serious error during trial. This includes a verdict that goes against the weight of the evidence, an excessive verdict, a legal error in an instruction to the jury, misconduct by the jury, etc.

A court may not grant a new trial on the ground that the verdict is against the weight of the evidence unless there is a serious miscarriage of justice.

Misconduct during the voir dire process warrants a new trial

Question 44

Property: Covenants for Title

Answer 44

Present covenants: seisen, right to convey, and against encumberances

Future covenants: quiet enjoyment and warranty

Question 45

Property: Names of Future Interests

Answer 45

Held by the transferor: (1) Possibility of reverter, (2) right of reentry, or (3) a reversion.

Held by third party: (1) a contingent remainder, (2) a vested remainder, or (3) an executory interest.

Question 46

Property: Public v. Private Necessity

Answer 46

Public Necessity: A defendant can raise the defense of public necessity if they acted to avert an “immient public disaster.” It is a complete defense

Private Necessity: Private necessity can be a defense when the action was to prevent serious harm to a limited number of people. Under private necessity, the actor must pay for any injury they cause (unless the act was to benefit the property owner).

Question 47

Torts: Comparative vs. Contributory Negligence

Answer 47

Pure Comparative Negligence: The plaintiff’s contributory negligence is not a complete bar to recovery. Rather the trier of fact weighs the plaintiff’s negligence and reduces damages accordingly.
On the MBE, assume that a pure comparative negligence applies unless the question states otherwise

Partial Comparative Negligence: Still bars the plaintiff’s recovery if their negligence was more serious than the defendant’s negligence.

Contributory Negligence: Plaintiff is bared from recovery if any percent negligent

Question 48

Con Law: Definition of State Actors for the Purpose of the Equal Protection Clause

Answer 48

Private actors are not considered state actors unless the private actor is performing an exclusive and traditional state function or there is significant entanglement between state and private actors.

Question 49

Con Law: Gender Intermediate Scrutiny

Answer 49

Intermediate scrutiny requires the state to show that the discrimination is substantially related to an important government interest. The state must also show that there is an exceedingly persuasive justification.

Question 50

Evidence: Relevance Definition

Answer 50

Evidence is relevant if it tends to make a fact more or less probable than it would be without the evidence. All relevant evidence is admissible unless it is excluded as being unduly prejudicial, a waste of time, will confuse or mislead the jury or the issues, etcetera.

Question 51

Evidence: General Admissibility of Character Evidence

Answer 51

Even when relevant, character evidence is not admissible in a civil trial unless character is substantively at issue in the case.

Question 52

Evidence: Refreshing Recollection

Answer 52

A witness must testify from the basis of his current recollection. A witness cannot read from a document. A writing or document may be used in certain circumstances to refresh the recollection of the witness. The writing or document used by the witness cannot be admitted as evidence or read to the jury unless it was introduced by the adverse party (i.e., the party who has not used the writing to refresh the witness’s recollection).

Question 53

Torts: Duty to Aid or Act as Rescuer

Answer 53

There is no general duty to come to the aid of another absent a special relationship or being the cause of the hazardous situation. When one individual aids another, liability will not attach unless the individual fails to exercise reasonable care to secure to the safety of the other, or discontinues aid leaving the other in a worse position.

Question 54

Wills: Undue Influence

Answer 54

Where there is a finding of undue influence, a court may invalidate the entire will or only the portion of the will that was tainted by the undue influence.

Undue Influence arises when a party exerts such influence that it overcomes the free will of the testator causing the testator to make a donative transfer that would not have otherwise been made. To establish undue influence, the party contesting the will has the burden of establishing that the testator was susceptible to undue influence; the influencing party had the opportunity and disposition to exert such influence over the testator; and the will appears to be the product of undue influence. In evaluating whether the testator was susceptible to undue influence, courts consider the age, personality, physical and mental health, and one’s ability to handle business affairs.

In many jurisdictions, a presumption of undue influence arises when there is a confidential relationship between the testator and the alleged influencer and also suspicious circumstances surround the drafting of the will. If this arises, the burden shifts to the proponent of the will to prove that the will was not a result of her undue influence.