Test 2 Flashcards
Describe the share holder model
you should maximize shareholder value. who cares about doing good. The shareholders can do good with the dividends if they want
Describe the stakeholder model
the shareholders are just one of many stake holders and you should focus on maximizing value for all stakeholders including employees, customers, and community
Basic Approach to a land lord tenant dispute
don’t get mad and threaten to sue because you probably won’t follow through. DO make threats that can be realistic and inconvenient to the landlord
What is the TAA
Texas Apartment Association. Doesn’t have the force of law but can bother apt owners because they can take the logo away from their lease that is used to show fairness, and that can cause owners to lose $ b/c ppl won’t sign it
works even of owner isn’t TAA b/c sell price
What are the 3 kinds of leases
Tenancy for years, Periodic Tenancy, Tenancy at will
what do you need to know about Tenancy for Years
The lease has a specified rate and a specified term (not always a year). It is very difficult for either side to get out of. You have to be fully moved out by the last day or it can renew for the specified amount of time again.
What do you need to know about Periodic Tenency?
The specified rate is only valid of one billing cycle (month, week, etc). Either side can get out of the lease with one billing cycle’s notice
What do you need to know about Tenancy at Will
No ending date and no payment cycles. Normally formal because there is no binding relationship. Either party can bail at a moment’s notice. Avoid these
What are the 3 ways you can be evicted?
1) You violate a lease condition (“condition” or “eviction” must be in the sentence in the lease)
2) Illegal Activity
3) Legally Outrageous Act (not your average rager. The place has to be torn up a lot)
What are the 2 Circumstances you can be fined?
1) Violate a lease covenant (in lease but not specified as a condition)
2) “Negligently” (aka carelessly) cause damage. Not normal wear and tear. You have to pay for the repair
What is a fixture?
a permanently affixed improvement to the apartment.
If you install a fixture without the landlord’s approval/agreement, the land lord can do what 2 things?
1) keep it and not pay you for it
2) make you pay to restore it to original condition
moral to the story is make a written agreement
What are the 2 circumstances where a landlord can keep your security deposit
1) the lease says the deposit is not refundable
2) You negligently cause damage beyond normal ear and tear (don’t pay for normal wear or damage that was caused without negligence)
What is the 30 day rule?
Within 30 days of the end of your lease, you should either get a full refund of the security deposit or an itemized list of your damage and how much it cost to fix it + partial refund.
What do you do if your landlord has broken the 30 day rule?
You can sue for 3x your deposit in small claims court
What are the 2 kinds of civil lawsuits?
tort and contract
What are the 2 kinds of tort cases?
negligence and intentional tort cases
what are the 3 degrees of fault?
“careless”=threshold level of fault
“Reckless”=acting with extreme indifference to safety
“Intentional”=you are trying to hurt someone
What degrees of fault belong to which category of tort?
Negligence torts only meet the “careless” degree of fault
Intentional torts must meet the “reckless” and “intentional” degree of fault
What are the 2 kinds of damages that can be awarded in a civil case?
Compensatory (regular) damages= compensate you for your measurable losses including pain and suffering
Punitive Damages=awards intended to punish the defendant, jury can basically award whatever they want if they think the # needs to be high to punish.
What kinds of torts can be cause for punitive damages?
Intentional torts only (reckless or intentional degree of fault)
What is the definition of a tort? Standard to win?
any wrong that isn’t criminal or contract related
“Interest & Duty” must be present for each case the plaintiff wins (plaintiff has an interest worth legally protecting and the defendant breached a duty)
What is the legal concept of “Duty” in torts?
we have a duty to everyone that we can reasonably foresee being harmed by our negligence
Otis Engineering Corp V Clark
Otis Corp sends drunk driver on the road to kill clarks’ wives. The judge rules that even though you are normally not responsible to prevent another person from doing something, the master-servant relationship of employment makes it so that the employer has the responsibility to keep the employee from causing unreasonable risk of harm.
SC affirmed appelete court decision win favor of Clark and remanded to trial court
What are the 3 main kinds of intentional torts?
Assault and Battery and Defamation
What is the definition of battery
“harmful or offensive” bodily contact. A battery has occurred of a REASONABLE PERSON would experience harm or offense. Some common defenses are self defense, and consent
What is the definition of assault
making someone afraid that they re about to be the victim of a battery. ex: flashing a gun, showing a fist
Assault and battery are independent of each other
What is the definition of defamation?
lying about facts in ways that harm someone’s reputation. You have to be communicating to someone other than the person you’re trashing for it to qualify as defamation
What are the 3 kinds of defamation?
Slander, Libel, Slander Per Se
What is Slander?
A less serious kind of defamation involving spoken lies, in order to win a slander case the plaintiff has to prove Special Damages (or damages resulting directly from the slander that cost you a specific amt of $)
What is Libel?
a more serious kind of defamation involving written lies or any other kind of lies about a person that are permanently recorded.
What is Slander Per Se
Slander “on its face” is more serious and involves spoken lies about 1) Someone committing a crime 2) someone having a contageous disease 3) someone’s professional ability 4) Sexual history
Watchout on reference calls that you only tell the truth to nothing at all.
What is the additional burden a plaintiff must prove in a defamation case for a public figure?
must show malice in addition to the other requirements
What are the 5 burdens of proof in a negligence tort case?
1) duty of care
2) breach of duty of care
3) Cause in fact
4) Proximate cause
5) Damages
Describe what a duty of care is
Your duty of care is to behave like a REASONABLE PERSON and if in a professional setting, a reasonable person for that profession
What are the 3 kinds of guests and what kind of a duty of care do you owe to each?
1) Trespasser- must behave like a reasonable person
2) Social Guest- must behave like a reasonable person plus protect guests from known and hidden dangers
3) Business Guests- must protect them from known and unknown dangers (be proactive)
What are the 2 ways too prove a breach of a duty of care?
1) ordinary evidence (witness, pics, etc)
2) negligence per se
What is negligence per se
This puts the defendant in a weaker position & the plaintiff in a stronger position. If the defendant broke a safety law & that led directly to an injury. Automatically proves duty of care and breach of duty of care w/o having to convince the jury of either
What is Cause-In-Fact
you are an essential part of a series of events that leads to the tort (the what if you didn’t get out of bed test) can be indirect
What is a Proximate Cause?
Did you do enough to be held legally responsible?
At the time of the event that made the person a cause in fact, should they have foreseen harm?
What are the 2 main business torts?
Intentional interference with a business relationship and unfair competition (both intentional torts)
What is intentional interference with a business relationship?
a third party meddling with an existing contract (or a contract about to be signed) commits this tort
What is the burden of proof for an intentional interference case if there is a contract in place?
Plaintiff must prove: 1) existence of a binding contract
2) intentional act of intereference
3) Proximate cause
4) actual damage or loss was incurred
* doesn’t have to be malicious but the defendant must know about the contract
What is the burden of proof for an intentional interference case of there is NOT a contract in place?
Plaintiff must prove: 1) a reasonable probability of a future contract exists
2) intentional AND MALICIOUS act by the defendant intending to harm the plantiff
3) defendant lacked privilege or justification for interfering
4) actual damage or loss occurred
What is the privilege of competiton defense to a intentional interference with a business relationship case?
You have the right to compete as long as you don’t use clearly improper means to get it done. protects defendants in interference cases that do not have a binding contract
What is the justification defense to a intentional interference with a business relationship case?
you can convince someone to break a contract with someone else asa longs as it is in that person’s best interest or if it is in the public’s best interest. You can also protect your own legitimate contractual or property interests