Business Law

Learning Activity 1:

Case Scenario: Rubin owns and operates a florist business, Flower World, Inc., (Flower) from a shop in his Ohio hometown. Flowers advertises and sells in Ohio from the shop, and advertises and sells over the internet. Using Flower's website and her credit card, on April 5, Louise purchased $5,000 worth of live wedding flowers from her home in Dallas, Texas. She requested the flowers to be shipped to a hotel in Indiana, the site of the wedding, on April 15. The flowers arrived on April 14, the day before the wedding, but Louise claimed they were withered and unusable. Louise sued Flowers in a Texas court to recover her $5,000. Ross, on behalf of Flowers, filed a motion to dismiss claiming the Texas court has no jurisdiction.

A. Analyze and explain/justify your rationale: which court has jurisdiction to hear the case, and why?

B. What is the legal basis for the court's jurisdiction over Flowers (i.e., what type of jurisdiction exists over Flowers)?

C. Would you advise Ross to use ADR or go to court to resolve this dispute? Why or why not? If you advise ADR, which type of ADR would you recommend and why?

Learning Activity 2:

This learning activity focuses on constitutional authority to regulate business and constitutional law concepts.

Case Scenario: City enacted a city zoning ordinance that barred outdoor advertising display signs - including billboards - on all public roads within the city limits. Billboards on-site on any public or private business location are exempt from this ordinance, and thus, permissible. City claimed the ordinance was necessary to promote public traffic safety and aesthetics. Max, Inc., a company in the business of leasing commercial billboards to advertisers, and the primary billboard provider in City, sued City alleging the zoning ordinance is unconstitutional.

A. If you were the jury in this case, how would you rule on the constitutionality of the ordinance and why?

B. If you were an attorney advising City, what would you advise them to claim is the most logical legal basis/constitutional authority for City to enact the ordinance and why?

Learning Activity 3:

Scenario: Following 2 years of research and an investment of substantial funding, Coastal Company (CC) developed a new product that will produce substantial profits for CC.

CC learned that a competitor, National Sales and Marketing, Inc. (National) made and began to sell a nearly identical product to CC's new product. CC learned from a reliable source that National paid a CC employee to obtain the plans for CC's new product when it was in the development stages.

Under what legal claim could CC sue National, and why?

If CC does sue National under this legal claim, what is the likely result and why?

Learning Activity 4:

Read the following hypothetical case scenario and respond to the questions below.

Scenario: Sam's Beauty School is a privately owned beauty school that trains cosmetologists to earn their cosmetology license to become hair stylists and colorists. Sam's is open to the public for all hair services; students perform hair services for clients under the supervision of licensed cosmetologists that work at Sam's.

Jan went the Sam's to have her hair colored dark brown as she had done many times, although this was Jan's first time as a client at Sam's. Tom, a student trainee at Sam's, colored her hair. Jan's hair turned green and fell out within 24 hours. Jan had never had any problems with hair color previously.

Jan sued Sam's for negligence. Who wins and why?

Learning Activity 5

Scenario: On April 1, Jennings, a licensed used car dealer, wrote a letter to Wheeler in which he stated:

"I have a 1955 Thunderbird convertible in mint condition that I will sell you for $15,000; I will keep this offer open for you at any time until May 9." [Signed], E. Jennings.

On April 15, having heard nothing from Wheeler, Jennings sold the Thunderbird to another party. On April 29, Wheeler told Jennings that he accepted the offer and tendered the $15,000, in cash. When Jennings told Wheeler he had already sold the car to another party, Wheeler claimed Jennings had breached their contract.

Is Jennings in breach, why or why not?

Learning Activity 6:

Scenario: Don, an elderly man, lives with his nephew Evan. Don is entirely dependent on Evan for support and his care. Evan advised Don to "invest" in Evan's new consulting business or Evan will no longer support him. Don liquidated his other investments and a trust fund, and signed a contract with Evan giving all his investments and trust funds to Evan for Evan's new business.

Later, Don had doubts about Evan's new consulting business and wanted out of the contract.

Can Don set aside the contract with Evan, or is it valid and enforceable? Why or why not?

Answer each question part in paragraph format using APA in text citations, as appropriate, from the assigned materials.

Comprehensively, specifically justify/support and explain your rationale for your conclusions. Use in text citations and a list of References.