Frost Financial Services Company hires Stan Stevens as a sales consultant to improve the effectiveness of its sales force. In negotiating his contract, Stan agrees to prepare financial assessments, attend monthly sales force meetings and attend client business meetings. Frost Financial Services agrees to reimburse Stan for all travel expenses. Although Stan initially plans to furnish his own vehicle for travel purposes, after seeing Stan's vehicle, the company asks Stan to use the company car for all business activity involving existing and potential clients. Stan's contract states that his eligibility for benefits will be examined after six months.
The company provides Stan with unlimited access to all sales force data, computer systems, software and office supplies. In addition, Frost instructs Stan to purchase needed computer software. Stan agrees to install the purchased software on the company's computer system.
After working at the company for several months, Stan purchases two software programs from Technologies Incorporated, a local software supplier. Stan installs one of the software programs, Data Package A, on his home computer and installs the other software program, Data Package B, on the company's computer system. Although Stan intends to remove the software from his home computer, he does not install Data Package A on the company's computer system. After installing Data Package B, Stan discovers that Package B is not helpful in evaluating the effectiveness of Frost's sales force.
After working at the company for five months, Stan attends a client business meeting. Stan leaves the meeting in the company car and decides to stop for coffee at a new drive-through coffee shop before returning to Frost's corporate headquarters to attend the monthly sales force meeting. Although the coffee shop is located one mile from Frost's corporate headquarters, Stan takes a wrong turn and drives an additional five miles before finding the coffee shop. Rushed for time, Stan buys coffee at the drive-through window. Upon leaving the coffee shop's parking lot, Stan fails to stop at a stop sign and collides with a vehicle driven by Laura Larson. Laura suffers a broken arm as a result of the accident.
Within minutes of the accident, the police arrive at the accident scene and arrest Stan. One officer waves a gun at Stan and yells that Stan must confess immediately, or risk losing his job. Stan blurts out an apology for failing to stop at the stop sign and installing the software on his personal computer. Following Stan's arrest, Frost refuses to pay Technologies Incorporated for Data Packages A and B. According to Frost, Stan should pay for the purchased software packages.
Discuss all legal issues and claims related to the fact pattern presented above, including liability issues related to the software installation and Stan's employment status at the company, liability issues related to Laura's injury and legal issues related to Stan's arrest. Describe the legal issues and relevant principles of law and describe how you would resolve the issues. Include one ex of a case or article that supports your conclusions. Summarize the cited article or case, describe why the article or case is helpful in evaluating the instant fact pattern and include a citation for your research. Use LexisNexis Academic to assist you in finding a relevant case or article.
2) Dave Wright is a journalist at Speak Out, a magazine published on a monthly basis. In an effort to appeal to a new market, Speak Out issues a special edition of the magazine. Excited by the new direction of the magazine, Dave prepares an article for the special edition. In his article entitled, "Read it and Weep" Dave discusses a new novel about a young boy who drowns on a camping trip. Although the subject matter of the novel is emotional, the caption in Dave's article refers to the sad state of the prose used in the novel. In his article Dave examines the main characters discussed in the novel. Dave also reproduces five of the 50 pages of the novel without asking the author for permission or paying royalties.
Dave also uses an illustration from the novel. The illustration shown in the novel depicts a young boy sleeping in a tent. In his article Dave copies the illustration, but changes the expression shown on the young boy's face. Dave does not ask for permission to use the illustration or pay royalties. In selecting the illustration, Dave was drawn to the peaceful expression on the sleeping boy's face. In Dave's article, the young boy is shown with a terrified expression. Immediately below the illustration in his article, Dave discusses his horror regarding the writing style used in the new novel.
In response to his article, Dave's receives numerous letters. Based on the public's reaction, Dave concludes the public has mixed opinions about the new novel.