Legal Environment of Business: SPRING 2020 Professor Wapner

INSTRUCTIONS:
RESPONSES ARE TO BE TYPED and the COMPLETED EXAM UPLOADED to
CANVAS no Later than SUNDAY, 6 p.m. There is no time limit on the amount of
time you take to complete the exam. Just be sure it’s submitted back onto
Canvas by the due date of 6 p.m., Sunday, March 15th, 2020.
This is NOT A COLLABORATIVE Work Product. You may consult your textbook,
classnotes, and/or the materials I posted to Canvas Modules and Canvas
Announcements. You may NOT consult another person however.
===============================================================
STUDENT NAME: ______________________ SECTION: _________

Mid-Term EXAM – March 11, 2020

1.
NAME the 6 ‘SOURCES’ OF LAW:
_______________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________

2. CLASSIFICATION OF LAWS –

 Name 2 types of 'public' law 

______________________
_________________________

 Name 2 types of 'private' law

______________________
______________________

3. List the 4 elements essential to establish a Negligence Claim:

______________________
March 11th 2020 MID TERM EXAM
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STUDENT NAME: ______________________________________ and SECTION NO. _______________
 ___________________________________________________
______________________
______________________
______________________

4. Name an essential element necessary to succeed on a claim for

products liability under the Restatement of Torts (2d):
____________________________________________

5. What is the Pennsylvania STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS within which a

negligence claim must be brought in court?
(circle the correct answer)

1 year 2 years 4 years

6. What is the BURDEN OF PROOF in a civil claim?

_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

7. What is the BURDEN OF PROOF in a criminal prosecution?

_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

8. What is the significance (e.g., importance) to commerce (e.g.,

business) of the “FULL FAITH AND CREDIT CLAUSE” set forth in
Article IV of the U.S. Constitution?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

9. What is the significance of the “SUPREMACY CLAUSE” set forth in

Article VI of the U.S. Constitution?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
10. Which of the following is an example of PRIVATE Law (circle
the correct response)?

a. A doctor’s failure to diagnose that his patient is suffering from Ebola

March 11th 2020 MID TERM EXAM
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STUDENT NAME: ______________________________________ and SECTION NO. _______________
 b. The Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation prohibiting
residents from discarding empty cans of house paint with the regular
household trash
c. The criminal prosecution of your next-door neighbor for arson.

11. Define each of the following terms:

Binding Precedent:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
___________________

Persuasive Precedent:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

Case of First Impression:

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

12. In a ‘case of first impression,’ the trial court must follow binding
precedent.

a. Is the above statement TRUE: ___ or FALSE: ___

b. Explain your response to ‘a’ above:

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
______________________________________________

13. Was the decision in U.S. v Nixon about executive power an

example of ‘common law’ or ‘statutory law’? (circle your response)

14. In 1896, the United States Supreme Court decided in Plessy v

Ferguson that so long as the railroad company provided one
passenger car for Whites and a separate passenger car as well for
Blacks, the railroad’s rule that Blacks could not sit in any car
March 11th 2020 MID TERM EXAM
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STUDENT NAME: ______________________________________ and SECTION NO. _______________
 designated for Whites did not violate the equal protection clause
under the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. This
became known as the ‘separate but equal’ doctrine. Years later, in
1954, the United States Supreme Court decided in Brown v Board of
Education that separate public education schools for Whites and for
Blacks violated the equal protection clause of the 14 th Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution.

Explain how the above two cases present an example of

‘constitutional relativity.’

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15. As we discussed in class, the county clerk in Kentucky who

refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples was held in
contempt by a federal district court judge and sent to jail until she
agreed to allow her Office to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.

Under which Article of the U.S. Constitution can a federal court order a
State employee to comply with federal law?

Article _____.

16. The federal Clean Water Act is an example of:

(a)Executive Law
(b)Legislative Law
(c) Judicial (‘Common’) Law
(d)Administrative Law
(e)None of the above.

17. Which of the following is NOT a form of legislation?

March 11th 2020 MID TERM EXAM

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STUDENT NAME: ______________________________________ and SECTION NO. _______________
(a)Statute
(b)City Council Ordinance
(c) Veto
(d)Senate Bill

18. Which Article of the Constitution created the Judicial Branch of

government? (circle the correct response)

(a)Article I (b) Article II ( c) Article III (d) Article IV

19. What identifies the parties to a lawsuit?

(a)Citation
(b)Equity
(c) Caption

20. View the following: 470 A. 2d 507 (Pa. 1983). The “470”
refers to the:
(a)Page Number
(b)Volume of Book
(c) Index Location
(d)Edition
(e)Cost of the Case

21. The highest law of the land in the United States is:

(a)The United States Constitution

(b)An Act of Congress
(c) An Executive Order by the President
(d)None of the above

22. Which of the following should be dismissed for lack of

jurisdiction by a federal court?

(a)A lawsuit filed by a resident of Maine against a resident of Florida.

(b)A lawsuit filed by a resident of Pennsylvania against the Ambassador
of France.
March 11th 2020 MID TERM EXAM
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STUDENT NAME: ______________________________________ and SECTION NO. _______________
(c) A lawsuit filed by the Philadelphia Teachers Union against the
Governor of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Legislature.
(d)None of the above.

23. Name two examples of a court’s Equity Power:

i. __________________________
ii. __________________________

24. John is a partner in a law firm. His specialty is tax law. A former
law school classmate of his who now works at a different law firm
called John to ask John’s opinion about a sticky tax issue the IRS
was raising in one of the classmate’s cases. The classmate emailed
John a copy of the IRS’ correspondence raising the issue and also a
copy of the classmate’s 2018 tax return, which was the focus of the
IRS correspondence. John reviewed the materials. John and the
classmate met the next day for lunch at a very expensive restaurant.
They discussed the issue and John offered his opinion on the issue.
The classmate paid for their lunch.
Later that same day, the classmate wrote back to the IRS, relying
exactly on the theory John had suggested.
Two weeks later, the IRS sent the classmate’s client a notice of tax
deficiency for $45,000, plus interest and penalties.
The classmate’s client (the taxpayer) filed a malpractice tort lawsuit
against John.
You are the trial judge.
i. Should the taxpayer’s lawsuit against John be allowed to
proceed or should it be dismissed, and, WHY?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_________________________________
ii. Does your response make a difference if both John and the
former classmate were in the same law firm? Why or why
not?
March 11th 2020 MID TERM EXAM
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STUDENT NAME: ______________________________________ and SECTION NO. _______________
 _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

25. For purposes of ‘binding precedent,’ identify which of the

following court decisions must be followed by a Pennsylvania trial
court when the facts and issues are identical? (circle your response)
i. 363 NY2d 421 (Sup Ct NY, 2008)
ii. 481 F. Supp. 1053 (E.D. Pa. 1979)
iii. 379 A.2d 111 (Pa, 1977)

26. Harvey worked as an accountant for the accounting firm of Egg

& Hatch. He worked for the firm for 2 years. He was assigned to
prepare the quarterly tax return for the firm’s long-time publicly traded
corporate client Sunny Side, due for submission to the IRS by
October 15, 2019. Harvey contacted the client’s Chief Financial
Officer (‘CFO’), reviewed all the materials necessary to prepare the
return, completed it, and scheduled a meeting with Sunny Side’s CFO
to review the return on October 12th, 2019 at 3 p.m. On October 11th,
2019, the CFO was in a tragic accident and died. His death was
widely reported in all the local, national and international newspapers
and on social media. Harvey rarely checked the news however and
was unaware of the CFO’s death. When the CFO failed to show for
the October 12th meeting as previously scheduled, Harvey called the
CFO’s direct dial and left a voice message asking the CFO to contact
him. Harvey then moved on to his other assignments. The quarterly
return was never filed. This omission was not discovered by Sunny
Side until it received notice from the IRS of an interest and penalties
assessment for the late filing of $1,000,000.00.
Sunny Side sued Egg & Hatch for malpractice, seeking
reimbursement for the IRS assessment, plus court costs and attorney
fees.
i. On what legal basis/theory did Sunny Side seek to hold Egg
& Hatch responsible for the conduct of Harvey in failing to
March 11th 2020 MID TERM EXAM
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STUDENT NAME: ______________________________________ and SECTION NO. _______________
 follow up and ensure the timely filing of the quarterly return?
(circle your response)
(a) Public Policy
(b) Circumstantial Evidence
(c) Vicarious Liability
ii. Explain your response to i above:
__________________________________________

__________________________________________.
iii. Identify a defense that Egg & Hatch could raise in court (circle
your response):
(a) Strict Liability
(b) Lack of proximate cause
(c) Comparative Negligence
(d) Assumption of the Risk
iv. Explain your response to iii above:
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________

27. State two purposes of PUNITIVE DAMAGES:

_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
__________________.

28. State two purposes of a Statute of Limitations:

_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
__________________ .

29. State 3 different types of products liability claims an injured

consumer could base his/her lawsuit:
i. ___________________
ii. ___________________
iii. ___________________

March 11th 2020 MID TERM EXAM

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STUDENT NAME: ______________________________________ and SECTION NO. _______________
30. Regarding your research of news reports surrounding the
KOBY BRYANT HELICOPTER CRASH:

In a negligence lawsuit against the owner of the helicopter that is

filed by the estate of one of the passengers on the helicopter that
crashed, list ONLY the KEY RELEVANT FACTS necessary to
prove the claim:
_______________________________________________________
_____________
_______________________________________________________
_____________
_______________________________________________________
_____________
_______________________________________________________
_____________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________.

31. Look over the Complaint filed by the parents of Jenna

Burleigh, the young woman murdered by her companion at the
Pub Webb. (It was posted on Canvas Module.)

What are the KEY RELEVANT FACTS necessary to prove

that Pub Webb breached its duty to Ms. Burleigh?
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
March 11th 2020 MID TERM EXAM
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STUDENT NAME: ______________________________________ and SECTION NO. _______________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________.
__________________________________________________

March 11th 2020 MID TERM EXAM

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STUDENT NAME: ______________________________________ and SECTION NO. _______________