Business Law Course Outline/Spring 2011 Syllabus v1.0 - (Bus 110 Section 2 MW )
Instructor: Mari Rockenstein, Esq. – Office Hours: Wednesday – 9:30 – 10:30 a.m or by arrangement
Office Sage Hall Room 2016, tel.805-437-3284, email:
MW – 12:00 p.m.. – 1:15 p.m. Location: Bell Tower 2515
Date /Topics To Cover In Class
/ Assignments Due Before This Class8/29 / Introduction:
The Legal Environment That We Live In
The Socratic Method: Critical Thinking via Q&A
(Applying legal rules to fact patterns)
How to: Succeed In This Class,
Homework Exchange
Exercise: Issue Spotting re: Drug Testing / Before Class:
Complete Survey in Blackboard (“BB”)
Complete Pre-Class Assignment in BB
8/31 / Effects of Laws – Unintended Outcomes
Video: Age of Consent / · Read and analyze two articles in BB
· Locate Age of Consent statute on Internet
(California Penal Code section 261.5),
Complete Questions in BB
9/5 / Labor Day Holiday / No Class – Campus Closed
9/7 / Sources of Law: When Is An Act Legal or Illegal?
Drug Laws:
Is Marijuana Legal? Is Drug Testing Legal?
How to:
· Brief a case (e.g., Ross)
Video: Ross lawsuit oral arguments / Exh. 1.1 Sample Case Brief
Read, Complete Blackboard Assignment #1 (“BB #1”)
9/12 / What are the Sources of Law
· Identify sources of law (“sez who?”):
criminal v. civil law, state v. federal law
common v. statutory law, public v. private law / Read Textbook (“text”), pages (“pp.”) 1-6, 10-13,
(esp. private v. public law, criminal v. civil law)
p. 92 (“What is Police Power?”)
p. 96 (state v. federal regulation, “preemption”)
9/14 / Cyber-Crime & Punishment,
Civil Liability for Emails and Using Facebook/MySpace
How to:
· Regulate “new” torts/crimes
· Distinguish criminal from civil law
· Manage your reputation / Read, Complete BB #2B
1) CyberCrime, Internet Liability
· Privacy & Reputation on the Internet
· Virtual Lives/Real Consequences:
· The MySpace Suicide Case
9/19 / Cyber-Crime & Punishment,
Civil Liability for Emails and Using Facebook/MySpace Cont’d
How to:
· Regulate “new” torts/crimes
· Distinguish criminal from civil law
· Manage your reputation
Video: MySpace Suicide: Witness Testimony / Read, Complete Q’s BB # 2C (e-mail liability)
2) E-Mail Trouble On The Job
9/21 / Litigation In Our Judicial System:
How Does A Lawsuit Begin? Which Facts Matter?
How to:
· Write/respond to a “demand” letter
· Decide to litigate or not
· Avoid Evidence “Spoliation”
Exercise: Litigation Flowchart / What To Do When You Want To Sue /
How to Prove Your Case
Study Text, Exhibits 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.6 and especially 3.9
Read Ch. 3, pp 68-81
Complete Q’s Case 3.3 (Wal-Mart case) Text pp. 74-75
9/26 / Litigation In Our Judicial System:
Cont’d
How to:
· Write/respond to a “demand” letter
· Decide to litigate or not
· Avoid Evidence “Spoliation”
Exercise: Litigation Flowchart /
Read BB #3
· Schwarzenegger Sues Over Bobblehead Doll
· Facebook evidence,
· “Spoliation” of Bratz evidence
9/28 / Constitutional Law
Which Laws Are “Fundamental?”
Bill of Rights/Equal Protection/Due Process
Open-Book, Timed Quiz on Constitution &
Federal & State Constitutional Controversies
· Racially Restrictive Covenants
· Regulation of Marijuana Use
· Gay Marriage: legal arguments pro and con / Fundamental Rights
Read Ch. 4 pp. 86-89
Read BB #4A: U.S. Constitution
Read EITHER BB #4B: Federalism:
Fed v. State marijuana regulation
OR Read BB #4C Equal Protection:
Is Gay Marriage Legal?
Study for Quiz on Constitution (Fill-in-Blank Guide)
10/3 / Do Students Have 1st Amendment Rights?
How to: Know whether school speech
is protected or prohibited
How to: Use the 1st Amendment offensively to protect the right to express a controversial message / Student Speech Rights & Regulations: T-Shirt Wars!!!
Read and Complete BB #4D:
-“BONG HiTS 4 JESUS”
- School Speech B4 and After BONG HiTS
-“Be Happy Not Gay” T-shirt
- anti-abortion speech: “growing growing gone” T-shirt
10/5 / Constitutional Law, cont.:
Do Corporations Have 1st Amendment Rights?
How to: Use the 1st Amendment Act defensively to avoid liability for a controversial message / Liability For Speech
Read and Complete BB #4E
McCollum v. CBS (Ozzy Osbourne case)
10/10 / Tort Law: Intro to Risk Allocation -
Who Should Pay For Careless/Criminal Acts?
Elements of Negligence
· Duty
· Breach of Duty
· Causation/Proximate Cause
· Damages
How to: Respond to requests for references /
Liability For Other People’s Crimes & Mistakes
Read Ch. 8
Read and Complete Case 8.3 (Randi W.)
Read and Complete BB #8A – Jenny Jones case
10/12 / Tort Law, cont.:
Are Laws Protecting Privacy & Reputations Consistent With The First Amendment?
How to: Avoid exploitation and defamation claim
Video: Eminem “Brain Damage” / Liability For “Ordinary” Mistakes
Read BB #8B (see which topic is assigned)
-“Driving While Distracted”
- Liability of Party Hosts
- Rescue: Duty or Liability?
Prepare for BB #8B Discussion
Reputation Torts and the First Amendment
Read Complete Q’s BB #8C
- Bailey v. Mathers, III
(a/k/a Eminem, Slim Shady)
- “Borat” complaint and select pages of Professor Panda Kroll’s article
VIEW “BORAT” FILM IN EXTERNAL LINKS!
10/17 / Intellectual Property Law
Quiz on IP definitions:
A. Copyright & Fair Use
B. Trademark
C. Patent
D. Trade Secret
Video: “Pretty Woman”
Study guide for TEST I / Managing Knowledge Assets
Complete Q’s Case 15.1 in textbook
(Roy Orbison v. 2 Live Crew case)
STUDY FOR QUIZ
Read Ch.15A , esp. Exh. 15.1, p. 357
Read, Complete Qs BB #15A:
· A.V. v. iParadigm case
· Trade Secrets – article explaining California law
· Viacom v. YouTube – article on $1B lawsuit
10/19 / Intellectual Property Law
Cont’d
Trademark and Fair Use / Read, Complete Q’s BB #15B
Mattel v. MCA Records (The Plastic Plaintiff)
10/24 / TEST I / STUDY FOR TEST
10/26 / Product Liability/False Advertising
How to know: When is advertising “false?”
How to know: When is coffee “too hot to handle”?
Video: Barbie Girl
Video: “Borat” mockumentary presentation
Pick Group Presentation Topic & Team / Read, Complete Q’s BB #9A (hot coffee case)
10/31 / Intro to Contracts - Formation
Sources of Contract Law: UCC – Common Law
How to: Know when a contract exists
How to: Know when a contract needs to be in writing
(Statute of Frauds)
Video: “Pepsi Stuff” / “Did I Agree To That?”
Read Ch. 10 p. 222-224, 228-230, 238-244, 249-253
Exhibits 10.3, 10.5; definition of contract p. G-4
Complete Q’s:
Case 10.2 ‘Pepsi Stuff”
Case 10.5 Rosenfeld v. Basquiat:
Complete BB #10 Fill in the Blank Exercise
(Common Law & UCC Contract Rules)
11/2 / Contracts – Performance & Defenses
“Battle of the Forms”
What happens when businesses exchange
competing forms with different terms?
“Clickthrough” Agreements, Liability Limitations
Unconscionable Contracts
How to: avoid a warranty claim
11/7 / Contracts – Performance & Defenses
Cont’d
“Battle of the Forms”
What happens when businesses exchange
competing forms with different terms?
“Clickthrough” Agreements, Liability Limitations
Unconscionable Contracts
How to: avoid a warranty claim
Study guide for TEST II / Getting Out Of A Bad Contract (Rescission), Part One
Complete Q’s: BB #11A – A $2 Million Mistake
Liability for Defective Products
Read Ch. 9, p. 209, Exhibit 9.2 (Warranties)
Read Ch. 11, esp. p. 258
Read, Complete: BB #11B
(UCC Warranty Provisions)
11/9 / Contract - Defenses:
Fraud/Misrepresentation/Capacity
How to: Set aside/avoid/rescind a contract
How to: Prevent contract “fraud” claims
Exercises: GroupThink
Challenger Disaster & Whistle-blowers / Getting Out Of A Bad Contract (Rescission)
Part Two
Complete Q’s: Case 11.2 (Haunted House)
Complete BB #11C Q’s:
“Young Drugged and Wealthy”
Read BB #9
Complete Q’s: Challenger Disaster
Complete: What’s a Whistle-blower?
Turn In: Group Presentation roles & arguments
(who plays what and/or contributes what)
11/14 / Contract - Defenses:
Fraud/Misrepresentation/Capacity
How to: Set aside/avoid/rescind a contract
How to: Prevent contract “fraud” claims
Exercises: GroupThink
Challenger Disaster & Whistle-blowers / Getting Out Of A Bad Contract (Rescission)
Part Two
Complete Q’s: Case 11.2 (Haunted House)
Complete BB #11C Q’s:
“Young Drugged and Wealthy”
Read BB #9
Complete Q’s: Challenger Disaster
Complete: What’s a Whistle-blower?
Turn In: Group Presentation roles & arguments
(who plays what and/or contributes what)
11/16 / TEST II / Study for Test II
11/21 /
Corporate Law
And Forms of Doing Business
How to:
· Form a sole proprietorship
· Form a partnership (without really trying)· Limit liability, fund a business / Business Structures
Read Ch. 13, esp. Exhibit 13.1
Complete Q’s: Case 13.2
(Shot down in Ma & Pa café)
Read BB #13
Complete BB #13 Q’s
11/23 / Employment Law: Agency
How to: Restrict post-employment conduct
Know if you owe/ are owed overtime pay
/ “Agents” and “Principals”Read Ch. 17 pp. 384-393, 400-402, 411-412
Read BB#17A CA Employee/Employer Duties
Complete BB #17B Case Q’s (Oprah case)
Turn In: Draft of Group Project annotations
11/28 / Employment Law: Agency, cont.
Employer & Employee Liability / Liability for Agent’s Mistakes
Read BB #17B: Advanced Health Care Directive
Read Ch. 17 pp. 395-399
Complete Q’s: Case 17.3 (Cookie Crazy)
Prepare for Quiz “Consider” p. 395-396
(McD’s Most Valuable Employee?)
11/30 / Employment Law: Employee Rights
Wage & Hours/ Sex Discrimination/Harassment
How to:
Avoid/ respond to harassment charges / Illegal Discrimination & Retaliation
in the Workpace
Read BB #18A: CA Employment Law
Read Ch. 18 pp. 400 (whistleblower), 416-436
Complete Q’s: Cases 18.2, 18.3 “BFOQ”
Consider 18.3, p. 427 - “Church of Body Modification”
12/5 / Employment Law: Discriminatory Acts
Religious and Disability Discrimination
How to: Tolerate Intolerance / Religious Discrimination
in the Workplace
Read BB #18B
- Buonanno v. AT&T (Conservative Christians v. Gays)
Complete Q’s: BB #18B
12/7 / TEST III / STUDY FOR TEST
12/12 / FINAL: MEET 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Group Presentations & Peer Evaluation / Exchange Stapled Packet of Group Materials:
- Roll call, FAQ, annotations
Required Course Materials:
Textbook: Jennings (2010) Foundations of the Legal Environment of Business, First Edition.
ISBN 13: 978-0-324-56651-2; ISBN 10: 0-324-56651-4. Available for purchase or rent through the bookstore.
Blackboard – About half of your assignments are on Blackboard!
Be sure you can receive emails that I may send to announce changes or clarify assignments.
Class Preparation – 100% Attendance, 100% Homework Preparation, Three “Immunity Passes” For Bad Days
You are expected bring your syllabus, textbook and homework to class every day.
Plan for four to six hours of homework each week: 2 hours reading and rereading assigned cases and articles and
2-4 hours briefing assigned cases, preparing Case Questions, and/or completing Blackboard assignments.
I have done my best to make the extensive homework worth your time, by choosing “hot” topics likely to arise in your work and daily life. You will be given 3 “immunity passes” to use during the semester in case you miss class or fail to complete an assignment before class. After those are used up, your participation grade drops by 2% if you aren’t prepared. There are 15 class meetings. I audit homework every class, visually and by asking questions. If you aren’t prepared and haven’t given me a pass, or if you are absent and have used all your passes, your grade drops.
Exams:
There will be 3 - 4 multiple choice exams, no blue books. You will be provided with a study guide prior to the exam.
BUS 110: OVERVIEW OF COURSE AND COURSE EXPECTATIONS
This course focuses on applying critical thinking to solve “ill-structured problems.”
WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING?
- Identifying issue(s) and prioritizing;
- Using evidence, experience, and values;
- Managing uncertainty and risk; and
- Making robust decisions (i.e., the best possible decisions that are sensitive to uncertainty & risk)
Course Format:
This is not a lecture-based class. Instead, this class requires substantial student preparation and participation. Students will discuss their responses to assigned work and apply what they have learned to hypothetical and real situations. There will be three to four tests. Students will be responsible for checking Blackboard each week for announcements, changes, clarifications and assignments, and for coming to class with homework completed on the date due. Assigned homework is weighted towards the first half of the semester, and the second half of the semester will generally focus on group presentations.
Expectations: Attendance, Homework Exchange. Class Participation and “Immunity Passes”:
The best way to learn and to apply the law is to read about legal issues that affect us all and talk about them. All students are expected to do assigned reading and homework, attend class, arrive on time, and be prepared to exchange homework in order to participate in discussions in small groups and in class. It is inevitable that “life” will intervene, and a student may not be able to come to class or to come prepared to exchange homework. Each student will be given three “Immunity Passes” to use to get credit in the case of an absence or incomplete assignment. Once all passes have been exhausted, students’ participation grade will be marked down for each absence/incomplete assignment. If a student comes in after roll is taken, the student will be marked absent.
Student Learning Outcomes/Course Objective:
The course objective is to provide student with practical knowledge of legal principles and issues that arise in business. Businesses are subject to employment and contract disputes, negligence claims, regulatory compliance, and other legal issues, yet many business owners and managers are ill-equipped to identify legal risks before they arise. Without legal sophistication, business cannot strategize to prevent problems from occurring or, at least, from spiraling out of control. While litigation is an inevitable cost of doing business, it is controllable. Students will develop the ability to spot potential legal problems and manage risks, enhancing their marketability to the businesses that employ them, and enhancing their effectiveness as entrepreneurs.
At the completion of this course, students will be able to:
· Describe the major components of the United States legal system;
· Write analyses of cases related to business organizations and their legal environments;
· Research and present oral and written analyses of how laws and regulations impact business organizations;