course material

1. Business Law 1 2nd assignment
PART ONE – Case Scenarios – 6 points eachHarris wakes up in the middle of the night when
he hears a noise downstairs. He grabs his handgun, goes downstairs, and sees two people in
his living room. Without speaking, he begins firing and kills two teenagers. The teenagers,
who were found to be unarmed, were apparently trying to steal a large screen television
from Harris’ house. Argue for or against Harris’ self-defense claim at his trial for
murder.Anne is sitting on a bench in Farragut Square one spring day, drinking from a
clearly marked bottle of Coca Cola. Some months later, Anne is surprised to see herself in a
Super Bowl Coke commercial, depicting her sitting on the bench in the park. No one from
Coca Cola had ever sought her permission, but Coke argues that it is permissible to take the
picture of anyone in a public place. Does Anne have a valid intentional tort claim? Why or
why not?Valerie enters a Safeway store in Alexandria to shop. Fifteen minutes before she
arrived, a store employee dropped a carton of eggs on the floor while stocking a shelf. The
employee continued to stock the shelf, intending to mop up the broken eggs after he
finished stocking. Valerie approaches the display where eggs are sold, and not seeing the
broken eggs on the floor, slips and falls, and sustains a severe back injury. Analyze the
chances of Valerie’s claim against Safeway using the process discussed in class and in your
text. If she were to prevail, how would Valerie’s damages be calculated by the jury?In a
television interview, a politician calls a rival candidate a “loser”, a “slimy bribe taker”, and
“an unqualified candidate because he was born in Canada”. Suppose there is no proof that
the candidate ever lost an election, ever took a bribe, and was born in Canada to an
American citizen mother. Evaluate EACH statement by the politician as to whether the
statement constitutes slander. Please use the proper method of evaluating each element of a
defamation claim. Part Two – Multiple Choice – 2.5 points each1. The following is a term
describing the wrongful state of mind needed for a criminal action?a. Actus reus.b. stare
decisis c. carpe diem d. mens rea.2. The term _______ or “guilty act” is used to describe the
wrongful behavior in a criminal action.a. mens rea b. locos actus c. actus reus d. criminal
actusA crime can be a felony, misdemeanor, or petty offense. How is this determination
usually made? a.. The statute defining the crime usually establishes whether the judge
or jury decides if the crime is a felony, misdemeanor, or petty offense. b. The judge
decides. c. The prosecutor decides how the charges will read. d. The jury
decides.Trevor goes door-to-door selling magazine subscriptions. Trevor knows, however,
that he is simply taking money for subscriptions and has absolutely no intention of ever
arranging for the provision of magazines. Which of the following offenses, if any, has he

2. committed? a. False token b. False pretenses c. Ponzi scheme d. false entry 5. Dalynda
threatens to tell Raul’s boss that he is gambling on the company’s time if he does not pay her
$5,000. This is considered _______.a. exploitation b. corrupt practice c. extortion d. bribery e.
intentional deceit6. A person unlawfully enters a building with the intent to commit a
felony, this would be considered a(n) _______.a. larceny b. burglary c. arson d. intentional
crime e. robbery7. Which of the following is the secretive and wrongful taking and carrying
away of the personal property of another with the intent to permanently deprive the
rightful owner of its use or possession?a. Robbery b. Criminal fraud c. White-collar
burglary d. Larceny e. Arson In order for a person to use the insanity defense in a criminal
case, a person must prove that their mental state was so impaired that they _______. a. a. are
on a medication that impairs their ability to understand their criminal actions b. could
not distinguish right from wrong only c. the insanity defense is no longer allowed unless
the crime is murder d. could not understand the wrongful nature of the act only e. could
not understand the wrongful nature of the act AND could not distinguish right from
wrongOf which of the following must a defendant be informed before questioning?a. That
statements made to law enforcement before arraignment may not be used against the
defendant in court.b. That the defendant has the right to consult an attorney before
speaking to the police.c. That the right to an attorney does not begin until after the
defendant is arraigned.d. That the defendant must answer questions, or there will be a
presumption of guilt at trial.e. That unless the defendant can afford an attorney, the
defendant will not have an attorney. In the U.S. system of torts, torts are commonly
classified as: a. Intentional, negligent, or strict liability. b. Intentional,
negligent, strict liability, or criminal. c. Intentional, negligent, or criminal, not strict
liability. d. Intentional, criminal, or strict liability, not negligent. You and your
neighbor Hammy are arguing about trespass to realty. Which of the following situations
would NOT be the tort of trespass to realty? a. When a person
intentionally enters the land of another without
permission.
b. When a person intentionally causes an object to be placed on the land of another without
the landowner’s permission. c. When a person
refuses to remove something he placed on the property that the owner asked him to
remove. d. When a person stays on the
land of another when the owner tells him to
leave. e. Whe
n a person accidentally places something on the land of another.Matt intends to throw a
baseball at Jamal and hit Jamal in the head with the ball because he missed an easy fly ball
hit to him in the field. Jamal is standing directly next to Sally in the dugout. Matt throws the
baseball but hits Sally in the head instead of Jamal. What type of tort did Matt commit
against Sally? a. An accidental tort because Matt struck Sally
by mistake. b. The tort of negligence because Matt only intended to harm
Jamal. c. No tort was committed, Jamal was Matt’s target
not Sally. d. An intentional tort because even though Matt meant to hit Jamal, he still
caused harm by hitting Sally. e. A strict liability tort occurred because throwing a

3. baseball is inherently dangerous.A reporter receives information from several highly
credible sources that a famous actress is pregnant and that the father of the baby is not her
husband. The story is later proved untrue. The actress sues for defamation. Is she likely to
be successful? a. Yes, automatically, because the printed story turned out to be untrue. b.
No, because the reporter did not act with actual malice. c. Yes, because pregnancy is a
private matter even for public figures. d. No, because the allegations would be unlikely to
damage a person’s reputation. e. Yes, because the printed story would be likely to damage
the reputation of the actress._________________damages are a small amount of money given to
recognize that a defendant did indeed commit a tort in a case in which there were no
compensable damages suffered by the plaintiff. a.
Nominal b. Compensatory c. Retaliatory d. Revenge e. Punitive__________damages are
awarded to punish the defendant and to deter others from similar conduct. a.
Compensatory b. Punitive c. Revenge d. Nominal e. Retaliatory16. Which of the following is
NOT a typical type of compensatory damage awarded in an automobile negligence
case? a. Damages to punish the
defendant for wrongdoing. b. Medical expenses. c. Pain and suffering. d. Cost to repair
damaged property. e. Lost wages.George is riding his skateboard down the street while
listening to music with earbuds in. George does not see Martha, a store owner, who is
putting flowers out in front of her store. He looks up just in time and swerves to miss
Martha but knocks her flower display down, shattering it to pieces. Is George
liable? a. No, Martha had a duty not to be on the sidewalk. b.
No, Martha was not injured. c. No, because property is not a compensable
loss. d. Yes, because George had the intention of being on the
sidewalk which is always a breach of his duty of care. e. Yes, Martha suffered a compensable
property loss.A fan at a baseball stadium is hit by a baseball. Under what circumstances
could the owner of the stadium be held liable for resulting
injuries? a. If the owner of the stadium was aware of a chance
that a ball would strike a patron and failed to cancel the game, despite the
risk. b. If the baseball team was the home team and not
the visiting
team.
c. If the stadium owner failed to fulfill its duty to provide reasonable protection because
there were no barriers or other measures taken to protect game attendees from being
struck by the
ball.
d. In all circumstances where a ball hits game
attendees, regardless of any other
factors. e. If the
stadium owner took all cost-effective precautions but failed to take part in a multi-million
dollar research effort to construct a robot to intercept foul balls.While out for a bike ride,
Huifen sees a child, alone and unsupervised, fall and injure himself. Which of the following is
true as a matter of law? a. She has no duty to render assistance to
the child. b. She must render assistance to the child only if she can do so without peril

4. to herself. c. She must come to the child’s assistance because a child is
involved. d. Because the law holds that every U.S. citizen holds the duty to help a stranger in
peril, she must come to the child’s assistance. e. She must render assistance to the child only
if she is acquainted with the child’s parents.In the Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad
Companycase in the readings, the case is famous for
_______. a. malpractice by a
company to a customer. b. addressing what a breach of duty is by a company for their
customers. c. issuing the standards of care for
companies to customers. d. assessing damages in a negligence case for
customers. e. addressing the issue of
proximate cause in a negligence case.The standard of care associated with the duty owed in
a negligence case is the _______ standard. a. actual harm b. professional person c. causal
harm d. legal person e. reasonable personMany states have statutes
that allow bartenders and bar owners to be held liable for injuries caused by individuals
who become intoxicated at the bar. These are known as a. voluntary intoxicated persons
statutes. b. bar owner liability statutes. c. negligent bar owner acts. d. social host laws.
e. dram shop acts.Which of the following is a doctrine available to defendants whereby a
defendant may avoid liability by establishing that the plaintiff voluntarily and unreasonably
encountered the risk of the actual harm that the defendant caused? a. Negligence per
se. b. Assumption of the risk doctrine. c. Last-clear-chance doctrine. d. Res ipsa
loquitur. e. Contributory negligence doctrine.What was the result on appeal of the R. J.
Reynolds Tobacco case in the text in which the trial court awarded a smoker $200,000
against R. J. Reynolds Tobacco? a. The appellate court reversed the award, finding
the company had no duty to warn smokers of the harm associated with smoking
cigarettes. b. The appellate court reversed the award because
harm from smoking cigarettes was
unforeseeable. c. The
appellate court affirmed the award against R. J. Reynolds Tobacco, which before 1969 had
negligently failed to warn smokers of the harm associated with smoking
cigarettes.
d. The appellate court reversed the
award because consumers were harmed only when they misused the
product. e. The appellate court affirmed
the award, even though the product was misused.As recognized by the court in Sperry-New
Holland v. John Paul Prestage and Pam Prestage, which of the following is true regarding the
consumer expectations test for product defect? a. That a plaintiff may only recover if the
plaintiff reasonably expected the manufacturer to have insurance, that the manufacturer did
have insurance of the type to cover the injury at issue, and that the plaintiff had no part in
causing the injury. b. That a plaintiff may only recover if the plaintiff was the purchaser of
the product causing injury. c. That if the plaintiff, applying the knowledge of an ordinary
consumer, sees the danger and can appreciate that danger, then he cannot recover for any
injury resulting from that appreciated danger. d. That a plaintiff cannot recover if a
reasonable person would conclude that the danger in fact of the product, whether

5. foreseeable or not, outweighs the utility of the product. e. That a plaintiff may only recover
if consumer-oriented household goods are
involved.
Who could be
considered foreseeable plaintiffs in product liability cases? a. Users and consumers only. b.
Users, consumers, and bystanders. c. Users and bystanders only. d.
Users only. e. The purchaser and any family member only.What was the result in the text’s
case involving a plaintiff who suffered permanent liver damage as a result of drinking a
glass of wine with a Tylenol capsule? a. For plaintiff, because the degree of
potential harm was substantial and it would have been easy to place a warning on the
product label. b. For plaintiff, because no comparative
negligence was
found.
c. For defendant, because there was no proof of market
share.
d. For defendant, because it had no duty to
warn.
e. For defendant, because the plaintiff’s adverse reaction from the
ingestion of only one capsule was extremely rare.What must a plaintiff show to establish a
claim for breach of express warranty? a. There was a breach of the representation and
the breach was the defendant’s fault. b. The representation was the basis of the bargain and
there was a breach of the representation. c. The representation was the basis of the bargain,
there was a breach of the representation, and the defendant’s negligence caused her
injury. d. The representation was the basis of the bargain and the breach was the
defendant’s fault. e. The representation was the basis of the bargain, there was a breach of
the representation, and the breach was the defendant’s fault.Which theory might allow a
plaintiff to recover when a plaintiff cannot trace an injury caused by a defective product to
any particular manufacturer? a. The reciprocal theory. b. The unknown maker theory.
c. The shared production theory. d. The marginal theory. e. The market share theory.Which
of the following products would likely have the lowest cost for product liability
insurance? a. Child’s car seat b. Toaster oven c. Cook top stove. d. Window blinds with
cords e. Decorative wall art.Harris wakes up in the middle of the night when he hears a
noise downstairs. He grabs his handgun, goes downstairs, and sees two people in his living
room. Without speaking, he begins firing and kills two teenagers. The teenagers, who were
found to be unarmed, were apparently trying to steal a large screen television from Harris’
house. Argue for or against Harris’ self-defense claim at his trial for murder.Anne is sitting
on a bench in Farragut Square one spring day, drinking from a clearly marked bottle of Coca
Cola. Some months later, Anne is surprised to see herself in a Super Bowl Coke commercial,
depicting her sitting on the bench in the park. No one from Coca Cola had ever sought her
permission, but Coke argues that it is permissible to take the picture of anyone in a public
place. Does Anne have a valid intentional tort claim? Why or why not?Valerie enters a
Safeway store in Alexandria to shop. Fifteen minutes before she arrived, a store employee
dropped a carton of eggs on the floor while stocking a shelf. The employee continued to

6. stock the shelf, intending to mop up the broken eggs after he finished stocking. Valerie
approaches the display where eggs are sold, and not seeing the broken eggs on the floor,
slips and falls, and sustains a severe back injury. Analyze the chances of Valerie’s claim
against Safeway using the process discussed in class and in your text. If she were to prevail,
how would Valerie’s damages be calculated by the jury?In a television interview, a politician
calls a rival candidate a “loser”, a “slimy bribe taker”, and “an unqualified candidate because
he was born in Canada”. Suppose there is no proof that the candidate ever lost an election,
ever took a bribe, and was born in Canada to an American citizen mother. Evaluate EACH
statement by the politician as to whether the statement constitutes slander. Please use the
proper method of evaluating each element of a defamation claim. Part Two – Multiple
Choice – 2.5 points each1. The following is a term describing the wrongful state of mind
needed for a criminal action?a. Actus reus.b. stare decisis c. carpe diem d. mens rea.2.
The term _______ or “guilty act” is used to describe the wrongful behavior in a criminal
action.a. mens rea b. locos actus c. actus reus d. criminal actusA crime can be a felony,
misdemeanor, or petty offense. How is this determination usually made? a.. The statute
defining the crime usually establishes whether the judge or jury decides if the crime is a
felony, misdemeanor, or petty offense. b. The judge decides. c. The prosecutor
decides how the charges will read. d. The jury decides.Trevor goes door-to-door selling
magazine subscriptions. Trevor knows, however, that he is simply taking money for
subscriptions and has absolutely no intention of ever arranging for the provision of
magazines. Which of the following offenses, if any, has he committed? a. False token b.
False pretenses c. Ponzi scheme d. false entry 5. Dalynda threatens to tell Raul’s boss that
he is gambling on the company’s time if he does not pay her $5,000. This is considered
_______.a. exploitation b. corrupt practice c. extortion d. bribery e. intentional deceit6. A
person unlawfully enters a building with the intent to commit a felony, this would be
considered a(n) _______.a. larceny b. burglary c. arson d. intentional crime e.
robbery7. Which of the following is the secretive and wrongful taking and carrying away of
the personal property of another with the intent to permanently deprive the rightful owner
of its use or possession?a. Robbery b. Criminal fraud c. White-collar burglary d. Larceny e.
Arson In order for a person to use the insanity defense in a criminal case, a person must
prove that their mental state was so impaired that they _______. a. a. are on a medication
that impairs their ability to understand their criminal actions b. could not distinguish
right from wrong only c. the insanity defense is no longer allowed unless the crime is
murder d. could not understand the wrongful nature of the act only e. could not
understand the wrongful nature of the act AND could not distinguish right from wrongOf
which of the following must a defendant be informed before questioning?a. That statements
made to law enforcement before arraignment may not be used against the defendant in
court.b. That the defendant has the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the
police.c. That the right to an attorney does not begin until after the defendant is arraigned.d.
That the defendant must answer questions, or there will be a presumption of guilt at trial.e.
That unless the defendant can afford an attorney, the defendant will not have an attorney. In
the U.S. system of torts, torts are commonly classified as: a. Intentional,
negligent, or strict liability. b. Intentional, negligent, strict liability, or

7. criminal. c. Intentional, negligent, or criminal, not strict liability. d. Intentional,
criminal, or strict liability, not negligent. You and your neighbor Hammy are arguing about
trespass to realty. Which of the following situations would NOT be the tort of trespass to
realty? a. When a person intentionally enters the land of another
without
permission.
b. When a person intentionally causes an object to be placed on the land of another without
the landowner’s permission. c. When a person
refuses to remove something he placed on the property that the owner asked him to
remove. d. When a person stays on the
land of another when the owner tells him to
leave. e. Whe
n a person accidentally places something on the land of another.Matt intends to throw a
baseball at Jamal and hit Jamal in the head with the ball because he missed an easy fly ball
hit to him in the field. Jamal is standing directly next to Sally in the dugout. Matt throws the
baseball but hits Sally in the head instead of Jamal. What type of tort did Matt commit
against Sally? a. An accidental tort because Matt struck Sally
by mistake. b. The tort of negligence because Matt only intended to harm
Jamal. c. No tort was committed, Jamal was Matt’s target
not Sally. d. An intentional tort because even though Matt meant to hit Jamal, he still
caused harm by hitting Sally. e. A strict liability tort occurred because throwing a
baseball is inherently dangerous.A reporter receives information from several highly
credible sources that a famous actress is pregnant and that the father of the baby is not her
husband. The story is later proved untrue. The actress sues for defamation. Is she likely to
be successful? a. Yes, automatically, because the printed story turned out to be untrue. b.
No, because the reporter did not act with actual malice. c. Yes, because pregnancy is a
private matter even for public figures. d. No, because the allegations would be unlikely to
damage a person’s reputation. e. Yes, because the printed story would be likely to damage
the reputation of the actress._________________damages are a small amount of money given to
recognize that a defendant did indeed commit a tort in a case in which there were no
compensable damages suffered by the plaintiff. a.
Nominal b. Compensatory c. Retaliatory d. Revenge e. Punitive__________damages are
awarded to punish the defendant and to deter others from similar conduct. a.
Compensatory b. Punitive c. Revenge d. Nominal e. Retaliatory16. Which of the following is
NOT a typical type of compensatory damage awarded in an automobile negligence
case? a. Damages to punish the
defendant for wrongdoing. b. Medical expenses. c. Pain and suffering. d. Cost to repair
damaged property. e. Lost wages.George is riding his skateboard down the street while
listening to music with earbuds in. George does not see Martha, a store owner, who is
putting flowers out in front of her store. He looks up just in time and swerves to miss
Martha but knocks her flower display down, shattering it to pieces. Is George
liable? a. No, Martha had a duty not to be on the sidewalk. b.
No, Martha was not injured. c. No, because property is not a compensable

8. loss. d. Yes, because George had the intention of being on the
sidewalk which is always a breach of his duty of care. e. Yes, Martha suffered a compensable
property loss.A fan at a baseball stadium is hit by a baseball. Under what circumstances
could the owner of the stadium be held liable for resulting
injuries? a. If the owner of the stadium was aware of a chance
that a ball would strike a patron and failed to cancel the game, despite the
risk. b. If the baseball team was the home team and not
the visiting
team.
c. If the stadium owner failed to fulfill its duty to provide reasonable protection because
there were no barriers or other measures taken to protect game attendees from being
struck by the
ball.
d. In all circumstances where a ball hits game
attendees, regardless of any other
factors. e. If the
stadium owner took all cost-effective precautions but failed to take part in a multi-million
dollar research effort to construct a robot to intercept foul balls.While out for a bike ride,
Huifen sees a child, alone and unsupervised, fall and injure himself. Which of the following is
true as a matter of law? a. She has no duty to render assistance to
the child. b. She must render assistance to the child only if she can do so without peril
to herself. c. She must come to the child’s assistance because a child is
involved. d. Because the law holds that every U.S. citizen holds the duty to help a stranger in
peril, she must come to the child’s assistance. e. She must render assistance to the child only
if she is acquainted with the child’s parents.In the Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad
Companycase in the readings, the case is famous for
_______. a. malpractice by a
company to a customer. b. addressing what a breach of duty is by a company for their
customers. c. issuing the standards of care for
companies to customers. d. assessing damages in a negligence case for
customers. e. addressing the issue of
proximate cause in a negligence case.The standard of care associated with the duty owed in
a negligence case is the _______ standard. a. actual harm b. professional person c. causal
harm d. legal person e. reasonable personMany states have statutes
that allow bartenders and bar owners to be held liable for injuries caused by individuals
who become intoxicated at the bar. These are known as a. voluntary intoxicated persons
statutes. b. bar owner liability statutes. c. negligent bar owner acts. d. social host laws.
e. dram shop acts.Which of the following is a doctrine available to defendants whereby a
defendant may avoid liability by establishing that the plaintiff voluntarily and unreasonably
encountered the risk of the actual harm that the defendant caused? a. Negligence per
se. b. Assumption of the risk doctrine. c. Last-clear-chance doctrine. d. Res ipsa
loquitur. e. Contributory negligence doctrine.What was the result on appeal of the R. J.
Reynolds Tobacco case in the text in which the trial court awarded a smoker $200,000

9. against R. J. Reynolds Tobacco? a. The appellate court reversed the award, finding
the company had no duty to warn smokers of the harm associated with smoking
cigarettes. b. The appellate court reversed the award because
harm from smoking cigarettes was
unforeseeable. c. The
appellate court affirmed the award against R. J. Reynolds Tobacco, which before 1969 had
negligently failed to warn smokers of the harm associated with smoking
cigarettes.
d. The appellate court reversed the
award because consumers were harmed only when they misused the
product. e. The appellate court affirmed
the award, even though the product was misused.As recognized by the court in Sperry-New
Holland v. John Paul Prestage and Pam Prestage, which of the following is true regarding the
consumer expectations test for product defect? a. That a plaintiff may only recover if the
plaintiff reasonably expected the manufacturer to have insurance, that the manufacturer did
have insurance of the type to cover the injury at issue, and that the plaintiff had no part in
causing the injury. b. That a plaintiff may only recover if the plaintiff was the purchaser of
the product causing injury. c. That if the plaintiff, applying the knowledge of an ordinary
consumer, sees the danger and can appreciate that danger, then he cannot recover for any
injury resulting from that appreciated danger. d. That a plaintiff cannot recover if a
reasonable person would conclude that the danger in fact of the product, whether
foreseeable or not, outweighs the utility of the product. e. That a plaintiff may only recover
if consumer-oriented household goods are
involved.
Who could be
considered foreseeable plaintiffs in product liability cases? a. Users and consumers only. b.
Users, consumers, and bystanders. c. Users and bystanders only. d.
Users only. e. The purchaser and any family member only.What was the result in the text’s
case involving a plaintiff who suffered permanent liver damage as a result of drinking a
glass of wine with a Tylenol capsule? a. For plaintiff, because the degree of
potential harm was substantial and it would have been easy to place a warning on the
product label. b. For plaintiff, because no comparative
negligence was
found.
c. For defendant, because there was no proof of market
share.
d. For defendant, because it had no duty to
warn.
e. For defendant, because the plaintiff’s adverse reaction from the
ingestion of only one capsule was extremely rare.What must a plaintiff show to establish a
claim for breach of express warranty? a. There was a breach of the representation and
the breach was the defendant’s fault. b. The representation was the basis of the bargain and
there was a breach of the representation. c. The representation was the basis of the bargain,

10. there was a breach of the representation, and the defendant’s negligence caused her
injury. d. The representation was the basis of the bargain and the breach was the
defendant’s fault. e. The representation was the basis of the bargain, there was a breach of
the representation, and the breach was the defendant’s fault.Which theory might allow a
plaintiff to recover when a plaintiff cannot trace an injury caused by a defective product to
any particular manufacturer? a. The reciprocal theory. b. The unknown maker theory.
c. The shared production theory. d. The marginal theory. e. The market share theory.Which
of the following products would likely have the lowest cost for product liability
insurance? a. Child’s car seat b. Toaster oven c. Cook top stove. d. Window blinds with
cords e. Decorative wall art.