April 7, 2014

Focus Activity

   On the Agencies page, answer the following questions as a response to all of your previous posts.

     a. What steps would you take if you thought you were being discriminated against in the workplace?
     b. What can you do if the EEOC does not find you have been discriminated against?
     c. What would you do if you felt you were being retaliated against or had a "whistleblower" complaint?

   Use this link to help you answer these questions  http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/emp/emp_faq.php

Closing Activity

     a. Find a recent case relating to recent (within the last two years) on the exceptions to "at will employment
     b. Summarize the article
     c. Tell me which exception applies to the case
     d. What was the outcome or what is your predicted outcome?
     e. Why?

*Respond to your other posts from this unit

April 4, 2014

As a response to your posts from yesterday, read the following and answer the questions. 

Doug, a 16 year-old, has a lot of money on his hands with very little time so he decides to hire a personal assistant. When Doug turns 17 and needs a car, he gives specific instructions to his personal assistant (Sam) as the car he wants (personal assistant is 24). Sam follows his instructions exactly, supplies the salesman with a business card and a notarized statement authorizing Sam to act in Doug's place. When Sam brings the car to Doug, Doug has changed his mind and tries to cancel the contract.

1. Is Doug still responsible for the contract?

2. Is Sam responsible?

3. Does the notarized letter give Sam the ability to act in Doug's place?

April 3, 2014

Read the scenario below and post your answers to the questions on the page titled "Agencies."

Bruce owned an apartment building.  He hired a maintenance manager named Tom to “make minor repairs requested by tenants such as fixing plumbing leaks, replacing light switches, and replacing broken garbage disposals.”  Things worked well until Tom ordered a new refrigerator and stove for one of the apts. without consulting Bruce.  Tom had given the business card Bruce printed for him to the appliance store.  The card described Tom as the “Manager of Maintenance” for the apt. complex.  Based on that business card, the retailer delivered the appliances.

1. Why should Bruce be bound to pay for the appliances?

2. Why should Bruce not be bound to pay for the appliances?

April 1, 2014

I apologize for my absence today-it was unexpected. The quiz has been rescheduled to tomorrow. Your work for today is below.

1. Read the following article.

 http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2013/11/beastie-boys-write-open-letter-to-goldieblox-over.html


2. Provide a brief summary of the issue.

3. Under what  circumstances can someone use copyrighted material legally?

4. Based on what you know about copyright law and the facts of this case, did GoldieBox infringe upon The Beastie Boy's copyrights?


5. Read the following article.

http://www.wptv.com/news/science-tech/apple-aapl-and-samsung-face-off-in-court-again-over-patent-disputes

6. Provide a brief summary of the issue.

7. What is a patent?

8. In this case, what does Apple need to prove in order to win their case?

9. Finish any notes you want to add to your document for tomorrow.


*All posts can be done as a comment to this post. Keep all of your posts together and sign them with your first initial and last name. Have a good day!

March 28, 2014

Focus Activity-Read the case below and answer the questions. You can respond to this post.

As he loaded an entertainment center into the U-Haul trailer he had rented, James Hefley noted a lack of internal tie down points in the trailer and improvised by securing the entertainment center with three rachet straps he attached to the trailer’s outer edges. When the entertainment center fell out of the trailer on a highway, its 30-pound base flew through the air and crashed through Maria Federici's  windshield, hitting her across the eyes.

As a result of the accident, the bones in Maria’s face were completely shattered. She suffered permanent brain damage, the loss of both eyes, and her senses of taste and smell, among other impairments. Even after seven reconstructive surgeries, her face bears little resemblance to how it looked before the accident. Maria, who lives with her mother, now requires a service dog to get around and hopes to soon be able to live on her own.

Shortly after the accident, Maria and her mother were referred to AAJ member Simon Forgette of Kirkland, who took her case after examining the U-Haul trailer involved and seeing clear indications that it was unsafe for do-it-yourself movers. Together with Seattle attorney William Leedom, Forgette filed suit on behalf of Maria against U-Haul and Hefley.

In addition to claiming each party acted negligently, Maria’s suit also claimed that U-Haul’s “RO model” trailer was not reasonably safe as a result of its low tailgate and the absence of internal tie down points, and that U-Haul failed to warn renters that large items can fall out of an open trailer. “U-Haul failed to provide any instructions to renters regarding how cargo loaded into RO trailers could be secured,” Forgette says. “U-Haul’s load restraining safety system consisted primarily of leaving it up to the do-it-yourself mover to secure the load.”

Maria’s accident was widely reported in the local media, and interest in the case was reignited before the trial, when the court refused to admit evidence that Maria—who had one glass of wine the evening of the accident—had a blood alcohol level over the legal limit, presumably a key piece of U-Haul’s defense strategy.

Forgette believes it is important for people to know exactly why the evidence was kept out. The computer enzyme analyzer used by the hospital to analyze blood assigns the same color marker to a chemical known as NADH as it does to alcohol, then prints results based on the color detected by the machine. “When you lose as much blood as Maria did, your body produces the chemical NADH,” Forgette said. “The hospital’s analyzer wrongly read the NADH in Maria’s blood as alcohol.”

-Taken from Woman’s traumatic highway accident exposes dangers of unsecured loads, inspires new laws

Federici v. U-Haul Intl., Wash., King Co. Super., No. 06-2-11563-5 SEA, Nov. 9, 2007.

1. What are U-Hauls responsibilities as the bailor?

2. What are Hefley's responsibilities as the bailee?

3. Given what you know about this case, what would be your verdict?

4.  Why?

March 26, 2014

Focus

     -Read this article  http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/03/bullies_beware_groundbreaking_ruling_allows_schools_to_sue_students_who_harass_peers.html

    -Do you agree or disagree with this decision? Why or why not? Be specific.

March 25, 2014

Focus Activity-Consider the most valuable piece of property that you own. Make a list of how you exercise your rights and interests of
       -title
       -possession
       -use
       -alienation

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