Business Law 1 Test Review Ch. 2

Front 1

Jurisdiction

Back 1

(The power to hear and speak) may be

original (trial) or appellate (reviews trial court)

Front 2

General Jurisdiction Courts

Back 2

(i.e., trialcourts) hear most types of cases

–Levels generally classified according to dollar amount of damages orlocation

–Examples: county courts, district courts

Front 3

Limited Jurisdiction Courts

Back 3

Hear specialized types of cases; appeals from

decisions often require new trial in general

jurisdiction court

–Examples: traffic court, tax court, family court

Front 4

Appellate

Back 4

(typically of a court) concerned with or dealing with applications for decisions to be reversed.

Front 5

Subject-Matter

Jurisdiction

Back 5

Refers to a court’s authority to hear a particular type of dispute

Front 6

Courts of Criminal

Jurisdiction

Back 6

Hear trials of crimes and misdemeanors

–Offenses against the public at large

Front 7

Courts of Civil

Jurisdiction

Back 7

Hear and decide issues concerning private rights andduties (e.g., contracts, torts), and

non-criminal public matters

(e.g., zoning, probate)

Front 8

In Personam Jurisdiction

Back 8

Requires that the defendant be a resident of,

located within, or have committed acts within the physical boundaries of the court’s authority

Front 9

In Rem Jurisdiction

Back 9

Applies when property that is the subject of a

dispute is located within the physical boundaries of a court’s authority

–Example: a dispute over a sale

Front 10

Diversity Jurisdiction

Back 10

Exists when the dispute is between citizens of

different states and amount in controversy

exceeds $75,000

Front 11

Federal Question

Jurisdiction

Back 11

Exists when the dispute arises under the

Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States

Front 12

Federal Court Hierarchy

Back 12

U.S. Supreme Court (appellate jurisdiction; final review and final decision)

^Courts of Appeals (appellate jurisdiction)

^District Courts (trial courts; original jurisdiction) or Statutory Courts (original limited jurisdiction), such as Tax Court, Court of International Trade, Court of Federal Claims, etc.

Front 13

Civil Procedure

Back 13

A set of rules establishing how a lawsuit proceeds from beginning to end

•In an adversarial system, the plaintiff bears the burden of proof to prove his/her case by a

preponderance of the evidence

•Oncethe plaintiff has made a prima facie case (i.e., proved the basic case), the burden of proof may shift to the defendant

Front 14

Civil Pre-Trial Procedure

Back 14

1) Action or event occurs allegedly causes harm 2) Injured party, known as Plaintiff, files a

Petitionor Complaint

3) Sheriff serves process (writ, notice, summons) on Defendant

4) Defendant Answers Complaint

5) Case proceeds to trial or settlement

Front 15

Civil Pre-Trial Procedure (2)

Back 15

•Plaintiff’s complaint or petition plus the

defendant’s answer or response are known as the pleadings

•Defendant may enter a counter-claim against the plaintiff or a cross-complaintagainst a third party

•Other parties may enter the case

Front 16

Civil Pre-Trial Procedure (3)

Back 16

Motion Practice: some motions ask the judge to decide the result before trial

–Motion to dismiss (or demurrer)

–Motion for judgment on the pleadings

–Motion for summary judgment

•Motions should NOT be taken lightly!

Front 17

Civil Pre-Trial Procedure (4)

Back 17

Discovery: Obtaining evidence from other party through interrogatories, requests for admissions, requests for documents, and depositions

–Discovery process can be a battleground

–See; Allstate Indemnity Co. v.Ruiz

•Pretrial Conference: Where judge will hear and rule on many evidentiary issues, discovery

disputes, and other concerns

Front 18

Civil Trial Procedure

Back 18

•Jury Selection

–Voir Dire or Jury Questioning

•Opening Statement from each party

Front 19

Civil Trial Procedure (2)

Back 19

Plaintiff’s case through direct examination of

witnesses (defendant performs

cross-examination) and defendant’s case through direct examination (and plaintiff’s

cross-examination)

Front 20

Civil Trial Procedure (3)

Back 20

•Closing argument or summation from each

party

•Juryverdict

Front 21

Civil Trial Procedure (4)

Back 21

•Trial motions include: motions in limine

(motion to limit evidence), voluntary non-suit or dismissal (drop the case), motion for compulsory non-suit or summary judgment

•After summation or closing argument, a party may move for a mistrial (injustice or

overwhelming prejudice) or directed

verdict (weight of evidence leads to only one conclusion)

Front 22

Civil Trial Procedure (5)

Back 22

•Trier of Fact sees material evidence (physical

objects, documents), hears testimony of

witnesses (who provide factual evidence), and

decides outcome of the case based on facts; trier of fact may bejudge or jury

•Matters of law are issues not of fact, but of law; matters of law decided by a judge–E.g., whether a statute means X or Y, or one law or another

applies to the facts

Front 23

Civil Post-Trial Procedure

Back 23

•After the jury verdict, a party may make a

motion for new trial, judgment non obstanto

verdicto(not withstanding the verdict; JNOV) or

remittitur (defendant’s request for the judge to reduce the amount of damages the jury

recommended; very common)

Front 24

Civil Post-Trial Procedure (2)

Back 24

Aftera judgment has been entered, losing party may appeal decision to a higher court

•Aftera judgment, winning party must have the judgment executed (carried out) to obtain

money,property, or action ordered by the court

Bottomline: a judgment is issued and

enforcement of the judgment begins

Front 25

Civil Post-Trial Procedure (3)

Back 25

The usual justifications for the class action are that:

(1) it allows legal wrongs causing losses to a large number of widely dispersed parties to be fully compensated, and

(2) it promotes economy of judicial effort by

combining many similar claims into one suit

Front 26

Point of Procedure

Back 26

Not all dispute resolution mechanisms in the

legal system are heard by a judge

•Disputes with government often resolved by the relevant administrative agency

–Administrative agencies generally have a unique dispute resolution process (hearings,

appeals)

•Also, disputants may choose alternative dispute resolution

Front 27

Alternate Dispute

Resolution

Back 27

•Arbitration: dispute settled by one or more

arbitrators selected by the parties to adispute; relatively formal; Uniform or Federal Arbitration acts typically used

•Mediation: parties choose neutral party to aid resolution of dispute

•Reference to Third Party: dispute resolution by rent-a-judge, minitrial,summary jury trial, or

association tribunal