Case Study:
Part 1
Please read the following fact pattern and address all three of the questions. Only discuss relevant issues! I am not as interested in your outcome (who will end up winning) as I am in how you use the law to support your points. Base your answer only on facts given. If additional information is needed, tell me that. Your answers should be about 200 words
McBain Truck Company had an established rule that its truck drivers were not allowed to carry passengers in the trucks. Further, this rule was included in the contract between the union and the company. Balsom, a driver for McBain, invited a friend to ride in his truck on a day's delivery trip. As a result of Balsom's carelessness during the trip, the truck was involved in a collision and his friend was seriously injured.
a. Is the employer responsible to third parties for injuries caused by an employee in the normal performance of employment?
b. Would Balsom be held responsible for the injuries?
c. Is an employer liable to third parties for all actions of an employee?
Part 2
1) Helena, the purchasing agent for Cassadine Inc., contacts five different suppliers to obtain price quotes for office supplies she needs to order. The price for the identical office supplies ranges from a high of $855 to a low of $500, includ¬ing shipping and handling charges. As purchasing agent, Helena has complete autonomy on selecting suppliers and on placing orders up to $5,000; before placing orders in excess of $5,000, she must get signed authorization from the company's comptroller.
A. If Helena purchases the supplies from the most expensive supplier because she is angry at her employer for turning down her recent request for a raise, what duty of an agent has she breached? What are Cassadine's remedies?
B. Helena purchases a $20,000 computer system from Alpha Inc., a dealer she has never ordered from, but who knows Helena is the purchasing agent for Cassadine. If Cassadine refuses to accept the system when it arrives, what argument will Alpha make for Cassadine's liability? What will be Cassadine's defense?
2) Brandon is a traveling salesperson for Best Publishing Co. His job is to drive around to bookstores and persuade them to stock Best publications. One day, while on his way to his next appointment in College Park, Brandon accidentally rear-ends Emily.
A. Has Brandon committed a tort? What will Emily have to prove to hold Best liable?
B. Assume Brandon uses his own car, sets his own hours, decides without direction from Best what bookstores to visit, and is paid according to how many books he places in bookstores. What kind of agent is Brandon? How does this affect Best's liability?
C. Assume Brandon takes directions from Best on most aspects of his job. While stopping to get gas, Brandon gets into a fistfight with the station attendant, who makes a negative comment about Brandon's favorite base¬ball team. Brandon injures the attendant. If the attendant sues Best, what will Best argue to avoid liability?
3) A buyer, wishing to buy a Christmas gift for her husband, visits a computer store and asks the salesperson to recommend a laser printer. She tells the sales-person that the printer must print at a minimum of 12 pages per minute at a minimum resolution of 1200 dots per inch (dpi) and must have a duty cycle of at least 10,000 copies per month. The salesperson recommends a low-end printer on sale that week but fails to mention that it prints at a speed of only 8 pages per minute and is rated for not more than 5,000 copies per month.
A. Has the salesperson breached any express warranty?
B. Has the salesperson breached any implied warranty? Explain.
C. If the salesperson demonstrates a color printer that meets all of the seller's requirement but then sells her a cheaper monochrome laser printer instead, has he breached any warranty?