Assignment:
6 to 8 page essay:
Seldom-Break Inc. (SBI) has just entered the power tool market. SBI is not actually a manufacturer of power tools. Instead, SBI buys surplus Soviet-era Russian power tools, puts its own name on them, and sells them to construction outfits and consumers in the United States. SBI plans to sell the surplus tools quickly and switch to other ventures (under a new name) once all of the tools are sold. SBI knows of two major defects associated with the power tools. First, the power tools are coated with a paint that has been shown to cause cancer in a significant number of persons who are exposed to it for more than one hundred hours. Second, the circular saws that SBI sells have a high probability of throwing their blades after about 200 hours of use. Both workers using the saws and pedestrians walking by worksites may be injured seriously by the flying blades. Although the SBI corporate board knows about these problems, the consuming public and SBI's investors do not. SBI has few of its assets in the United States and no employees in the United States. SBI sells only to distributors in Florida and Georgia. The only SBI investors in the United States are in Florida. The headquarters and bank accounts for SBI are in the Cayman Islands.
Write an essay including the answers to the following questions.
1. Identify the consumer problem(s) (assuming the public is defined as all persons in the world).
2. How does this change if you assume the public is United States citizens?
3. How does this change if you assume the public is defined as Georgia residents?
4. Now, assume the public is United States citizens and residents. What controllers are available? What sanctions could they use?
a. First Party?
i. Who is/are the first party controller(s)?
ii. What sanctions could they employ?
b. Second Party - is there an explicit/implicit contract?
i. Who are the second party controllers?
ii. What sanctions could they employ?
c. Third Party: Social Forces
i. What are the social forces?
ii. What sanctions could they employ?
d. Third Party: Organizations
i. What types of organizations could play a role here?
ii. What sanctions could they employ?
e. Third Party: Government
i. What are possible government actions?
ii. What sanctions could they employ?
5. Now, for one of the controllers listed above, describe a remedial rule that would be inappropriate.