Case Problem:
Answer each of the following questions. Your answer must reflect your full and complete evaluation of the issue given to you.
Question 1. Mark is the manager of Mayhem Enterprises. Mark believes that Angel, a twenty-year employee of Mayhem, is stealing from the business. Mark grabs Angel by the arm, starts screaming at her in front of other employees, puts Angel in his office and tells her to stay there until he returns. He then leaves the building. Fully evaluate the legal issues.
Question 2. Much to the joy of his father (who retired from the Air Force as colonel), Jason joined the military right after high school, signing an agreement obligating him to serve for four years. Near the end of his four years, Jason received a call from his father, who encouraged him to stay in the military until he was eligible for retirement (a minimum of 20 years). His father explained that it was in Jason’s best interest to stay in the military. He would be paid well, he would have great benefits, and he would have lifetime medical care for himself and his dependents. Dad told Jason that if he did retire from the military, Dad would pay for any children that Jason had to go to college. Jason stayed in the service for a total of 22 years. After he had been in the service for about 10 years, Jason married. He and his wife had three children. His youngest child applied for college after Jason retired. Jason called his father, and reminded him of his promise. His dad said that he recalled the promise, but had changed his mind. Fully evaluate potential claims against Jason’s dad.
Question 3. Paul bought a Delta Mower, a rotary power mower from the Dynamo Mowers. He had used similar mowers before and was thoroughly familiar with them. The rear of the housing of the mower is embossed with the warning “Keep Hands and Feet From Under Mower.” The instruction booklet twice advises the operator to mow slopes lengthwise, not up and down. While mowing up and down, Paul fell. The mower was tilted up, and came down on Paul’s feet, causing him serious injury. Please fully evaluate any and all claims Paul might bring.
Question 4. Donnie agreed to sell building to Pilar, in which Pilar intended to open a bar. Neither party to the contract was aware of the fact that just before Donnie and Pilar signed their contract that The Church of America had obtained a building permit, and had begun construction on the lot next door. The town in which the land was located had a zoning ordinance which prohibited a bar from being operated within 500 feet of any place where a church was either located or was being build. Fully evaluate the enforceability of the contract between Donnie and Pilar.
Question 5. Scotty, who was 17 years old, purchases a used boat, agreeing to pay for it in monthly installments over a two-year period. During the next six months, he made 6 of the 24 payments he had agreed to make. The sixth payment was made the day before he celebrated his 18th birthday. On his 18th birthday, he took the boat to the lake with friends. The water levels were lower than usual, and Scotty ran the boat over some rocks that were barely submerged, seriously damaging the boat. The next day, he returned the boat to the dealer, and sought to disaffirm the contract. Fully evaluate the legal issues.
Question 6. Farmer John purchased a tractor from Tractors of Las Cruces, a John Deere dealer. After he had the tractor for several months, he realized that the though he though the tractor was new, it had been used for a number of months before he purchased it. The guage on the tractor, which said that the engine had only been run for 18 hours when he bought it, had been turned back to the 18 hour setting to conceal the actual number of hours the tractor had been used. Farmer John sued Tractors of Las Cruces and named John Deere in the suit on the theory that Tractors of Las Cruces was acting as an agent for John Deere. Fully evaluate Farmer John’s claims.
Question 7. The newly hired hostess from Bistro 24 showed up for her first day of work showing extensive tattoos on her arms. The General Manager (GM) ask her to cover them while working, but she refused, claiming her religious beliefs require her to show them in public, although he clearly recalled she was wearing a long sleeve shirt that covered them during her interview. The GM fired her. Fully evaluate the legal issues created by this scenario.
Question 8. Bistro 24’s new waiter, a red-headed woman who the GM knows has a bit of a temper, chased down a group of students who skipped without paying their bill, then tackled and punched one of the students who had been talking trash all evening. The student was evaluated briefly at the emergency room, but had no serious injuries. Discuss and fully evaluate the student’s potential claims.
Question 9. Frieda, a retired widower, could not make ends meet, and realized that she soon would not have enough money to buy food, pay utilities, or obtain basic medical care. She decided that she needed to sell some of her personal possessions. She called her brother, David, and explained the situation, and asked if he might be interested in buy the jewelry she had inherited from their mother. He stopped by her house, looked at the jewelry, and offered to pay her $5,000 for it. She accepted. Later, she learned that David had been able to sell the jewelry for $25,000. Frieda sued David, claiming that he had fooled her into accepting much less than the jewelry was worth by only offering her $5,000. David will testify that he had no idea how much the jewelry was worth when he made the offer, but came up with the figure because he thought $5,000 would be enough money to satisfy his sister’s needs for several months. Fully evaluate her claims.