California State University, Fullerton s2

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FULLERTON COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT Management 246 Instructor: Richard O. Parry, Esq. Business & Its Legal Environment Office Hours: M,Th 1:00 to 3:30 Summer, 2004 or by appointment Room: LH 636 Telephone: Dept.: 278-2251 Office: 278-3410 e-mail: [email protected] COURSE SYLLABUS TEXT: West’s Legal Environment of Business, Cross, Bohlman, Dundas & Miller Course Mechanics and Procedures

Management 246 is a required course for all business majors. Students who have taken a transferable Legal Environment of Business course at another college, should not take this course. Any questions about this should be discussed with an advisor before continuing with this course. Only a portion of the text will be covered in Management 246. Please note that the text provides an appendix with various statutes and a glossary among other information. However, it is important that questions about the subject matter be raised in class. In addition to the legal research issues that are presented in the text, as well as class, students have access to Lexis- Nexis. Lexis-Nexis is available through the Pollak Library’s home page. To encourage students to make use of this exceptional resource, this syllabus will refer to “related material” in certain assignments. The related material consists of cases and statutory law that can be accessed through Lexis-Nexis as well as other sources. The related material may provide a more thorough understanding of legal concepts that are covered in class. In addition, the related material provides a way for students to participate in class. To the extent that the related material is discussed in class, it may be covered on the exam. The Pollak Library may be found at: http://www.library.fullerton.edu/ At the library’s home page, go to “Find Articles & More.” Then proceed to “Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe.” Last, go to “Legal Research.” The method to locate the cases and statutory material will be discussed in class. In addition, the syllabus contains links to various sites that can provide students with additional information. Most of the sites are California and federal government agencies. However, this course also includes exposure to international aspects of certain topics. Those topics are denoted with an asterisk. Therefore, links to some United Nations organizations are also provided. The United Nations maintains a Web site at: www.un.org/ The teaching method will be a combination of lecture and discussion with case analysis. It is the policy of the instructor that students read the assigned material prior to class and attend each class. Please read one chapter ahead of the assigned material. This course has a reputation for being difficult and requires hard work. At the same time the course can be an interesting and stimulating experience. Simply reading the text is not sufficient. Attendance in class is important. Therefore, class participation, which requires attendance, will also count toward a student’s final grade. To encourage participation, students will receive four points each time they participate. However, the maximum number of points that a student can receive in any one class meeting is four points, regardless of how much is said. In addition, the following rules apply to participation: 1. The question or comment must be reasonably relevant to the subject of the class; 2. No points for participation will be given during a review of an examination; 3. No points will be given for a question demonstrating that the student did not read the assigned material prior to class (NOTE: “skimming” the material prior to class does not count as “reading” the material); 4. No points will be given for gratuitous questions that are simply an attempt to get points. The policy on participation begins the second class. The determination to give points for a question or comment is within the sole discretion of the instructor. Attendance, preparation for class and participation in class are much more likely to result in a good final grade for the course. There will be one midterm and a final examination, for a total of two examinations, of approximately equal weight. Each exam will have seventy-five (75) questions and each question on the exam is worth two points for a total of 150 points. Make-up exams will be allowed only when requested in writing, for good cause, and discussed with the professor prior to the regularly scheduled exam. Any make-up exam must be taken prior to the next class meeting. Grading will be according to University Policy. The exams will consist of multiple choice and/or true/false and/or short answer questions. Therefore, your writing ability, including vocabulary, grammar and spelling will affect your grade just as it would affect your performance appraisal on a job. Tentative Grading System: Mid-Term Exam: 150 points 42% Final Exam: 150 points 42% Participation: 56 16% Note: All numbers are approximations. The maximum number of possible points possible: 356. Policy on “extra” credit: There will be no “extra” credit. The time that would be spent on “extra” credit is better spent on preparing for class and studying for the exams. Changes: While every effort is made to provide accurate information in this syllabus, I reserve the right to change any aspect of this material, including, but not limited to assignments, as deemed necessary in my sole discretion. Every effort will be made to announce changes in class however any such changes may be made without prior notice. Study Guide: A study guide is available for download at faculty.fullerton.edu/rparry. Academic integrity: Students who violate university standards of academic integrity are subject to disciplinary sanctions, including failure in the course and suspension from the university. Since dishonesty in any form harms the individual, other students, and the university, policies on academic integrity are strictly enforced. I expect that you will familiarize yourself with the academic integrity guidelines found in the current student handbook. See also the University Catalog, page 484 regarding the University’s policy on academic dishonesty. COURSE OBJECTIVES 1. Analytical Reasoning - Memorizing rules of law or cases may provide minimal assistance. Common sense and reasoning in applying abstract concepts or rules of law to practical fact situations in such a way as to reach a reasonable conclusion on an issue is the most important objective of this course. 2. Developing Communication Skills - Clear and concise written and verbal communication is an important skill to develop. Reading the assigned text material as well as participation in class will help to develop your ability to communicate clearly. A well- developed vocabulary is essential to allow you to communicate properly. 3. A Basic Understanding of the Law and the Legal System - something that every citizen should know. 4. A Basic Understanding of Certain Legal Principles - will assist you in both your personal and business life. Description: The legal environment of business, including the courts, attributes of business enterprises and ethical considerations, along with case studies in the areas of torts, crimes, contracts, environmental law, products liability, employment, antitrust, administrative law, and international law. Prerequisites: None Common Body of Knowledge: This course falls under the area of CBK (under AACSB standards and guidelines) defined as a "background of the economic and legal environment as it pertains to profit and/or nonprofit organizations along with ethical considerations and social and political influences as they affect such organizations." Assignment Number: 1. July 6: Introduction, procedures and objectives of the course. (ii, iii) Business & Its Legal Environment - Text: Chapter 1, pages 1 - 27. (iii) The Court System - Text: Chapter 2, pages 29 - 60; The following cases will be discussed in class. Students should prepare a brief for the following cases after class and before the next class meeting: Cole v. Mileti; Bird v. Parsons; Rio Properties, Inc. v. Rio International Interlink; LeBlanc v. American Honda. Topic for the week: Is the tomato a fruit or a vegetable? What does this have to do with a course on business law? See related material: Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893) For information on California courts go to: www.courtinfo.ca.gov/ For information on federal courts go to: http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/index.html www.kscourts.org/ca10/ For information on the International Court of Justice go to: www.icj-cij.org/ 2. July 8: (ii,iii,iv) Alternative and Online Dispute Resolution - Text: Chapter 3, pages 61 - 81. Brief the following cases: Hooters of America v. Phillips; Orlando v. Interstate Container; Major League Baseball Players Assoc. v. Garvey; In re Atlantic Pipe Corp.

(i,ii,iii,iv) Ethics & Business Decision-Making - Text: Chapter 4, pages 83 - 103; Brief the following cases: Time Warner, etc. v. Six Flags, etc.; Varity Corp. v. Howe; New York State Soc. Of CPAs v. Eric Louis Associates, Inc.; Pavlik v. Lane Ltd./ Tobacco Exporters; Blakey v. Continental Airlines. 3. July 12: (iii,iv) Constitutional Law - Chapter 5, pages 105 - 124; Brief the following cases: Reno v. Condon; Ferguson v. Friendfinders, Inc.; Bad Frog Brewery v. New York State Liquor Authority. Topics for the week: 1. One person’s garbage is another person’s treasure. For a discussion on how to prevent your garbage from becoming someone else’s treasure (especially in the context of identity theft) see related material: California v. Greenwood, 486 U.S. 35 (1988) 2. Separation of church and state. See: Elkgrove United School Dist. v. Newdow (i,ii,iii) Criminal Law and Cyber Crimes - Chapter 6, pages 125 - 149; Brief the following cases: United States v. Hanousek; People v. McFarlan; Miranda v. Arizona. 4. July 13: Criminal Law and Cyber Crimes (continued). (iii,iv) Contract Formation - Chapter 7, pages 152 - 177; Brief the following cases: Lucy v. Zehmer; Satellite Entertainment v. Keaton; Hamer v. Sidway; Moore v. Midwest Distribution, Inc.; Foley v. Parlier. Topic for the week: All that coruscates with resplendence is not auriferous. Related material: Simonian v. Donoian, 96 Cal. App. 2d, 259 (1950); California Civil Code Sec. 1590. 5. July 15: (i,iii) Contracts Performance, Breach and Remedies - Text: Chapter 8, pages 179 - 198; Brief the following cases: Jacobs & Young v. Kent; Manganaro v. HITT Contracting; Cape-France Enterprises v. Estate of Peed; Hadley v. Baxendale; Green Park Inn, Inc. v. Moore. Topic for the week: Tired of toodling around town in a car. Do you imagine yourself more like Arnold in True Lies? Why not get your very own combat-ready, jet-powered military aircraft? Be the envy of the neighborhood! And because it can take off and land vertically, it’s perfect for those cramped apartments. See related material: Leonard v. PepsiCo, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11987 6. July 19: (iii,iv) Sales, Leases and E-Contracts - Text: Chapter 9, pages 199 - 230; Please read the following pages ONLY: 199 to 204 (up to, but not including Section 7), AND, page 217 (Starting with Sales and Lease Warranties) to 230. Brief ONLY the following cases: Koch Materials Co. v. Shore Slurry Seal, Inc.; Specht v. Netscape Comm. Corp. (i,iii,iv) Torts & Cyber Torts - Text: Chapter 10, pages 231 - 254; Brief the following cases: Mathis v. Liu; Martin v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.; Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co.; Crews v. Hollenbach. 7. July 20: Torts & Cyber Torts – Text: Chapter 10 (continued). (i,iii,iv) Strict Liability & Product Liability – Text: Chapter 11, pages 254 – 268; Brief the following cases: Jarvis v. Ford Motor Co.; Greenman v. Yuba Power Products, Inc.; Liriano v. Hobart; Smith v. Ingersoll-Rand. Topics for the week: the State of California maintains a list of products that are “inherently unsafe” but allows those products to be sold to the public. See related material: California Civil Code Section 1714.45 Is your car equipped with an air bag? Should it be? Is it defective if it is not equipped with an air bag? See related material: Geier v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc., 529 U.S. 861 (2000) Do you mix Tylenol (or some other medication that contains acetaminophen) with alcoholic beverages? Now is a good time to stop. For a case that explains, in graphic (and horrifying) detail why these two products do not mix, see related material: Antonio Benedi v. McNeil-P.P.C., 66 F.3d 1378 (1995) For information from the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission go to: www.cpsc.gov/ 8. July 22: Strict Liability and Product Liability - Chapter 11, (continued). (i,ii,iii,iv) Intellectual Property and Internet Law - Text: Chapter 12, pages 269 - 292; Brief the following cases: The Coca-Cola Co. v. The Koke Co. of America; Playboy Enterprises v. Welles; A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.; Ed Nowogroski Insurance, Inc. v. Rucker. Review for Mid-Term Examination 9. July 26 Mid-Term Examination and Review of Exam 10. July 27: (i,iii) Agency– Text: Chapter 13, pages 293 – 319; Brief the following cases: Graham v. James; American Express Financial Advisors, Inc. v. Topel; Joel v. Morrison; Haag v. Bongers. (i,iii,iv,v) Employment Relationships – Text; Chapter 14, pages 321 – 339; Brief the following case ONLY: Lins v. Children’s Discovery Centers of America, Inc. Topic for the week: Employers investigating allegations of sexual harassment must now comply with the Fair Credit and Reporting Act. Thus, accused employees have the same rights as consumers. This means, among other things, that an employer must obtain an accused employee’s written authorization to perform an investigation. If the employee refuses to authorize an investigation, the employer, who is obligated by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to investigate allegations of sexual harassment, may not be able to proceed! See related material: Sexual Harassment Investigations and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Op. FTC (April 5, 1999) 11. July 29 Employment Relationships – Text: Chapter 15 (continued). (i,iii,v) Employment Discrimination – Text: Chapter 15, pages 341 – 360; Brief the following cases: Carey v. Mount Desert Island Hospital; Jin v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.; Flowers v. Southern Regional, etc. Note the Adarand case on page 356. Although not stated in the text, the U.S. Supreme Court in Adarand remanded the case to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Tenth Circuit remanded the case to the trial court. The trial court had this to say: “While the (Supreme) court ruled on the proper standard to be applied to the case at bar, it declined to render an opinion on the underlying merits…. The prudence of remanding this case to the trial court is difficult to perceive…. The statutes and regulations…are overinclusive in that they presume that all those in the named minority groups are economically and…socially disadvantaged. This presumption is flawed, as is its corollary, namely that the majority (caucasians) as well as members of other…minority groups are not socially and/or economically disadvantaged….” Note also that the Bush Administration sought to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s Adarand decision. For information from California’s Department of Fair Employment & Housing go to: www.dca.ca.gov/r_r/fairempl.htm For information from the U.S. Department of Labor go to: www.dol.gov/ For information from the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission go to: www.eeoc.gov/ 12. August 2: (i,ii,iii) Antitrust Law - Text: Chapter 16, pages 361 - 396; Brief the following cases: United States v. Socony-Vacuum Oil Co.; Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States; State Oil Co. v. Khan; United States v. Aluminum Co. of America (ALCOA). (i,ii,iii) Business Enterprises: Noncorporate Business Entities - Text: Chapter 17, pages 397 - 426; Brief the following cases: W & N Construction v. Williams; Citizens Bank of Massachusetts v. Parham-Woodman Medical Associates; Lange v. Bartlett; Gonzalez v. Chalpin. 13. August 3: Business Enterprises: Noncorporate Business Entities (continued). (i,ii,iii) Corporate Law and Franchising Law - Text: Chapter 18, pages 427-455; Brief the following cases: Agosta v. Southwest Breeders, Inc.; Autrey v. 22 Texas Services, Inc. Paramount Communications, Inc. v. Time, Inc; Van Schaack Holdings, LTD v. Van Schaack. For information from California’s Department of Corporations go to: www.corp.ca.gov/ For information from the federal Securities & Exchange Commission go to: www.sec.gov/ 14. August 5: Corporate Law and Franchising Law – Text: Chapter 18 (continued). (i,iii,iv) Investor Protection and Online Securities Offerings – Text: Chapter 19, pages 457 – 486; Brief the following cases: SEC v. Alpha Telecom, Inc.; SEC v. Texas Gulf Sulphur; United States v. O’Hagan; In re MCI WorldCom, Inc. Securities Litigation. Topic for the Day: Martha Stewart was prosecuted by the government for insider trading, right? Wrong! 15. August 9: Investor Protection and Online Securities Offerings – Text: Chapter 19 (continued). (i,ii,iii,iv,v) International Business Law - Chapter 20, pages 487 - 524; Brief the following cases: Brandt v. American Airlines; United States v. Elkins; Lever Bros Co. v. United States; Chiquita International v. Fresh Del Monte Produce; Marubeni America Corp. v. U.S. For information from California’s Department of Commerce go to: http://commerce.ca.gov/index.html For information from the federal Department of Commerce go to: www.doc.gov/ For information from the United Nations go to: www.uncitral.org/ www.unctad.org/ 16. August 10: (i,ii,iii,iv) Environmental Law – Text: Chapter 21, pages 525 – 542; Brief the following cases: Clean Air Markets Group v. Pataki; United States v. Elias; Carson Harbor Village, Ltd. v. Unocal Corp. For information from the State of California go to: www.calepa.ca.gov/ (California’s EPA) www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/factshts/factmenu.htm (California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation) www.arb.ca.gov/homepage.htm (the California Air Resources Board) www.smogcheck.ca.gov/default.htm (automobile smog check information) www.ciwmb.ca.gov/ (California Integrated Waste Management Board) For information from the federal government go to: www.epa.gov/ Review for Final Examination 17. August 12: Final Examination