Contemporary Business Law

ByRichard A. Mann&Barry S. RobertsBusiness Law and the Regulation of Business, 11th ed. Chapter 3: Civil Dispute Resolution 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.1Topics Covered in this ChapterI.The Court SystemA.The Federal CourtsB.State CourtsII.JurisdictionA.Subject Matter JurisdictionB.Jurisdiction over the PartiesIII.Civil Dispute ResolutionA.Civil ProcedureB.Alternative Dispute Resolution 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.2The Court System FederalDistrict Courts trial courts of general jurisdiction that can hear and decide most legal controversiesCourts of Appeals hear appeals from district courts and review orders of certain administrative agenciesThe Supreme Court nation's highest court, whose principal function is to review decisions of the Federal Courts of Appeals and the highest State courtsSpecial Courts have jurisdiction over cases in a particular area of Federal lawIncludes the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.3Federal Judicial SystemU.S. Supreme CourtHighest State CourtsMany Administrative AgenciesU.S. District Courts Tax Court Bankruptcy CourtU.S. Courts of AppealsU.S. Claims Court Patent and Trademark Office Court of International TradeU.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.4Circuit Courts of the United StatesPuerto Rico is part of Circuit 1Virgin Islands are part of Circuit 3Northern Marianna Islands are part of Circuit 9 (along with Alaska and Hawaii.)D.C. CircuitWashington, D.C.Federal CircuitWashington, D.C.Source: Administrative Office of the United States Courts, January 19836123411578910 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.5State Courts Inferior Trial Courts hear minor criminal cases, such as traffic offenses, and civil cases involving small amounts of money; conduct preliminary hearings in more serious criminal casesTrial Courts have general jurisdiction over civil and criminal casesSpecial Trial Courts such as probate courts and family courts; have jurisdiction over a particular area of state lawAppellate Courts include one or two levels; the highest court's decisions are final except in those cases reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court

2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.6State Court SystemState Supreme CourtIntermediate Appellate CourtTrialCourtsInferiorTrail CourtsSpecialCourts 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.7Jurisdiction Subject Matter Jurisdiction authority of a court to decide a particular kind of caseJurisdiction over the Parties the power of a court to bind the parties

2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.8Jurisdiction Type of JurisdictionParties-- Courts must have authority over the parties to the case. This may be:Subject Matter-- some courts have all authority over certain types of cases. Jurisdiction can be: In remPersonalQuasi inremStateConcurrentFederalDefendant residentLong-arm statute 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.9Subject Matter Jurisdiction Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction Federal crimes, bankruptcy, antitrust, patent, trademark, copyright, and other specified casesConcurrent Federal Jurisdiction authority of more than one court to hear the same caseState and Federal courts have concurrent jurisdiction over (1) Federal question cases (cases arising under the Constitution, statutes, or treaties of the United States) that do not involve exclusive Federal jurisdiction and (2) diversity of citizenship cases involving more than $75,000Exclusive State Jurisdiction State courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all matters to which the Federal judicial power does not reach

2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.10Federal and State Jurisdiction1. Federal crimes2. Bankruptcy3. Patents4. Copyright and trademarks5. Admiralty6. Antitrust7. Suits against the United States8. Specified federal statutesExclusive Federal JurisdictionExclusiveStateJurisdictionAll othermattersConcurrent Jurisdiction1. Federal questions2. Diversity of citizenship 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.11Stare Decisis in the Dual Court SystemCourts are not generally bound by their own decisions.A decision of the U.S. Supreme Court on a federal question is binding on all other courts, federal or state.A decision of a federal court other than the Supreme Court may be persuasive in a state court, but it is not binding.A decision of a state court may be persuasive in the federal courts, but it is not binding except where federal jurisdiction is based on diversity of citizenship. 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.12Stare Decisis in the Dual Court SystemDecisions of the federal courts (other than the U.S. Supreme Court) are not binding on other federal courts of equal or inferior rank unless the latter owe obedience to the deciding court. A decision of a state court is binding on all courts inferior to it in its jurisdiction. A decision of a state court is not binding on courts in another state except where the latter courts are required, under their conflict of laws rules, to apply the law of the first state as determined by the highest court in that state. 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.13Stare Decisis in the Dual Court SystemU.S. Supreme CourtState Intermediate Appellate CourtU.S. District Courtin that CircuitU.S. Circuit Court of AppealsState Supreme CourtState Trial CourtBinding on questions of federal lawBinding on questions of state law 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.14Jurisdiction over the Parties In Personam Jurisdiction jurisdiction based upon claims against a person, in contrast to jurisdiction over the person's propertyIn Rem Jurisdiction jurisdiction based on claims against propertyAttachment Jurisdiction jurisdiction over a defendant's property to obtain payment of a claim not related to the propertyVenue geographical area in which a lawsuit should be brought 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.15Civil Procedure The Pleadings The Pleadings a series of statements that give notice and establish the issues of fact and law presented and disputedComplaint initial pleading by the plaintiff stating his caseSummons notice given to inform a person of a lawsuit against herAnswer defendant's pleading in response to the plaintiff's complaintReply plaintiff's pleading in response to the defendant's counterclaim

2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.16Civil Procedure Pretrial ProcedureProcess requiring the parties to disclose what evidence is available to prove the disputed facts; designed to encourage settlement of cases or to make the trial more efficientJudgment on Pleadings a final ruling in favor of one party by the judge based on the pleadingsDiscovery right of each party to obtain evidence from the other partyPretrial Conference a conference between the judge and the attorneys to simplify the issues in dispute and to attempt to settle the dispute without trialSummary Judgment final ruling by the judge in favor of one party based on the evidence disclosed by discovery

2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.17Civil Procedure Trial Determines facts and the outcome of the caseJury Selection each party has an unlimited number of challenges for cause and a limited number of peremptory challengesConduct of Trial consists of opening statements by attorneys, direct and cross-examination of witnesses, and closing argumentsDirected Verdict final ruling by the judge in favor of one party based on the evidence introduced at trialJury Instructions judge gives the jury the particular rules of law that apply to the caseVerdict the jury's decision based on those facts the jury determines the evidence proves 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.18After the TrialMotions Challenging the Verdict include motions for a new trial and a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdictAppeal determines whether the trial court committed prejudicial errorEnforcement plaintiff with an unpaid judgment may resort to a writ of execution to have the sheriff seize property of the defendants and to garnishment to collect money owed to the defendant by a third party

2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.19Stages in Civil ProcedurePleadingsPretrialTrialAppealEnforcementDetermine what facts are in disputeDiscover what evidence there is to prove the facts in disputeDetermine what facts are provided by the evidenceReview the lower courts actions for prejudicial errorImplement the courts judgmentComplaint, Answer, ReplyDiscover, Conference, Summary JudgmentJury Selection Opening StatementsIntroduction of Evidence Closing Arguments Judgment on VerdictBriefs and TranscriptOral Argument, DecisionExecution, Garnishment 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.20Alternative Dispute Resolution Arbitration a nonjudicial proceeding in which a neutral party selected by the disputants renders a binding decision (award)Conciliation a nonbinding process in which a third party acts as an intermediary between the disputing partiesMediation a nonbinding process in which a third party acts as an intermediary between the disputing parties and proposes solutions for them to consider 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.21Alternative Dispute Resolution Mini-Trial a nonbinding process in which attorneys for the disputing parties (typically corporations) present evidence to managers of the disputing parties and a neutral third party, after which the managers attempt to negotiate a settlement in consultation with the third partySummary Jury Trial mock trial followed by negotiationsNegotiation consensual bargaining process in which the parties attempt to reach an agreement resolving their dispute without the involvement of third parties

2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.22Adjudication, Arbitration, and Mediation/Conciliation

2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.23