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A Case Studies Workbook in Business & Consumer Law

Student Workbook Series No. 1 Michael K. Glucksman, Esq.

www.bepublishing.com ©2011 B.E. Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

A Case Studies Workbook in Business & Consumer Law

Student Workbook Series No. 1

PUBLISHED BY

You Be the Judge! • Student Workbook ISBN: 978-1-934422-23-6 (Print) ISBN: 978-1-934422-73-1 (eText - School License) ISBN: 978-1-626890-53-4 (eText - District License) Copyright ©2011 by B.E. Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this work covered by copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—including but not limited to graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribution, or information storage and retrieval systems—without the expressed written permission of the publisher. Author Michael K. Glucksman, Esq. Editors Gina Simonelli Baxter, Esq. Kathleen Hicks Diane Silvia Linda Viveiros Design Fernando Botelho

Permissions To use materials from this text, please contact us: B.E. Publishing, Inc. P.O. Box 8558 Warwick, RI 02888 U.S.A. Tel: 888.781.6921 Fax: 401.781.7608 E-mail: [email protected] All references made to specific software applications and/or companies used within this book are registered trademarks of their respective companies. Printed in the U.S.A. About the Author Michael K. Glucksman, Esq., is currently a licensed, practicing attorney in the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, as well as in the Federal Courts. Mr. Glucksman has extensive legal expertise in a variety of civil and criminal law areas, and also serves as a City Solicitor and Assistant Prosecutor where he oversees municipal, contract, and labor issues. Mr. Glucksman also serves as an adjunct faculty member at the university level where he teaches Business, Criminal, and Employment law courses. Mr. Glucksman obtained his Law Degree from the University of Miami School of Law.

Contents Introduction Curriculum Guide

v viii

Commonwealth v. Snyder

1

M.D., a minor, v. Morgan Hill Unified School District

9

State v. Stallman

17

People v. William D.

25

Mattel, Inc. v. MGA Entertainment, Inc.

33

Sharon v. City of Newton

41

Bowling v. Sperry

49

Holmes v. Lerner

57

Selwyn v. Ward

65

Tobin v. Norwood Country Club, Inc.

73

Johnston v. Poulin

81

Volpe v. Gallagher

89

Nicholson v. Bd. of Educ. of the City of New York

97

Nivens v. 7-11 Hoagy’s Corner

105

Medley v. Home Depot, Inc.

113

Sollami v. Eaton

121

Malletier v. Dooney & Bourke, Inc.

129

Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc. v. American Eagle Outfitters

137

Lacoste Alligator, S.A. v. Bluestein’s Men’s Wear, Inc.

145

American Heart Association v. County of Greenville

153

You Be the Judge!

iii

Introduction Welcome to a new and exciting approach to learning business and consumer law, one of the most important topics you will study in today’s changing world. Every student throughout his or her lifetime can benefit from the knowledge of contracts, intellectual property, partnerships, liability, and negligence. And whether you decide on a career in accounting, finance, economics, or even medicine, you should have at least a general understanding of business and consumer law in order to function in the real world. One of the best ways to learn about the law is to analyze court cases. You Be the Judge! contains a comprehensive collection of real-world case studies where you, based on your knowledge of the law, act as the judge and render a decision as to what you think the outcome should be.

Your Role in You Be the Judge! As the judge in each case, you act as the decision-maker, as you decide which party should win and which party should lose. You will base your decision on the facts of each case, the rule of law, and the distinct issue that you must consider. To get started with each case, you will be provided with a brief background of the facts, a summary of the terms and law pertinent to the particular case, and the essential question or issue that you will ultimately have to answer.

The Skills You Will Be Drawing on Throughout This Book While reading each case, you will determine which party is more credible, and whether the plaintiff has enough facts to prove their case! The following is a list of the skills you will be drawing on throuhgout this case studies workbook: • Understanding law concepts • Decision-making • Critical thinking • Applying rules of law • Reading comprehension • Analytical skills (case analysis)

Prerequisite Skills This workbook should be used as a supplement in conjunction with a Business and Consumer Law textbook. It is assumed that you have a clear working knowledge of concepts and laws included in the cases within this workbook. Although terms and definitions have been provided to you at the beginning of each case, these should be used only for quick reference and not as a replacement to a more thorough learning of the subject.

Copyright Notice About the Cases in This Book The cases in this workbook are real court cases that have been, or in the process of being, decided in a court of law. Exact extractions from the actual published decisions have been used in this workbook; however, for ease of reading purposes, many times the format and the language used have been modified. You Be the Judge!

v

Introduction Understanding the Format of This Book

 Case Title

Constitutional Law

Case 1: High School Locker Search

CASE: 1

This workbook has been organized into an easy-to-read format to help you make a decision in each case. To prepare you in the decision making process, each case has been divided into a series of individual sections. The following is a brief explanation of the individual sections that make up the parts of each case.

Commonwealth v. Snyder

Provides the title of the case.

Fourth Amendment Protection Against Unreasonable Searches and Seizures

objective

oBJecTiVe To understand how the Fourth Amendment of the United StatesConstitution protects against warrantless searches and whether this protection extends to a locker search of a high school student.

The objective of the case.

ToPicS coVered R Fourth R

Amendment of the United States Constitution Expectation of Privacy Warrants Supported by Probable Cause Safety/Disciplinary Policies with Students’ Constitutional Rights

Topics Covered

R Students’ R Reasonable R Search R

R Balancing R School

CASE: 1

You You BeBe the the Judge! Judge!



Commonwealth v. Snyder

iSSue Before THe courT

Fourth Amendment Protection Against Unreasonable Searches and Seizures

Background

THe facTS

• A teacher inform ed the principal of a high school that Jeffrey Snyder, a student at the school, attem pted to sell illegal drugs (m arijuana) to another student. • Without inform ing Jeffrey, the principal authoriz ed a search of his locker while he was in class. School adm inistrators found m arijuana in his locker. • Based upon the search, Jeffrey was called into the principal’s office. When confronted with the m arijuana found in his locker, he confessed to possession of m arijuana with intent to sell to other students.

Background

Whether the warrantless search of a student’s locker for marijuana was reasonable under the circumstances of the case.

1

CASE: 1

A list of the law concepts covered in the case.

• Jeffrey claim ed that the school violated the Fourth Am endm ent of the United States Constitution by failing toobtain a search warrant before seiz ingthe illegal drugs from hislocker.

On December 21, at 12:45 pm, Linda Day, the principal of Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, was told by a faculty member that a student reported being approached by Jeffrey Snyder topurchase marijuana for $25. The reporting faculty member had worked at the school for approximately 15 years, had extensive contact with students, and many times had provided reliable information toschool administrators. Principal Day asked John F. Canning, the assistant principal, to

Provides a brief background summary of the case.

join her and the faculty member in her office, whereupon the faculty

Before you Begin R What R

is the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution?

member repeated the information. The faculty member added that R What R

In the m ajority of cases, before searching areas where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, the governm ent (the police) m ust obtain written perm ission from a judge to conduct a search. The police m ust support their request with facts that show they have extrem ely good reasons, or “probable cause,” to conduct a search. If perm ission is granted, the court issues a search warrant.

The Fourth Am endm ent protects persons accused of crim es by requiring a search warrant before governm ent officials can search a person, a hom e, or any place where a person has a “reasonable expectation of privacy.”

Before You Begin

R What R

is a “reasonable expectation of privacy”? U nder the Fourth Am endm ent, the U .S. Suprem e Court asserts that a person has a “reasonable expectation of privacy” when: (1) the individual SU BJECTIVELY believes that a particular area is private, such as a car, a locker, a pocketbook, or ahom e, and (2) OBJECTIVELY, whether society recognizes that expectation as reasonable. As such, the court looks to the subjective intent of the person being searched (for exam ple, did the person in fact believe that a certain area was private?) and to the objective intent as to whether that person’s belief of privacy will be recogniz ed by society as a whole.

Terms and definitions of the laws and key concepts pertinent to the case.

is a search warrant?

R What R

is Balancing School Safety/ Disciplinary Policies with Students’ Constitutional Rights? In cases of searching students’lockers, the law requires the court to balance the constitutional rights of the student against the need for school officials to keep the school safe and orderly for all students.

the student had reported the attempted sale at about 10:30 am. The student said that Jeffrey showed him a videocassette case that contained three bags of marijuana and that he then put the videocassette case in his book bag. The administrators decided tolocate Jeff rey. Assistant Principal Canning found Jeffrey in the student center, which was crowded with

t th Amendmen The Four ion Constitut to the U.S. st guards again hes le searc the unreasonab res when and seizu a party has on hed searc le expectati “reasonab of privacy.”

students. From a distance, Canningcould not see Jeffrey’s book bag. Since he did not know if other students were involved, he did not want to arouse suspicion by approaching Jeffrey in the student center. The two administrators decided to wait until the beginning of the next period (about 1:20 pm) when Jeff rey was scheduled to be in a class and tosearch his locker for the book bag at that time. It is important to note that the school’s student code stated that each student had the right not to have his/her locker subject toan “unreasonable” search. At approximately 1:20 pm, the two administrators opened the locker usingthe combination to the locker that was available at the school’s main office. They found the book bag, the videocassette case, and three bags containing marijuana. They took these items to Principal Day’s office and concealed them behind her desk. Principal Day located Jeffrey and brought him to her office. There,

2

You You BeBe the the Judge! Judge!

You You BeBe the the Judge! Judge!

3

CASE: 1

 in Assistant Principal Canning’s presence, Principal Day asked Jeff rey if it was true, as reported to her, that he had offered tosell marijuana in the school. Jeffrey admitted that he had. Jeffrey, who was very upset, said that he could not believe this was happeningand had never before engaged in this type of activity. Jeffrey explained that a friend had given him the marijuana to sell, that he had become troubled about doing it, and he had called



Probable Cause: Evidence that would lead a reasona ble person to believe that a crime was or being committed is by the person being accused .

his friend tocome to the school at 2 pm to take back what he had not sold. Jeffrey admitted that the book bag, the videocassette case, and the bags of marijuana belonged to him. Jeffrey said there were four bags of marijuana but he had sold one for $25 to a student. Principal Day called Jeffrey’s mother, whocame tothe school, while Assistant

side Notes

At trial, Snyder argued that since he had a legitimate expectation of privacy in his locker as per the school code, all evidence taken was illegally seized and not admissable against him. The Commonwealth argued that there was noreasonable expectation of privacy as to his locker and in the alternative, even if there was, the locker search was valid as school administrators conducted a search of the locker that was reasonable under all the circumstances. In other words, while school administrators must be “reasonable,” they are not restricted by the probable cause or warrant requirements of the Fourth Amendment.

sources Identifies the source(s) of the case.

Sources The cas e briefing above contains excerpts and direct extractions from the s ources noted below that have been combined with the author’s own expert legal input. The cas e has been condens ed and formatted from its original content for purpos es of this workbook. Commonwealt h v. Snyder, 413 Mas s . 521, 597 N.E. 2d 1363 (1992). Supreme Judicial Court of Mas s achus etts , Berks hire Augus t 25, 1992. Opinion written by the Honorable Herbert P. Wilkins .

4

You Be the Judge!

The essential question that is being asked of the court.

Principal Canningcalled the police.

Additional law concepts and fun facts related to the case.

vi

issue Before the Court

You You BeBe the the Judge! Judge!

In the U.S., the police (or other law enforcement officials) cannot simply search someone for no reason. If proper legal steps are not followed, that search can be classified as unreasonable.

The Facts Provides the detailed facts of the case.

Introduction The Answer Forms

NAME

CASE: 1

Following “The Facts” section of each case, there are a series of forms that you must complete. The answers on the first form, “Review the Case,” will come directly from “The Facts” section. To complete the “Make the Argument” form, you will make conclusions, based upon your answers in the “Review the Case” form. Finally, you will decide what you think the outcome should be by completing the “You Be the Judge” form. DATE

Review the Case After reading Com m onwealth v. Snyder, answer the following: 1. Identify the Plaintiff(s) in the case.

2. Identify the Defendant(s) in the case.

3. Is this a criminal proceeding or a civil proceeding? Explain.

 4. How did the school administrators initially discover that Jeffrey might be selling marijuana?

review the Case Form 5. Why did Principal Day give credibility to the reporting teacher regarding Jeffrey’s possession of marijuana?

6. Explain the reason(s) the principal and assistant principal did not approach Jeffrey in the student center.

7. Where did the administrators findthe combination to Jeffrey’s locker?

CASE: 1

You You BeBe the the Judge! Judge!

NAME

DATE

Review the Case (continued)

NAME

DATE

Make the Argument In order for the judge or jury to render a decision, the following are som e of the questions that m ust be considered:

8. What did the school’s student policy say about searches of student lockers?

...