Executory contracts behave idiosyncratically in bankruptcy. They may be assets or liabilities, depending on their terms. Understanding their treatment by the bankruptcy code and the courts is key.
Read moreThis is an introductory lesson in the tort theory of strict liability. It is written for the undergraduate legal studies, paralegal and business law student.
Read moreThis is the first of two lessons on title insurance. Title insurance is a critical component of modern real estate transactions.
Read moreThis lesson reviews some of the concepts needed to understand the patent law doctrine of "nonobviousness" (Section 103 of the Patent Act). Before completing this lesson students should be familiar with the doctrine of novelty under Section 102 of the Act.
Read moreThis lesson explores the intentional tort of false imprisonment. Beginning with identification of the interest the tort protects, the questions become more and more challenging as they explore the nature of the confinement necessary and appropriate damages. Since the greatest use of the tort today probably is in arrest for shoplifting, the lesson includes a tightly fact-bound question about a person detained for shoplifting. The lesson concludes with false imprisonment in two tough situations: religious deprogramming and nursing home confinement.
Read moreOrdinarily, when an agent acts on behalf of a principal the legal rights of the principal are affected, but the agent is not personally liable to third persons with whom he or she has dealt. This lesson looks at those somewhat unusual situations where the agent may be personally liable to third persons.
Read moreThis lesson explores the remedy of restitution, which can be available both where there is no contract and where there is a contract and the non-breaching party chooses an alternative to the expectancy measure of damages. The lesson can be run either as an introduction to restitution or as a review after you have completed your study.
Read moreThis lesson takes a look at the doctrine of excuse. In particular, we will look at the doctrines of impossibility, frustration of purpose and impracticability. Each of these doctrines excuses performance of the parties to the agreement. This lesson sets out the basic requisites for when courts excuse contract performance and evaluating those situations that merit excuse. The general attributes of contract formation and breach are covered in other lessons.
Read moreThis is one in a series of lessons on accomplice liability. In earlier lessons, we examined how accomplices were classified under the common law and the Model Penal Code. In addition, we examined the mens rea requirement for accomplice liability. In this lesson, we continue the discussion by examining the actus reus requirement of accomplice liability. This lesson is intended for students who have studied these issues in class, and who wish to further refine their knowledge and understanding of the topic.
Read moreThis lesson focuses on one of the factual inquiries underlying the legal determination of nonobviousness: the scope and content of the prior art. It assumes that you are familiar with the patentability requirement of novelty under the pre-AIA version of 35 U.S.C. § 102 and with the basic framework of the obviousness analysis. If you would like a review of the basic framework for determining obviousness, you may want to do the lesson on "Basic Concepts of Nonobviousness" before you complete this lesson. After completing this lesson you should have a better understanding of how to determine the scope and content of the prior art so as to assess obviousness.
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