| 1. TCO B. The "public comment" period closes on an OSHA proposed regulation, and your business had filed a public comment against the proposed regulation explaining that the regulation would not fix the problem that OSHA was trying to remedy, that the regulation would cost more than the problem itself, and that the regulation was a tax, not a safety change. List two arguments available to your company that may succeed in overturning the regulation. (Points : 15)
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| 2. TCO F. Target sells bags that appear to be Prada, Gucci, and Coach handbags but are priced much lower. The brand labels on the bags say "Pardna," "Guchy," and "Coaching." The prices are about 65% less than the typical brand-name bags. If the owners of the Prada, Coach, and Gucci names sue Target for palming off or counterfeiting, what would they need to prove to try to win? Do you think they would win? (short answer) (Points : 15)
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| 3. (TCO C) Bud Johnson owns a General Motors dealership in Pierre, South Dakota. At the request and expense of General Motors, Bud traveled to Phoenix, Arizona, for purposes of the demonstration of a new vehicle called the Roughrider, designed to compete against the current offering of SUVs. Bud went to the proving grounds in the desert around Phoenix and spent a day watching the vehicle demonstrations. Bud and other dealers drove the vehicles, and much dust resulted from their driving. A few weeks later, Bud became ill with flu-like symptoms. He was finally diagnosed as having coccidioidomycosis or "valley fever." Valley fever is a disease well known to Arizona residents, and most have had it if they have lived there over 10 years. Newcomers are particularly vulnerable to the disease because the exposure to dust seems to build up immunity among the residents.
Bud became quite ill and brought suit against the car manufacturer that invited him for its failure to warn him about the valley fever phenomenon before he came out to the testing grounds. Answer the following questions, and use cases and theories from the text to support your arguments:
Was there negligence in the failure of General Motors to warn Bud? (15 points)
Discuss all defenses General Motors may have. (15 points)
Does strict liability in torts apply to this situation? Why or why not? (10 points) (Points : 40)
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| 4. TCO D: (This is a fictional scenario.) Billy Joel decided he wanted to learn to play the violin for his next set of concerts. He called a violin salesman in New York and asked if he had any for sale. The salesman stated he had a Stradivarius and a Guarnerius (two famous brands of violins) and offered to sell them to Billy for $80,000 and $24,000, respectively. Billy agreed, over the phone, to purchase the violins from the salesman and told him he would be in town the next week to pick them up. Billy didn't show up for two months, and when he entered the store, the salesman wasn't there. His wife, Margaret, was there in the store, however, and she had full knowledge of the deal cut between her husband and Billy. (She'd heard her husband whining, complaining, and wailing about Billy not showing up for the last 2 months – and she was really sick of hearing about it.) Billy asked to see the violins, and Margaret showed him both of them. Billy stated he would agree to pay $65,000 for both of them, and Margaret, knowing that they were counterfeits and only worth $2,000 AND realizing that their house was about to go into foreclosure, agreed to the reduction in price and sold Billy the two violins for $65,000. She gave him a bill of sale that she wrote out on a note pad on the counter, which said, "Paid in full. Strativarus and Granruius violans. $65,000. Chk # 4301 Billy Joel. Salesperson: Margaret Madoff." The notepad was one she had brought home from their last vacation to Las Vegas and was from The Flamingo hotel there. Billy took home the violins and proceeded to learn to play, albeit very poorly. Meanwhile, the salesman discovers that Margaret sold the violins for less than he had bargained for. He sues Billy Joel for the $39,000 difference, stating that Margaret was not an employee of the store and had no authority to change the deal he and Billy had made. During the pendency of the suit, and after his next concert, the newspapers stated, "Billy Joel should give up playing the violin! He stinks!" Billy takes his violins to a music store to sell them and discovers they are only worth $2,000 and that they are not Stradivarius and Guarnerius violins but are instead counterfeits. He wants to countersue the salesman and asks you on what basis can he do so. Using contract, agency, and any other legal concepts you have learned this session, on what bases can Billy sue the salesman and his wife? What defenses will they have? Do you think Billy can recover? Further, will Margaret's husband (his name is Bernard) be able to collect against Billy for the difference in price from the original deal? Explain your answer fully as to the why's, wherefore's, and why not's for both parties. Use bullet points and "issue spotting" to assist you in your answer. (Points : 40)
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| 5. TCO I. Marianne Jennings wrote an article, "Why an International Code of Ethics would be good," which was assigned to be read at the beginning of the course. As you have worked throughout this session, you should have considered this article and how it may or may not have impacted different situations in the world economic/business/legal/political environments. The essay you will write on the next question should show that you have read Marianne's article and can apply her theories and thoughts from that article to the scenario provided. Feel free to rely on the information you know about the situations (if real) or analogize to another one, if you wish. Include in your answer at least two specific concepts from Marianne's article, and apply those concepts to your reasoning in your answer. You will be graded on your knowledge of the article as well as the application of ethical theories to international situations. In 2009–10, Toyota experienced a troubling "gas pedal" sticking issue, which impacted its global reputation and income and caused it to stagger in its, until then, position as one of the top, world-wide, respected, and best-selling car companies on the globe. Over the first few months of the crisis, Toyota waffled on its message to its customers, both denying and then accepting responsibility for the issue. Research into the situation shows that the problem had been brought to its attention for a long time and either ignored, disbelieved, or grudgingly accepted, depending on the time and place of the issue. For this question, think about the facts of the Toyota recall and its impact on Toyota car owners worldwide, including the value (or loss thereof) of customer's trade-ins, car dealer's business valuation losses, loss in used car sales to used car dealers and owners, and also the loss of lives and injuries to those who were grossly impacted by the gas pedal issue. Also, think about the cost to stockholders and the other stakeholders involved. Now think about Marianne Jenning's international code of ethics article. Would an international code of ethics have impacted how this entire Toyota travesty played out in the real world? What if the "world of business" had agreed to one? Would Toyota have been somehow required to behave differently, which would have protected so many stakeholders from losses and people from injury? Or, would nothing really have changed? Feel free to argue both sides of this, and include in your answer, please, at least two or three things you would have included (or Marianne Jennings recommended to include) in an international code of ethics and how that would (or wouldn't) really have impacted the Toyota crisis. Evaluate, analyze, and synthesize your answer using everything you have learned this session about ethics, law, politics, and business. (Points : 40)
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| 6. TCO A. Use the fact pattern you received in the above Marianne Jennings "International Code of Ethics" question to answer this question. Analyze and propose a solution to the problem you received above using the Blanchard and Peale method. Show the steps, apply the facts, and provide a proposed solution you would suggest. (Points : 40)
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