Business Legal Environment During the semester, you will be required to write a term paper for one of the topics described below. The term paper will be worth 100 points toward your final grade. The term paper should be three to five pages in length, double spaced, and use the MLA format for citing references.
TOPICS TO SELECT FROM FOR YOUR TERM PAPER
1. Contract Law – Your paper should be written on the effects of a breach of contract in business and some of the defenses one might have to breaching a contract such as an adhesion contract, misrepresentation, fraud or duress. One famous case to include in your paper is Sondra Locke v. Warner Brothers, a case where Locke sued Warner Brothers for breach of contract and failures to act in good faith. Another case to reference is the case brought against ABC and the Extreme Makeover Home Edition television show where five orphans claimed ABC had tem sign an unconscionable contract allowing their host family to evict them from the home that was built by Extreme Makeover.
2. Tort Law – Your paper could be written about slips and falls at work, accidents involving work vehicles, nuisances such as businesses emitting pollution or noise, and manufacturers failing to provide a duty of care to consumers. Some of the famous cases involving tort law in the business realm are: Grimshaw v. Ford Motor Company, where Grimshaw sued Ford under product liability because the Ford Pinto was prone to catching on fire when hit from the rear due to its design; and the case made famous by the movie Erin Brockovich, Aguayo v. PG&E, where residents of a town were exposed to toxins in the air, water and soil.
3. Intellectual Property Law – You could write your paper on trademark infringement, copyright laws and trade secrets. There have been a number of great cases in the news over the past several years. There was a criminal prosecution involving a former Coca Cola employee who along with two others tried to sell the secret formula of Coke to PepsiCo. There were also the numerous lawsuits that erupted against Napster in 2000 by many artists for “Stealing” songs and allowing computer users to download music without paying the artists or producers.
4. Affirmative Action – You could write a paper on Affirmative action. Affirmative action is a controversial business-related legislation in which employers consider an applicant’s race, gender or ethnicity in order to fill their rosters with individuals form minority groups. This is intended to ensure that all people have equal access to jobs, but some worry that it gives minorities an advantage over more-highly qualified nonminority workers. In your paper you should discuss the genesis of affirmative action as well as the arguments that have been launched against the practice. 5. Jury Bias and the Media – Ideally, jury members should be completely unaware of the details of the case when they are selected to serve; however, with pervasive media, this is often not the case. Research jury selection procedures and discuss in your paper what can be done if an individual is being tried in a highly publicized crime; as a result of media coverage, the accused may not be able to receive a jury full of individuals ignorant of the details of the case.
