Law & Ethics Chapter 1 – Law, Ethics, Business: An Introduction

Copyright © 2005 by Jeffrey Pittman 1

An Introduction   How does the study of law vary from the study of ethics?

Does the size and power of modern corporations change the relationship between the people and the government?

2

Freedom vs. Responsibility  Hypothetical Problem #1 While at work, you receive a call from a distraught customer  The customer is significantly behind in his payments to your company and tells you that he is financially ruined and he “has nothing to live for” 3

Freedom vs. Responsibility  Do you have legal or ethical problems if you respond as follows:    You tell the customer that, if he is serious, his car exhaust in a closed garage (carbon monoxide poisoning) is easy and pain free You immediately call the police to notify them of the situation You do nothing 4

Yania v. Bigan   How do you respond to the four questions following the case, page 4 of the textbook?

Relate Yania to hypothetical problem #1 5

Hurley v. Eddingfield  Compare Hurley to Yania   How do the cases differ?

Does Hurley change your assessment of the opening hypothetical?

6

Professional Oaths/Codes of Conduct   How has the Hippocratic Oath changed over time?

 See http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/doctors/oath.h

tml Is an oath binding? Are professional codes of conduct binding?

7

The Duty to Rescue   Should we have a broad “duty to rescue” law?

 How does the Kitty Genovese murder affect your view of rescue laws?

What are the parameters of existing duty to rescue situations?

 See pages 9-10 in the textbook (e.g., contractual obligations, “special relationships”, endangering another, etc.) 8

Good Samaritans   How do state “Good Samaritan” statues impact the duty to rescue question?

For Arkansas law, see A.C.A. § 17-95-101 (2005) 9

The Duty to Rescue   What components would be contained in a duty to rescue statute?

Consider the following issues:      When would a “rescue” be required?

What is a rescue?

What if the attempted rescue worsens the situation?

Who is required to rescue?

Compensation for an injured rescuer?

 Compensation from whom?

10

Business Liability for Protection    Hypothetical Problem #2 Your marketing firm does a significant amount of work for the Anti-Defamation League, an organization committed to stopping defamation of the Jewish people A car bomb exploded in your company parking lot kills a firm employee and a customer Is the firm liable for damages?

11

Business Liability for Protection  

McClung v. Delta Square

What did the McClung court state about protection of customers?

How would you address the case questions, pages 12-13 in the textbook?

12

Negligence   The McClung decision is based on the tort of negligence The plaintiff must prove the following elements in a negligence case:    The defendant breached a duty of due care owing to the plaintiff The plaintiff was injured The defendant’s breach “caused” the injury 13

Negligence Elements – Breach of a Duty of Due Care   A breach of due care involves failing to use the same care a reasonable person would have used under similar circumstances The law does not require perfection, just reasonable care 14

Negligence Elements – Causation  In proving causation, the plaintiff must establish two causation components:   Causation in fact – did the injury occur because of the defendant’s actions (failure to use due care)?

Proximate causation – was the injury foreseeable (was the injury likely enough to happen that a reasonably prudent defendant would have behaved differently)?

15

Defenses to Negligence   Assumption of risk Comparative or contributory negligence 16