Business Law II
Fall 2004
12:00-12:50
Professor: Dr. Aubree L. Helvey, C.P.A.
Room 207, School of Business
Phone: (580) 581-2853
e-mail: aubreeh@cameron.edu
Classroom: Howell Hall, Room 102
DHEC, Room 127
Text:
West’s Business Law, 9th edition, by Clarkson, Miller, Jentz, &
Cross, West Legal Studies in Business (Thomson Learning),
2004.{ISBN 0-324-15282-5}]
It the student’s responsibility to make a timely purchase of the textbook.
The textbook is available for purchase in the Cameron University bookstore.
Therefore, I will not accept any excuses related to an inability to purchase
the book. Students who purchase the textbook online accept all
responsibility for late shipment. The Professor does not loan textbooks to
students.
Course
Description:
Prerequisite:
This course is a continuation of Business Law I, Agency,
Partnership, and Corporate Law with an emphasis on
selecting the form of Business Organization. Sections on
Personal and Real Property, Bailments, and Real Estate
Transactions will also be covered. We will also take a
brief look at Wills, Estates, and Trusts.
Bus 3213 – Business Law I
Course
Objectives:
1. To provide students with an understanding of agency formation,
duties, and potential third party liability.
2. To provide students with an understanding of employment law
Topics such as wage-hour laws, labor unions, worker safety,
privacy rights, medical leave rights, and employment
discrimination.
3. To provide students with an understanding of choice of entity
considerations for business formation.
4. To provide students with an understanding of the
responsibilities and rights of corporate directors, officers, and
shareholders.
5. To provide students with an understanding of corporate
mergers, consolidations, and terminations.
6. To provide students with an understanding of investor
Protection, including the Securities Act of 1933 and the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
7. To introduce students to ethical conflicts in business decision
Making and the various approaches to ethical reasoning.
8. To provide students with an understanding of government
regulation in the areas of Consumer Law, Environmental Law,
and Antitrust Law.
9. To provide students with an understanding of property rights
and landlord-tenant relationships.
10. To provide students with an understanding of estate planning.
Element Paper: As part of this course you are REQUIRED to write a paper. ONE
CANNOT PASS THIS CLASS WITHOUT WRITING THIS PAPER. In your paper,
you are to assume the role of a Prosecutor/District Attorney or a Civil Attorney. You are
required to watch the ASSIGNED movie (this will be discussed in the first week of class)
and you must identify the elements of any crimes or torts in the movie.
Start by thinking about the definition of whatever you suspect. For example, if a character
in the movie was assaulted, you would need to illustrate and discuss, in detail, how the
person acting committed the tort of assault or battery by telling me how he or she met the
elements of the crime or tort.
Example: Assault is “any word or action intended to make another person fearful of
immediate physical harm; a reasonably believable threat.” So, in your paper, you need to
show me what the “word or action” was by the person committing the assault, then show
how you know that he or she “intended to make another person fearful,” then you must
also show that the threat was of “immediate physical harm.”
Remember this is a Junior Level class. Your work should be professional. I will give you
feedback on how well you are doing with your paper after reviewing your first draft. You
can then take the paper and make the suggested revisions or corrections and turn it in
again if you are not satisfied with your grade. You should also note that I will STOP
GRADING your paper once I count five grammatical mistakes or errors, so use good
grammar. This includes misspelled words or missing punctuation. You are college
students, therefore you must learn to write to advance yourself.
DUE DATES:
Rough Draft Due Monday, September 27th
Rough Draft Returned Friday, October 8th
Final Draft Due Monday, November 15th
These due dates are not subject to any exception. Final papers are worth 80 points. If you
miss a due date you will receive a zero for the paper and you will not attain a passing
grade for the class. You should withdraw from the class at this point.
Papers are to be DOUBLE SPACED with 1 inch margins (Top, bottom, and sides). I will
not give you a page requirement, but do not assume this is a “turn it in and I get full
credit” type of paper. You must cover the elements to get credit. You must show me that
you know how to identify elements in order to receive full credit. You will get guidance
as to my expectations when you get your Draft back. You should write it in
Memorandum format, addressed to your boss (me!). I will distribute a “sample paper”
from a previous class and I expect your papers to look like the sample paper’s format (i.e.
margins, memorandum header, font, etc.).
Quizzes: There will be at least 10 UNANNOUNCED QUIZZES during the semester.
Your quiz grade average will represent one hundred points of your final grade for the
course. These unannounced quizzes will usually be at the beginning of the period over
the material assigned for that period.
There will be absolutely NO MAKE-UP QUIZZES. However, if we do complete MORE
THAN 10 quizzes, you will be allowed to drop correlating lowest scores. For example, if
we take 12 quizzes, you can drop your two lowest scores. This will account for all
personal absences, including medical, family and/or other personal absences.
Timely attendance is important! If you arrive after I begin distributing the quiz I will not
allow you to participate in that particular quiz. Late students delay the class for everyone
else, which is unfair to those students who found this class important enough to make it
to class in a timely manner.
Participation/Homework/Case Studies: One Hundred Twenty points of your
final grade will be represented by the assignments reflected in this portion of the class.
There will be absolutely NO MAKE-UPS of any of the Assignments in this section of the
course. This section is to reward those students who realize the importance of class
attendance.
There are no excused absences and you are expected to attend every class session. Your
final grade will reflect a score awarded according to your participation and attendance in
class. This score will be determined upon the number of homework assignments and
case studies assigned and completed throughout the semester. Regular attendance and
participation is especially important in this course due to the magnitude of the material
covered and the short span of the course. Everything on the examinations will be either
discussed in class or found within the assigned material. You are responsible for the
material covered in the class whether you are present or absent. If you are unavoidable
absent you may wish to have another student take notes for you.
Homework: Throughout the semester, you will be assigned certain homework
assignments at random. Each assignment will be graded accordingly and must be
turned in on time to receive full credit. Assignments will not be accepted if turned
in late.
Case Studies: Throughout the semester, you will be called on randomly and
asked to present at least one case study for the class. By present, I mean
you should be prepared to provide a brief fact summary and court’s final ruling in
each case. You may also be asked to present a written report about your
particular case. If you are unprepared to do so for any class, you will receive a
resulting zero percent (0%) credit for this assignment. Case studies cannot be
made up, so if the Professor picks your name on a given day to present a case
study and you are not present, you will receive a resulting zero percent (0%)
credit for this assignment. Failure to complete this portion of the
requirements may result in an automatic deduction of one letter grade for
the course.
Examinations: There will be two general Exams and one Final Exam. Each exam is
worth 100 points. The exams are CLOSED BOOK and consist of 50 multiple choice
questions. Questions will be taken from the assigned chapters in the textbook. Failure to
take an examination will result in a grade of ZERO percent (0%) for that exam UNLESS
a dire emergency exists; and only then would you be allowed to make up a missed exam.
Make-up examinations will consist of all essay questions to avoid any allegation of
impropriety by other students.
You will need to bring a SCAN-TRON form 882 and a number two pencil to the exam
Disabilities: If you have a disability that you believe qualifies you under either the
Rehabilitation Act of 1963 or the American Disabilities Act of 1990, please inform me.
You may be referred to the Director of Cameron University’s Multi-cultural and
Disability Office for evaluation and assistance.
Office Hours: If you have any questions about material covered in class or any other
topic you feel is relevant to our class discussion, you may come by my office or call at
any of the following time periods:
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
9AM-11AM
10AM-12PM
9AM-11AM
10AM-12PM
If these times are not convenient for you, you may contact me personally (before or after
class), via telephone or e-mail to schedule an appointment. Appointments can be any day
of the week, excluding my scheduled class periods. If you are traveling from a distance,
please check with me to assure I will be in my office that day. I am periodically absent
for meetings, civic duties, etc.
E-mail is the best way to contact me outside of these office hours. However, if the
question does not involve a personal issue I prefer that you ask me in class so that all
students may benefit from the answer.
Additional Info: To receive full benefit and understanding of the lecture and
discussion, you should read and outline the assigned material prior to each class. The
following is a list of individual class assignments. This list may be modified during the
semester. The class lecture/discussion will be on both the assigned material and
additional material. You will be responsible for the assigned material even if it is not
discussed in class.
Date
Aug. 23
Aug. 25
Aug. 27
Aug. 30
Sept. 1
Sept. 3
Sept. 6
Sept. 8
Assignments
Orientation/Assessment Exam
Discussion of Element Paper
Chapter 31 – Agency Formation and Duties
Chapter 32 – Liability to 3rd Parties and Termination
Element Paper – Watch Movie
Element Paper – Watch Movie
Element Paper – Watch Movie
NO CLASS – Labor Day
Chapter 33 – Labor and Employment Law
Sept. 10
Sept. 13
Sept. 15
Sept. 17
Sept. 20
Sept. 22
Sept. 24
Sept. 27
Sept. 29
Oct. 1
Oct. 4
Oct. 6
Oct. 8
Oct. 11
Oct. 13
Oct. 15
Oct. 18
Oct. 20
Oct. 22
Oct. 25
Oct. 27
Oct. 29
Nov. 1
Nov. 3
Nov. 5
Nov. 8
Nov. 10
Nov. 12
Nov. 15
Nov. 17
Nov. 19
Nov. 22
Nov. 24 & 26
Nov. 29
Dec. 1
Chapter 34 – Employment Discrimination
Chapter 34 (cont.)
Chapter 43 – Administrative Law
Chapter 44 – Consumer Law
Chapter 45 – Environmental Law
Chapter 45 – Environmental Law (cont.)
Chapter 46 – Antitrust Law
Chapter 46 – Antitrust Law (cont.)
Exam Review
EXAM #1 (Chapters 31, 32, 33, 34, 43, 44, 45, 46)
Review Exam Results
Chapter 35 – Sole Proprietorships and Franchises
Chapter 35 – (cont)
Chapter 36 – Partnerships and Special Business Forms
Chapter 36 – (cont.)
Chapter 37 – Corporations – Formation and Financing
Chapter 37 (cont.)
Chapter 38 – Directors, Officers, and Shareholders
Chapter 38 – Directors, Officers, and Shareholders
Chapter 39 – Corporations – Merger, Consolidation, and
Termination
Chapter 39 – (cont.)
Chapter 40 – Corporations – Investor Protection and Online
Securities Offerings
Chapter 40 – (cont.)
No Class – Fall Break!
Chapter 41 – Limited Liability Companies and Limited
Partnerships
Chapter 41 – (cont.)
Chapter 42 – Ethics and Business Decision Making
Exam Review
Exam #2 (Chapters 35 through 42)
Review Exam Results
Chapter 47 – Personal Property and Bailments
Chapter 48 – Real Property
Chapter 48 – (cont.)
Chapter 49 – Landlord-Tenant Relationships
Chapter 49 – (cont.)
Chapter 50 – Insurance
Chapter 50 – (cont.)
Chapter 51 – Wills, Trusts, and Elder Law
Chapter 51 – (cont.)
No Class – Thanksgiving!
Chapter 51 (cont.)
Chapter 52 - Liability of Accountants and Other Professionals
Dec. 3
Dec. 6
Dec. 8
Dec. 10
Dec. 14
Chapter 52 (cont.)
Chapter 53 – International and Comparative Law
Chapter 54 – Law for Small Business
Finish Chapter 54
Final Exam Review
Final Exam (Chapters 47 through 54)
1:00 – 3:00