Business Law in South Carolina - Term Paper Example

? Business Law Task This paper seeks to find out about business law. It establishes a case in South Carolina and then explores it with regard to business law. It then looks into the various types of courts available, then lists, and explains different types of substitute dispute ruling mechanisms. Business Law, also known as Commercial Law, presides over dealings between business entities such as business formation, ranging from lawsuits to contracts. Also incorporated are unifications, acquisitions, and commercial leasing. The law mainly deals with defining rights and responsibilities, divergent to law enforcement. Both commercial and business laws cover a number of overlapping factors. The Uniform Commercial Code is the main authority that governs commercial dealings. There are also other legal fields that have the nature of business of commercial law transactions, such as banking and Secured Transactions. This paper will seek to summarize a business lawsuit and discuss the legal environment of business and the American law. It will also explore the court procedures, types of courts and alternative dispute decision process. A suit between Poynter Investments Inc et. al. versus Century Builders in South Carolina involved the appellant, Rector, who sold his business to the respondent Poynter Investments in 2007. The parties entered into an ‘Employment and Non-Competition Agreement,’ which contained a four-year phase non-competition clause. It was drafted to prevent Rector from trading within a defined geographic area of 75 miles in any course from the property for the written phase. The agreement was supported by a separate consideration, which required Poynter to employ Rector for twelve months. Rector, however, failed to abide by the terms of the agreement and as a result, Poynter filed a suit. The respondent sued the Appellants in 2008 on allegations of failing to abide by the non-competition terms. The hearing judge granted the respondent a preliminary injunction seeking to enforce the non-competition accord, but formed a ‘Restricted Territory’ that was not present in the earlier agreement. Before the transaction turned out to become a legal suit, there were steps the management of Rector could have taken to prevent it. The management should have initiated a research to identify and evaluate the legal implications that would have followed if they agreed to the terms. The laws pertinent to this case reflected ethical considerations. Before one gets to go into a business agreement, factors such as completing of agreements should be highly considered. The court judge refused to balance the equities before enforcing the incomplete agreement. There are various foundations of decrees relevant in the case. Authorities such as County of Richland v. Simpkins, 348 S.C. 664, 560 S.E.2d 902 (Ct. App. 2002), among many others have been used to give information of previous similar cases. The management can leverage such knowledge to prevent similar instances in the future. A business suit in a court may take longer and be more tedious if it were to be compared to Alternative Dispute Resolutions due to the court procedures. Cases may even take longer in courts if there are appeals as there are quite a number of courts, including probate, municipal, magistrate court, general sessions, family courts, common pleas and appellate courts, including the Supreme Court. Alternative dispute resolution submits to a wide range of dispute resolution means or method that shares one essential feature. In the past two decades, alternative dispute resolution has turn out to be a major facet of legal practice in the United States. The clients together with their lawyers increasingly look for ways to settle their disparities without going for litigation, and as such, they gradually turn to alternative mechanisms to try to resolve their differences (Stone, 2004, p.1).These mechanisms include: Arbitration is an alternative dispute resolution mechanism involving parties who get to agree to surrender their disagreement to a third party. The party holds an evidentiary hearing and concerns a concluding and binding pronouncement. Parties get to select the arbitrator of own choice, and design their own hearing procedures. There are numerous categories of arbitration systems as parties get to design them as they wish to. Some of the procedures employed are informal as the parties have the chance to present as much facts as they wish. Others use the rules of substantiation, allow movement practice, and comprise other judicial measures. Some allow for discovery while some do not. There are arbitrators who make pronouncements on their own, whereas others may be a team of up to five. The verdict of an arbitrator may only be forwarded to a court on narrow proof, such as deception or misbehavior by the arbitrator. Errors committed by an arbitrator, whether of fact or law, cannot be appealed (Ellis). Mediation is a procedure in which parties to a disagreement employ a third party, identified as a mediator, to assist them in determining over a dispute. Some mediators convene with parties collectively and try to make them to agree to a settlement. Other mediators convene with the parties separately and take the information to both parties in an attempt to attain a settlement. The aim of mediation is to make the parties arrive at a voluntary resolution that is later summarized into writing, becoming an enforceable contract. Conciliation is a course by which as third party tries to persuade the parties to settle a disagreement by improving their communications and by issuing technological support. It is normally less formal if contrasted to arbitration. Fact-finding is a course involving an unbiased professional being asked to determine a factual disagreement. The fact-finder depends on information issued by the parties, and the information he collects on his own. He examines the facts relating to the disagreement, and issues a fact-finding report. The report does not bind and is used to help in settlement negotiations. Fact-finding is regularly applied in conflicts that occur in the public sector. Mini-trial is a deliberate process whereby parties participate in a shortened, non-binding trial before an impartial person whom they appointed as their judge. Each side has an attorney who presents facts and recapitulates the testimony to be presented at trial. The mechanism is mostly employed by company defendants to provide executives a chance to evaluate the potency of their suit and that of the opponent. The aim of a mini-trial is to argue with the two to determine their dispute. Summary jury trials are mini-trials in whereby parties get to provide a synopsis of their proof to a jury brought from the usual jury pool. A judge takes over and indicts the jury with the applicable law. He requests the jury to respond to certain questions concerning damages and liability. Summary jury trials are normally prearranged by a court to support the parties to resolve their disagreement with a full-blown civil trial. Ombudsman is a person appointed by an association to a try to determine disputes involving staff, customers or other people. Occasionally, the ombudsman attempts to bring the parties to a disagreement together to have a mediation session. There are times when the ombudsman forwards grievances to the observation of high-level executives. The ombudsman has the mandate to examine grievances and converse to all pertinent parties. Other alternative dispute resolutions that the management may be able to pursue include the small claims courts, rent-a-judge and court-ordered arbitration. References Ellis, L. & Sims, P.A. (2010). Arbitrating Arbitrability: Part one of the effect of recent SCOTUS decisions of arbitration in South Carolina. Retrieved on October 11, 2011 from: Ellis, L. & Sims, P.A. (2010). SC Supreme court: courts cannot ‘Blue Pencil’ Non-compete Restriction. Retrieved on October 11, 2011 from: Ross Law Group. (2007). Business Law. Retrieved on October 11, 2011 from: Stone, W, K. (2004). Alternative Dispute Resolution. Oxford: University Press. Read More