Business law:the ethical,global and e-commerce environment - Essay Example

June 19 Q A dispute can generally be defined as a divergence of view on a point of law or fact, a conflict of lawful examination or of interests between two persons. A dispute may become legal when in simple terms, it is strictly legal in nature and there is no dispute in the facts presented and that the defendant is in agreement with the facts alleged as presented by the plaintiff in the complaint before court. Therefore, in legal disputes, it can be said that there exists a lawful existence or a duty of right as provided by the law. In the resolution of private duties, private law, which establishes a framework of rules, can be applied to know which party in the case owes a duty or right (Mallor and Bowers 9). For example, a legal dispute may arise when two parties agree through a written or verbal contract to provide goods or services. When one party fails to deliver the goods or the service, a legal dispute may arise. In the case of Blumenthal v Drudge and AOL, the court while dismissing the case against the second respondent used section 230 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that bars claims that can be brought against interactive computer services for information that could have been offered by another content provider. This is an example of a case decided purely based on the legal provisions as opposed to factual considerations. The court restated that by going contrary to this legal provision, it would set a bad precedent that would gravely affect other content providers in the future. Q.2 A complaint contends what the plaintiff or the complainant asserts that actually happened between the parties, as the trial begins, parties might resort to some methods of getting information or materials from each other in order to help their case. This is usually through a process known as discovery that my either be through interrogatories, depositions, admission requests or requests for documents. It is important to note that the discovery phase of a trial may be fought over a long and trivial process as was confirmed in Allstate Indemnity Co. V. Ruiz. The information obtained from discovery may be relevant in the case at hand and has a direct bearing on how much time and resources is used in the determination of the case; there are different means of foundation that may include testimonies, interrogatories, demands for documents and admissions. Interrogatories are usually questions in written form directed at the adversary side from one side while requests for admissions are directed at the other party to admit certain facts in the case that may seem glaring. It is important to note that interrogatories and requests for documents are usually made or sent to the other party before the request for admission is made. Depositions are filed soon after the respondent has filed his answer that requires that the party takes a testimony by deposition through an oath indicating the reason for the deposition, the time and place, the name of the witness hose testimony is desired, the subject matter of the testimony to be taken and its relevance. Parties may also apply for the production of documents and objects by identifying the document required and its relevance and materiality to the case. Q.3 In contract law there may be theories of recovery, which may be contractual or non-contractual whether the contract was made impliedly or expressly. However, at times a party who is aggrieved in the contract may move to court by relying on the non-contractual theory alone either through the quasi-contract that is contract implied in law or through the principle of promissory estoppel. The quasi-contract theory is one that usually imposes a duty through the law to avoid unfair enhancement by one party in definite situations in the contract. For example if a company induces a person to buy a product which it has misstated the expected revenues that will accrue to the customer, the customer may cancel the contract on learning the misrepresentation of the fact by the company that sold the product. The doctrine of promissory estoppels may be applied when one party relies upon the promise made by another person that leads to his loss or disadvantage, but there exists no contract. When such happens, the courts can compel the person who made the promise that is the promisor to compensate the person who suffers the detriment as held in Aceves v U.S. Bank. Q.4 The Restatement (Second) of Contracts, Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and stare decisis are some of the sources of law that courts or other arbitration for a may adopt when determining disputes arising from contracts. The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) may be applied by the courts in instances when The Restatement (Second) of Contracts becomes inapplicable depending on the circumstances and facts of the case. The UCC has got nine articles but the most important is Article 2 which governs the sale of goods that are movable (Mallor and Bowers 3) such as cars, tables, chairs or computers but not securities, money, and specified legal rights; therefore, it is important to note that the UCC is only applicable to movable goods when determining contract disputes. The UCC protects both consumers and merchants and may at times be applied by the courts to create a fair contract if the offeree changes the terms of the offer. The Restatement (Second) of Contracts differs from both common law and the UCC but is also used when determining cases on contract (Mallor and Bowers 4). It is important to note that The Restatement (Second) of Contracts rules can help courts in the filling of gaps in common law when judges use it to formulate the content of formal law as was held in Young v. Beck. It applies in other jurisdictions and covers other types of sales not dealing with goods or merchants, for example in the sale of securities or businesses, sale of land, or rental services such as car hires and rentals. Q.5 An offer is the expression of the willingness or the aim to be bound through a contract or a contractual relationship when another party who also has the intent to be part of the contract accepts what the person is offering in the contractual relationship. In the determination of the existence of an offer, the courts use the objective theory, which probes whether a reasonable or levelheaded person would evaluate the words, or the acts of the person offering the good or the service, the offeror, has intent through legal means as was stated in Meram v. MacDonald. An offeree who feels cheated by an offeror who denies placing an offer can prove to the court that the contract had legal significance due to external acts of the parties that showed that there was intent to make a contract. Q.6 Offerors are empowered by the law to revoke or cancel the offers they have made in a contract and are required to do so before an acceptance of the offer is made by the offeree. However, at certain instances or circumstances, the offeror is prohibited from revoking the offer that he had made initially at the time they were entering the contract with the offeree. An offer will be irrevocable or cannot be cancelled where there is an option contract in which the offeree by showing his committed had made a consideration for the irrevocable offer for a given period. The offeror cannot also cancel an offer if the offeree depended on on it leading to his impairment based on an rapid or indirect promise by the offeror that he would not cancel it if such a detrimental dependence was predictable by the offeror also provided under Restatement 2d section 87 (2). An offer is also irreversible in case of a one-sided contract and the offeree had commenced performance of the assured act if the offeree relied to his detriment upon the proposal itself under the Restatement 2d section 45. Under the Uniform Commercial Code, in contracts involving goods, when a merchant designates through writing that a proposal for the sale of goods will be open for the stated time or sensible time if it does not expressly specify the time, not to surpass three months when no attention is given. Work Cited Mallor, Barnes, Bowers, Langvardt. Business Law: The Ethical, Global and E-Commerce Environment, 15th Edition, McGraw-Hill Companies, 2013. Print. Read More