Ian Eisenberg and Chris Hebard formed Electronic Publishing Ventures, LLC (EPV) and its four subsidiaries: Cyberspace.com, LLC; Essex Enterprises, LLC; Surfnet Services, LLC; and Splashnet.net, LLC. Two offshore entities, French Dreams Investments, N.V. (collectively EFO and owned by Eisenberg) and Coto Settlement (controlled by Hebard) owned EPV in equal parts. EPV’s four subsidiaries mailed approximately 4.4 million solicitations offering internet access to individuals and small businesses. The solicitations included a check, usually for $3.50, attached to a form resembling an invoice designed to be detached from the check by tearing at the perforated line. The check was addressed to the recipient and the recipient’s phone number appeared on the “re” line. The back of the check and invoice contained small-print disclosures revealing that cashing or depositing the check would constitute agreement to pay a monthly fee for internet access, but the front of the check and the invoice contained no such disclosures. The mailing explained in small print that a monthly fee would be billed to the customer’s local phone bill after the check was cashed or deposited. At least 225,000 small businesses and individuals cashed or deposited the solicitation checks. The EPV subsidiaries used a billing aggregation service to place charges for $19.95 or $29.95 a month on the small businesses’ and individuals’ ordinary telephone bills. internet usage records show, however, that less than 1 percent of the 225,000 individuals and businesses billed for internet service actually logged on to the service. Eisenberg and Hebard were aware that the solicitation had misled some consumers. The companies received complaints from recipients of the solicitations, which indicated that some customers had deposited the solicitation check without realizing that they had contracted for internet services. The Federal Trade Commission alleges that the solicitations were deceptive in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Explain whether the FTC is correct.
> In March, William Proxmire, a U.S. senator from Wisconsin, initiated the “Golden Fleece of the Month Award” to publicize what he believed to be wasteful government spending. The second of these awards was given to the Federal agencies that had for seven
> Rachel bought a car from the Beautiful Used Car Agency under a written contract. She purchased the car in reliance on Beautiful’s agent’s oral representations that it had never been in a wreck and could be driven at least two thousand miles without addin
> Grant leased an apartment to Epstein for the term May 1, at $750 a month “payable in advance on the first day of each and every month of said term.” At the time the lease was signed, Epstein told Grant that he received his salary on the tenth of the mont
> Clay orally promises Trent to sell him five crops of potatoes to be grown on Blackacre, a farm in Minnesota, and Trent promises to pay a stated price for them on delivery. Is the contract enforceable? Explain.
> In a contract drawn up by Booke Company, it agreed to sell and Yermack Contracting Company agreed to buy wood shingles at $950 per bunch. After the shingles were delivered and used, Booke Company billed Yermack Company at $950 per bunch of nine hundred s
> Daniel, while under the influence of alcohol, agreed to sell his used automobile to Belinda for $13,000. The next morning, when Belinda went to Daniel’s house with the $13,000 in cash, Daniel stated that he did not remember the transaction but that “a de
> Ira, who in 2017 had been found innocent of a criminal offense because of insanity, was released from a hospital for the criminally insane during the summer of 2018 and since that time has been a reputable and well-respected citizen and businessperson. O
> On October 1, George Jones entered into a contract with Johnson Motor Company, a dealer in automobiles, to buy a used car for $10,850. He paid $1,100 down and, under the agreement, was to make monthly payments thereafter of $325 each. Jones was seventeen
> On May 7, Roy, a minor, a resident of Smithton, purchased an automobile from Royal Motors, Inc., for $18,750 in cash. On the same day, he bought a motor scooter from Marks, also a minor, for $750 and paid him in full. On June 5, two days before attaining
> Jones, a minor, owned a 2019 automobile. She traded it to Stone for a 2020 car. Jones went on a three-week trip and found that the 2020 car was not as good as the 2019 car. She asked Stone to return the 2019 car but was told that it had been sold to Tate
> Consider the same facts as in Question 8, but assume that the price was $350. Benson, nevertheless, wishes to avoid the contract based on the allegation that Carl befriended and tricked him into the purchase. Discuss.
> Plaintiff, John W. Carson, was the host and star of The Tonight Show, a well-known television program broad- cast by the National Broadcasting Company. Carson also appeared as an entertainer in nightclubs and theaters around the country. From the time he
> Carl, a salesman for Smith, comes to Benson’s home and sells him a complete set of “gourmet cooking utensils” that are worth approximately $300. Benson, an eighty year-old man living alone in a one-room efficiency apartment, signs a contract to buy the u
> On April 30, 2019, Barack and Donald entered into a bet on the outcome of the 2019 Kentucky Derby. On January 28, 2020, Barack, who bet on the winner, approached Donald, seeking to collect the $3,000 Donald had wagered. Donald paid Barack the $3,000 wage
> The Dear Corporation was engaged in the business of making and selling harvesting machines. It sold everything pertaining to its business to the ABC Company, agreeing “not again to go into the manufacture of harvesting machines anywhere in the United Sta
> Anthony promises to pay McCarthy $10,000 if McCarthy informs the public that Washington is a Communist. Washington is not a Communist and never has been. McCarthy successfully persuades the media to report that Washington is a Communist and now seeks to
> Makayla was a Java programmer employed with Sun Microsystems in Palo Alto, California. Upon beginning employment, Makayla signed a contract that included a noncompete clause that prevented her, within three months of terminating her employment, from taki
> A company prohibits any employee from making disparaging comments about the company through any social media—including online blogs, email, tweets, and other electronic media. Violation of this rule is grounds for dismissal. Explain whether this rule is
> A company adopts a policy that (a) prohibits romantic relationships between employees of different ranks and (b) permits romantic relationships between employees of the same rank only if both employees waive in writing their rights to sue the company sh
> How should the financial interests of stockholders be balanced with the varied interests of stakeholders? If you were writing a code of conduct for your company, how would you address this issue?
> Explain what relevance ethics has to business.
> You are a project manager for a company making a major proposal to a Middle Eastern country. Your major competition is from Japan. a. Your local agent, who is closely tied to a very influential sheikh, would receive a 5 percent commission if the proposal
> On February 10, Kelm secured a loan for $6,000 from Ms. Joan Williams. Kelm told Williams that the loan was to finance a real estate transaction. Five days later, Ms. Williams received a check drawn by Kelm in the amount of $6,000 from Kelm’s attorney. A
> a. Ann owed $2,500 to Barry for services Barry rendered to Ann. The debt was due June 30, 2019. In March 2020, the debt was still unpaid. Barry was in urgent need of ready cash and told Ann that if she would pay $1,500 of the debt at once, Barry would re
> Negligent in failing to give warning of the approach of its train to a crossing, CC Railroad thereby endangers Larry, a blind man who is about to cross. Mildred, a bystander, in a reasonable effort to save Larry, rushes onto the track to push Larry out o
> Willie Mae Arant executed her Last Will and Testament in her home with two witnesses present. The original will could not be found after Arant’s death, so a copy of the will was filed and admitted in Probate Court. The will left the bulk of the estate to
> By his last will and testament, Henry Nussbaum made a residual bequest and devise of his estate to his niece, Jane Blair, as trustee, in trust for the education of his grandchildren. If the trust could not be fulfilled, the residue was to revert to the p
> Rodney Sharp was a fifty-six-year-old dairy farmer whose education did not go beyond the eighth grade. Upon the death of his wife of thirty-two years, Sharp developed a very close relationship with Jean Kosmalski, a schoolteacher sixteen years his junior
> In May 2011, Fred Parramore executed four deeds, each conveying a life estate in his land to him and his wife and a remainder interest in one-fourth of his land to each of his four children: Alney, Eudell, Bernice, and Iris. Although Fred executed and ac
> Barba & Barba Construction, Inc., constructed a multilevel addition to a single-family house in Glenview, Illinois. Before the addition, the residence consisted of approximately 2,300 square feet. After the addition, the house consisted of approximately
> Sam and Eleanor Gaito purchased a home from Howard Frank Auman, Jr., in the spring of 2018. Auman had completed the construction of the house in November 2013. In the interim, three different parties had lived in the house for brief periods, but Auman ha
> The Gerwitz family resides on a piece of land known as Lot #24 of the Belleville tract, which they acquired by deed in 2002. Shortly thereafter, the Gerwitzes began to use the adjacent vacant Lot #25. At various times, they planted grass seed, flowers, a
> Fay and Loretta O’Connell were married and owned several bank accounts as joint tenants with rights of survivorship. While accompanied by Loretta’s sister, Mary Ann, Fay went to the banks where Fay and Loretta had joint accounts and withdrew all the fund
> A Massachusetts statute established differential methods by which wineries may distribute wines in Massachusetts. The statute allows only “small” wineries, defined as those producing 30,000 gallons or less of grape wine a year, to obtain a “small winery
> On January 14, 2017, Eura Mae Redmon deeded land to her daughter, Melba Taylor, and two sons, W. C. Sewell and Billy Sewell, “jointly and severally, and unto their heirs, assigns and successors forever,” with the grantor retaining a life estate. W. C. Se
> Clayton and Margie Gulledge owned a house at 532 Somerset Place, N.W. (the Somerset property) as ten- ants by the entirety. They had three children: Bernis Gulledge, Johnsie Walker, and Marion Watkins. When Margie Gulledge died in 1994, Clayton became th
> Robert and Majorie Wake owned land that they used as both a cattle ranch and a farm. Each spring and autumn, the Wakes would drive their cattle from the ranch portion of the operation across an access road on the farm- land to Butler Springs, which was a
> In 1978, a deed for land in Pitt County was executed and delivered by Joel and Louisa Tyson “unto M. H. Jackson and wife Maggie Jackson, for and during the term of their natural lives and after their death to the children of the said M. H. Jackson and Ma
> On January 1, Mrs. Irene Kern leased an apartment from Colonial Court Apartments, Inc., for a one-year term. When the lease was entered into, Mrs. Kern asked for a quiet apartment, and Colonial assured her that the assigned apartment was in a quiet, well
> In 1993, Ogle was the owner of two adjoining lots numbered 6 and 7 fronting at the north on a city street. In that year, she laid out and built a concrete driveway along and two feet in front of what she erroneously believed to be the west boundary of lo
> Francis B. Freeman, Jr., purchased a cattle scale for $11,000. The scale, which weighs approximately six thousand five hundred pounds, was sold as a portable model. The manufacturer sold additional items that permitted the scale to be moved. Freeman did
> David E. Ross, his two brothers, and their families operated and owned the entire stock of five businesses. Ross had three children: Rod, David II, and Betsy. David II and Betsy were not involved in the operation of the companies, but Rod began working f
> American Rice, Inc. (“ARI”), is a Houston-based company that exports rice to foreign countries, including Haiti. Rice Corporation of Haiti (“RCH”), a wholly owned subsidiary of ARI, was incorporated in Haiti to represent ARI’s interests and deal with thi
> On October 20, 1999, a group of nineteen private organizations filed a rulemaking petition asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new motor vehicles under the Clean Air Act. Fifteen months after the pet
> American Express Travel Related Services (“Amex”) sells Amex Travelers Cheques (“TCs”), which are preprinted checks for specified amounts with a unique serial number and no expiration date. Amex is able to sell TCs for their face value because Amex's con
> Holtz Rubenstein Reminick, CPAs, audited year-end financial statements of Quality Food Brands, Inc., and related companies. Signature Bank, relying upon the audited financial reports prepared by Holtz Rubenstein Reminick, extended a term note to Quality
> Between December 4 and December 17, John Malone, a director and large shareholder of Discovery Communications, Inc., engaged in sales of Discovery’s “Series C” stock totaling 953,506 shares and purchases of Discovery’s “Series A” stock totaling 632,700 s
> Ella Williams began working at Toyota’s automobile manufacturing plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, in August 2010. She was placed on an engine fabrication assembly line, where her duties included work with pneumatic tools. Use of these tools eventually caus
> During the years prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Duke Power openly discriminated against African Americans by allowing them to work only in the labor department of the plant’s five departments. The highest-paying job in the labor de
> Lavon Phillips became engaged to marry Sarah Grendahl and moved in with her. Sarah’s mother, Mary, became suspicious that Phillips was not telling the truth about his past, particularly about whether he was an attorney and where he had worked. She also w
> The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ordered Warner-Lambert to cease and desist from advertising that its product, Listerine antiseptic mouthwash, prevents, cures, or alleviates the common cold and sore throats. The order further required Warner-Lambert to
> Carolinian is a closely held, manager-managed limited liability company organized under the laws of South Carolina. Carolinian owns and manages various hotel and rental properties in South Carolina. In February 2018, the Levys obtained a judgment against
> Namvar Taghipour, Danesh Rahemi, and Edgar Jerez formed a limited liability company to purchase and develop a parcel of real estate. The LLC’s articles of organization designated Jerez as the LLC’s manager. In addition, the written operating agreement am
> In January, Dr. Vidricksen contributed $250,000 to become a limited partner in a Chevrolet car agency business with Thom, the general partner. Articles of limited partnership were drawn up, but no effort was made to comply with the State's statutory requ
> Llexcyiss Omega and D. Dale York, both residents of Indiana, jointly listed a Porsche automobile for sale on eBay, a popular auction website. The listing stated that the vehicle was located in Indiana and that the winning bidder would be responsible for
> Ed O’Bannon, a highly talented former basketball player at UCLA, alleges an antitrust violation based on the premise that current and former NCAA men’s basketball and Division I-A football players should be allowed to sell the rights to their name, image
> In 1923, DuPont was granted the exclusive right to make and sell cellophane in North America. In 1927, the company introduced a moisture-proof brand of cellophane that was ideal for various wrapping needs. Although more expensive than most competing wrap
> The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) adopted a plan for televising college football games to reduce the adverse effect of television coverage on spectator attendance. The plan limited the total number of televised intercollegiate football
> Bernard L. Bilski and Rand A. Warsaw sought patent protection for a claimed invention that explains how buyers and sellers of commodities in the energy market can protect, or hedge, against the risk of price changes. Claim 1 describes a series of steps i
> Robert Marrama filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition under Chapter 7. In the filing, Marrama made a number of statements about his principal asset, a house in Maine, which were misleading or inaccurate. He reported that he was the sole beneficiary of the
> Krieger is a 53-year-old woman who has not held a job in more than twenty-five years. Prior to that period, she did not earn more than $12,000 a year in her working career. Krieger is living with her mother, age seventy-five, in a rural community where f
> A landlord owned several residential properties, one of which was subject to a local rent control ordinance. The local rent control administrator determined that the landlord had been charging rents above the levels permitted by the ordinance and ordered
> On December 17, ZZZZ Best Co., Inc. (the debtor) borrowed $7 million from Union Bank (the bank). On July 8 of the following year, the debtor filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy under Chapter 7. During the preceding ninety days, the debtor had made
> Yolanda Christophe filed a bankruptcy petition under Chapter 13. Her scheduled debts consist of $11,100 of secured debt, $9,300 owed on an unsecured student loan, and $6,960 of other unsecured debt. Christophe asserts that the student loan is nondischarg
> David files a bankruptcy petition under Chapter 13. After the claims of secured and priority creditors have been satisfied, David’s remaining bankruptcy estate has a value of $100,000. David’s creditors with allowed unsecured claims are owed $250,000 in
> Eddie Lee Howard and Shane D. Schneider worked for Nitro-Lift Technologies LLC. As a condition of employment, they entered into confidentiality and noncompetition agreements that contained a clause requiring any dispute between Nitro-Lift and its employe
> Freelin Conn filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code on September 30, 2021. Conn listed BancOhio National Bank as having a claim incurred in October 2020 in the amount of $4,000 secured by an eight-year-old automobile. The car i
> Landmark at Plaza Park, Ltd., filed a plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. Land- mark is a limited partnership whose only substantial asset is a two-hundred-unit garden apartment complex. City Federal holds the first mortgage o
> In July 2020, Edward Slater purchased a new Galaxy boat primarily for personal purposes. To finance the purchase, Slater obtained a loan from Howell State Bank, agreeing to repay the loan in ninety-six monthly installments of $151.41. The Galaxy boat was
> Standridge purchased a Chevrolet automobile from Billy Deavers, an agent of Walker Motor Company. According to the sales contract, the balance due after the trade-in allowance was $282.50, to be paid in twelve weekly installments. Standridge claims that
> New West Fruit Corporation (New West) and Coastal Berry Corporation are both brokers of fresh strawberries. In the second half of 2019, New West’s predecessor, Monc’s Consolidated Produce, Inc., loaned money and strawberry plants to a group of strawberry
> Elizabeth Tilleraas received three student loans totaling $3,500 under the Federal Insured Student Loan Program (FISLP) of the Higher Education Act. These loans were secured by three promissory notes executed in favour of Dakota National Bank & Trust Co.
> National Acceptance Company loaned Ultra Precision Industries $692,000 and to secure repayment of the loan Ultra executed a chattel mortgage security agreement on National’s behalf on March 7, 2015. National perfected the security interest by timely fili
> National Cash Register Company (NCR), a manufacturer of cash registers, entered into a sales contract for a cash register with Edmund Carroll. On November 18, Firestone and Company made a loan to Carroll, who conveyed certain property to Firestone as col
> McLoon, Morse Bros., and T-M Oil Companies were closely held companies entirely owned by members of the Pescosolido family, under the leadership of Carl Pescosolido, Sr. His sons, Carl Jr. and Richard, each held shares in McLoon, Morse Bros., and T-M. To
> Ray fell from a defective ladder while working for his employer. Ray brought suit in strict tort liability against the Alad Corporation (Alad II), which neither manufactured nor sold the ladder to Ray’s employer. Prior to the accident, Alad II succeeded
> Raymond Johnson snatched a purse that had been left in an unattended car at a gas station. The purse contained both money and a firearm. Johnson was convicted for the crimes of grand theft of property (cash and payroll check) and grand theft of a firearm
> The Brazilian Equity Fund, Inc., is a nondiversified, publicly traded, closed-end investment company incorporated under the laws of Maryland. As a closed-end fund, it has a fixed number of outstanding shares, so that investors who wish to acquire shares
> Horton owned one hundred twelve shares of common stock in Compaq Computer Corporation , a Delaware corporation. Horton and seventy-eight other parties sued Compaq, fifteen of its advisers, and certain management personnel, alleging that Compaq and its co
> Pritchard & Baird was a reinsurance broker. A reinsurance broker arranges contracts between insurance companies so that companies that have sold large policies may sell participations in these policies to other companies in order to share the risks. Char
> In addition to a class of common stock, Peabody Coal Company had outstanding a class of cumulative 5 percent preferred shares with a par value of $25 with the following contractual rights as stated in the corporation’s articles of incorporation: Preferen
> GM Sub Corporation (GM Sub), a subsidiary of Grand Metropolitan Limited, acquired all outstanding shares of Liggett Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Rothschild International Corporation (Rothschild) was the owner of 650 shares of the 7 percent cumula
> International Distributing Export Company (I.D.E.) was organized as a corporation on September 7, 2014, under the laws of New York and commenced business on November 1, 2014. I.D.E. formerly had been in existence as a sole proprietorship. On October 31,
> Harold Lang Jewelers, Inc. (Lang), a Florida corporation, through its single employee, had sold and consigned merchandise to jewelry stores in western North Carolina for almost thirty years. Lang’s employee came frequently to North Carolina for the purpo
> Berger was planning to produce a fashion show in Las Vegas. In April 1965, Berger entered into a written licensing agreement with CBS Films, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of CBS, for presentation of the show. In 1966, Stewart Cowley decided to produce
> Horizon is a large, publicly traded provider of both nursing homes and management for nursing homes. It wanted to expand into Osceola County, Florida. South- ern Oaks was already operating in Osceola County; it owned the Southern Oaks Health Care Center
> Anderson and Tallstrom are partners in Rancho Murieta Investors (RMI). Anderson owns 80 percent of RMI; Tallstrom owns the other 20 percent and is the managing partner of RMI. Hellman obtained judgments against Anderson in his individual capacity for mor
> Present and former law review editors who were researching disciplinary systems and procedures at the military service academies for an article requested, but were denied, access to case summaries of honor and ethics hearings maintained in the U.S. Air F
> Michael, his mother, and his four siblings orally agreed that they would all play the lottery and that if any one of them should purchase a winning lottery ticket, all of them would share the money equally. Michael’s mother purchased the sole winning tic
> For a period of sixteen months, Great Lakes Higher Education Corp. (Great Lakes), a not-for-profit student loan servicer, issued 224 student loan checks totaling $273,152.88. The checks were drawn against Great Lakes’ account at First Wisconsin National
> Tally held a savings account with American Security Bank. On seven occasions, Tally’s personal secretary, who received his bank statements and had custody of his passbook, forged Tally’s name on withdrawal slips that she then presented to the bank. The s
> Morvarid Kashanchi and her sister, Firoyeh Paydar, held a savings account with Texas Commerce Medical Bank. An unauthorized withdrawal of $4,900 from the account was allegedly made by means of a telephone conversation between some other unidentified indi
> On Tuesday, June 11, Siniscalchi issued a $200 check on the drawee, Valley Bank. On Saturday morning, June 15, the check was cashed. This transaction, as well as others taking place on that Saturday morning, was not recorded or processed through the bank
> Laboratory Management deposited into its account at Pulaski Bank a check issued by Fairway Farms in the amount of $150,000. The date of deposit was February 5. Pulaski, the depositary bank, initiated the collection process immediately by forwarding the c
> Vincent Medina signed a check in the amount of $34,348 written on the account of First Delta Financial, a family corporation owned and controlled by Medina. His corporate title did not appear before his signature. He issued the check to James G. Wyche. T
> Attorney Eliot Disner tendered a check for $100,100 to Sidney and Lynne Cohen. In drawing the check, Disner was serving as an intermediary for his clients, Irvin and Dorothea Kipnes, who owed the money to the Cohens as part of a settlement agreement. The
> On August 10, 2019, Theta Electronic Laboratories, Inc., executed a promissory note to George and Marguerite Thomson. Three other individuals, Gerald Exten, Emil O’Neil, James Hane, and their wives also indorsed the note. The note was then transferred to
> R&A Concrete Contractors, Inc., executed a promissory note that identifies both R&A Concrete and Grover Roberts as its makers. On the reverse side of the note, the following appears: “X John Ament Sec. & Treas.” National Bank of Georgia, the payee, now s
> The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) was created as part of a series of accounting reforms in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The PCAOB is a governmentally created entity with expansive powers to regulate the entire accounting industry.
> In 1942, Congress passed the Emergency Price Control Act in the interest of national defense and security. The stated purpose of the Act was “to stabilize prices and to prevent speculative, unwarranted and abnormal increases in prices and rents.” The Act
