business law
phunghMGMT597 Course Project
Overview | Deliverables | General Expectations | Grading Rubrics | Citation Help
Overview
This course includes a challenging Course Project due in Week 6. Because of this, you will need to spend additional time and effort throughout the course to work on your project rather than wait until Week 6. The subject of the project may be based on any Case from any chapter assigned in this course. Examples are Case 10.3- Montgomery v. English on page 175 and Case 14.2- Page v. Gulf Coast Motors on page 223. Choose the case you wish to research and then do the following:
1. Read and understand the case. Show your Analysis and Reasoning and make it clear you understand the material. Be sure to use the concepts of the course to show your reasoning. Summarize the situation. Dedicate at least one heading to each following outline topic:
a. Parties [Identify the plaintiff and the defendant and tell something about them.]
b. Facts [Summarize those facts critical to the outcome of the case.]
c. Procedure [Who brought the appeal? What was the outcome in the lower court(s)?]
d. Issue [Note the central question or questions on which the case turns.]
e. Holding [How did the court resolve the issue(s)? Who won?]
f. Reasoning [Explain the logic that supported the court's decision.]
g. Case Questions [Be sure to address and thoroughly answer each and every case question and each part of each question.]
h. Conclusion [This should summarize the key aspects of the decision and also your recommendations on the court's ruling.]
i. Include citations on the slides and a reference page with your sources. Use APA style citations and references.
2. Do significant research outside of the book and demonstrate that you have in a very obvious way. This refers to research beyond the legal research. This involves something about the parties or other interesting related area. Show something you have discovered about the case, parties, or other important element from your own research. Be sure this is obvious and adds value beyond the legal reasoning of the case.
3. Pay strict attention to quality in terms of substance, form, grammar, and context.
Deliverables
Course Project Submission: Your Course Project is due in Week 6. Submit your assignment to the Week 6 "Course Project" Dropbox.
General Expectations
At DeVry University/Keller, we are always looking for ways to help improve skills that employers are seeking. Written communication skills are always high on the list of important skills that employers want, but are often lacking in new college graduates. The course project assignment will give you an opportunity to polish your written communication skills and learn a lot about labor relations at the same time. Put a lot of effort into this project; the paper is worth 180 points (18%) of your final course grade.
An Important Note: Superior papers will cite from a variety of sources (periodicals, journals-- easily accessible through our online library, Internet, textbook, other books, etc.) and will incorporate your personal opinions (if you offer them) based on your research. Mediocre papers will not offer much support for your opinions and will be less persuasive to your audience.
Next, write your paper according to the style guidelines below. Your assignment should be a 1,500-2,500 word APA style paper. It should be completed as a MS Word document, typed in Times New Roman font, and size 12. Your paper should be double-spaced with 1-inch margins all around. Make sure your text is aligned left. Before submission, be sure to perform a spell check and read over your paper carefully for grammatical errors. Double-check that you have properly cited (using APA) all of your borrowed material.
Submit your paper to the Week 6 Dropbox titled "Course Project" located on the silver tab at the top of this page.
Grading Rubrics
Category |
Points |
% |
Description |
Content |
90 |
50% |
A quality paper will have significant scope and depth of research to support any statements. Relevant illustration or examples are encouraged. A quality paper will employ sound use of reasoning and logic to reinforce conclusions. All required content will be addressed and included in the proper sections. |
Organization and Cohesiveness |
36 |
20% |
The logical order of the content will be derived from the assignment. The content will be properly subdivided into sections derived from the outline. In a quality paper, the conclusion will summarize the previously presented content. |
Editing |
27 |
15% |
A quality paper will be free of any spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors. Sentences and paragraphs will be clear, concise, and factually correct. |
Documentation & Formatting |
27 |
15% |
A quality paper will include a title page, abstract, proper citations using APA style, and a bibliography. A quality paper will have significant scope and depth of research to support any statements. Relevant illustration or examples are encouraged. |
Total |
180 |
100 |
A quality paper will meet or exceed all of the above requirements. |
Citation Help
Remember to cite your sources properly, both parenthetically and in your bibliography/works cited. If you need assistance with proper citation be certain to review "How to Avoid Plagiarism", "APA guidelines for Citing Sources Tutorial", the "APA Handbook", the "Student APA Training Tutorial", and the "American Psychological Association (APA) Website" all available in the Syllabus.
Examples are Case 10.3- Montgomery v. English on page 175 and Case 14.2- Page v. Gulf Coast Motors on page 223. CASE 10.3 Mirror Image Rule Montgomery v. English
902 So.2d 836, Web 2005 Fla.App. Lexis 4704 (2005) Court of Appeal of Florida
“Florida employs the ‘mirror image rule’ with respect to contracts. Under this rule, in order for a contract to be formed, an acceptance of an offer must be absolute, unconditional, and identical with the terms of the offer.”
-Judge Palmer
Facts
Norma English made an offer to purchase a house owned by Michael and Lourie Montgomery (Montgomery) for $272,000. English included in her offer a request to purchase several items of Montgomery’s personal property, including paving stones and a fireplace screen. After Montgomery received English’s offer, Montgomery made several changes to the offer, including (1) deleting certain items, including the paving stones and fireplace screen, from the personal property section of the offer; (2) deleting a provision regarding latent defects; (3) deleting a provision regarding building inspections; and (4) adding a specific “AS IS” rider. Montgomery signed their counteroffer and delivered it to English. English initialed most of Montgomery’s changes except she did not initial the change that deleted the paving stones and fireplace screen -which were worth about $100-from the deal. Montgomery, relying on the “mirror image rule,” notified English that she had not completely accepted their offer and that they were therefore withdrawing their offer to sell their house to English. That same day Montgomery signed a contract to sell their house to another buyer for $285,000. English sued Montgomery for specific performance of the contract. The trial court held in favor of English and ordered specific performance. Montgomery appealed.
Issue
Was an enforceable contract made between English and Montgomery?
Language of the Court
Montgomery argue that the trial court erred in denying their motion for summary judgment because the record demonstrated that there had been no meeting of the minds between the parties as to the essential terms of the contract. We agree. Florida employs the “mirror image rule” with respect to contracts. Under this rule, in order for a contract to be formed, an acceptance of an offer must be absolute, unconditional, and identical with the terms of the offer. Applying the mirror image rule to these undisputed facts we hold that, as a matter of law, the parties failed to reach an agreement on the terms of the contract and, therefore, no enforceable contract was created.
Decision
The court of appeal held that because of the mirror image rule, no contract had been created between the parties. The court of appeal reversed the trial court’s order of specific performance and remanded the case to the trial court, with instructions to enter summary judgment in favor of Montgomery.
Case Questions
Critical Legal Thinking What does the mirror image rule provide? Explain.
Business Ethics Did Montgomery act ethically when they backed out of selling the house? Did English act ethically by trying to force the sale of the house to her?
Contemporary Business Does the mirror image rule add certainty to contracting? Explain.
Web Exercise English appealed to the supreme court of Florida. Go to English’s “Petitioner’s Jurisdictional Brief” at www.floridasupremecourt.org/clerk/briefs/2005/1001-1200/05-1186_JurisIni.pdf. Scroll to the bottom of page 9 and read “II Strict Application of the ‘Mirror Image Rule’ Produces Harsh and Inequitable Results” on pages 9 and 10, and the “Conclusion” on page 10. The supreme court of Florida denied English’s appeal to review the case.
CASE 14.2 Guaranty Contract:Page v. Gulf Coast Motors
903 So.2d 148, Web 2004 Ala. Civ. App. Lexis 982 (2004) Court of Civil Appeal of Alabama
“A promise to pay the debt of another is barred by the Statute of Frauds unless it is in writing.”
—Judge Murdock
Facts
Glenn A. Page (Glenn) had a long-term friendship with Jerry Sellers, an owner of Gulf Coast Motors. Glenn began borrowing money from Gulf Coast Motors on a recurring basis during a two-year period. The loan process was informal: Gulf Coast Motors set up a ledger account and recorded each loan made to Glenn, and Glenn would sign the ledger “I agree to pay Jerry Sellers as above.” At various times, Glenn would make small payments toward his account, but he would thereafter borrow more money. At the times the loans were made, Glenn was not working and had no assets in his own name. There was no evidence as to what Glenn used the loan proceeds for, but evidence showed that he had a gambling problem.
Sellers testified that toward the end of the two-year period of making loans to Glenn, he telephoned Mary R. Page, Glenn’s wife, and Mary orally guaranteed to repay Glenn’s loans. Mary had significant assets of her own. Mary denied that she had promised to pay any of Glenn’s debt, and she denied that Sellers had asked her to pay Glenn’s debt. Gulf Coast Motors sued Glenn and Mary to recover payment for the unpaid loans. The trial court entered judgment in the amount of $23,020 in favor of Gulf Coast Motors. Mary appealed.
Issue
Was Mary’s alleged oral promise to guarantee her husband’s debts an enforceable guaranty contract?
Language of the Court
A promise to pay the debt of another is barred by the Statute of Frauds unless it is in writing. It is not disputed that Mary did not sign a note, guaranty, or any other writing promising to pay any part of Glenn’s debts. Therefore, if the purported agreement to pay Glenn’s debt is within the Statute of Frauds, Mary is not liable even if the trial court found Seller’s testimony to be credible. Mary’s alleged oral promises are not enforceable under the Statute of Frauds. We conclude that Mary’s alleged promises to guaranty or repay Glenn’s debts were within the Statute of Frauds and, therefore, were not enforceable.
Decision
The court of civil appeals held that Mary’s alleged oral promises to guarantee her husband’s debts were not in writing, as required by the Statute of Frauds. The court remanded the case to the trial court to enter judgment in Mary’s favor.
Case Questions
Critical Legal Thinking What is a guaranty contract? Explain.
Business Ethics Did Glenn act ethically in this case? Would Mary have acted unethically if she had actually orally guaranteed to repay her husband’s debts and then raised the Statute of Frauds to prevent enforcement of the oral promises?
Contemporary Business Are guaranty contracts often used in business? Can you think of a situation in which a guaranty contract would be required?