1 Law & Ethics Chapter 1 – Law, Ethics, Business: An Introduction Copyright © 2005 by Jeffrey Pittman

2 An Introduction  How does the study of law vary from the study of ethics?  Does the size and power of modern corporations change the relationship between the people and the government?

3 Freedom vs. Responsibility Hypothetical Problem #1  While at work, you receive a call from a distraught customer The customer is significantly behind in his payments to your company and tells you that he is financially ruined and he “has nothing to live for”

4 Freedom vs. Responsibility  Do you have legal or ethical problems if you respond as follows: You tell the customer that, if he is serious, his car exhaust in a closed garage (carbon monoxide poisoning) is easy and pain free You immediately call the police to notify them of the situation You do nothing

5 Yania v. Bigan  How do you respond to the four questions following the case, page 4 of the textbook?  Relate Yania to hypothetical problem #1

6 Hurley v. Eddingfield  Compare Hurley to Yania How do the cases differ? Does Hurley change your assessment of the opening hypothetical?

7 Professional Oaths/Codes of Conduct  How has the Hippocratic Oath changed over time? See tml tml  Is an oath binding? Are professional codes of conduct binding?

8 The Duty to Rescue  Should we have a broad “duty to rescue” law? How does the Kitty Genovese murder affect your view of rescue laws?  What are the parameters of existing duty to rescue situations? See pages 9-10 in the textbook (e.g., contractual obligations, “special relationships”, endangering another, etc.)

9 Good Samaritans  How do state “Good Samaritan” statues impact the duty to rescue question?  For Arkansas law, see A.C.A. § (2005)

10 The Duty to Rescue  What components would be contained in a duty to rescue statute?  Consider the following issues: When would a “rescue” be required? What is a rescue? What if the attempted rescue worsens the situation? Who is required to rescue? Compensation for an injured rescuer?  Compensation from whom?

11 Business Liability for Protection Hypothetical Problem #2  Your marketing firm does a significant amount of work for the Anti-Defamation League, an organization committed to stopping defamation of the Jewish people  A car bomb exploded in your company parking lot kills a firm employee and a customer  Is the firm liable for damages?

12 Business Liability for Protection McClung v. Delta Square  What did the McClung court state about protection of customers?  How would you address the case questions, pages in the textbook?

13 Negligence  The McClung decision is based on the tort of negligence  The plaintiff must prove the following elements in a negligence case: The defendant breached a duty of due care owing to the plaintiff The plaintiff was injured The defendant’s breach “caused” the injury

14 Negligence Elements – Breach of a Duty of Due Care  A breach of due care involves failing to use the same care a reasonable person would have used under similar circumstances  The law does not require perfection, just reasonable care

15 Negligence Elements – Causation  In proving causation, the plaintiff must establish two causation components: Causation in fact – did the injury occur because of the defendant’s actions (failure to use due care)? Proximate causation – was the injury foreseeable (was the injury likely enough to happen that a reasonably prudent defendant would have behaved differently)?

16 Defenses to Negligence  Assumption of risk  Comparative or contributory negligence