Chapter 2 Judicial and Alternative Dispute Resolution PowerPoint Slides to accompany THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS AND ONLINE COMMERCE 4E, by Henry R. Cheeseman Chapter 2 Judicial and Alternative Dispute Resolution Prentice Hall © 2005

Two Major Court Systems Federal court system Court systems of the 50 states and the District of Columbia Prentice Hall © 2005

Forms of Dispute Resolution Litigation—the process of bringing, maintaining, and defending a lawsuit Alternative dispute resolution—non-judicial dispute resolution Prentice Hall © 2005

State Court Systems Limited-jurisdiction trial courts Courts that hear matters of specialized or limited nature Small claims courts are a good example of this General-jurisdiction trial court Courts that hear cases of a general nature that are not within the jurisdiction of limited-jurisdiction trial courts Prentice Hall © 2005

State Court Systems Intermediate appellate courts Highest state court Courts that hear appeals from trial courts Highest state court The highest court in a state system Hears appeals from intermediate state courts and certain trial courts Prentice Hall © 2005

Sample State Court System Prentice Hall © 2005

Special Federal Courts US Tax Court US Claims Court US Court of International Trade US Bankruptcy Court Prentice Hall © 2005

US District Courts District courts are the federal court system’s trial courts of general jurisdiction Presently, there are 96 district courts Prentice Hall © 2005

US Courts of Appeals US Courts of Appeals are the federal court system’s intermediate appellate courts There are 13 courts of appeals Prentice Hall © 2005

US Supreme Court Created by Article III of the US Constitution Highest court in the US Located in Washington, DC Composed of nine justices who are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate Types of decisions: Unanimous Majority Plurality Tie Prentice Hall © 2005

Federal Court System Prentice Hall © 2005

Jurisdiction of Federal and State Courts Prentice Hall © 2005

Jurisdiction of Courts Standing to sue—the plaintiff must have some stake in the outcome of the lawsuit Jurisdiction—the authority of a court to hear a case In personam jurisdiction—jurisdiction over the parties to a lawsuit In rem jurisdiction—jurisdiction to hear a case because of jurisdiction over the property involved in the lawsuit Quasi in rem jurisdiction—jurisdiction allowed a plaintiff who obtains a judgment in one state to try to collect the judgment by attaching property of the defendant located in another state Prentice Hall © 2005

Long-Arm Statutes Long-arm statute—a statute that extends a state’s jurisdiction to nonresidents who were not served a summons within the state Forum-selection clause—contract provision that designates a certain court to hear any dispute concerning nonperformance of the contract Prentice Hall © 2005

Pleadings Complaint—the document the plaintiff files with the court and serves on the defendant to initiate a lawsuit Summons—a court order directing the defendant to appear in court and answer the complaint Answer—the defendant’s written response to the plaintiff’s complaint that is filed with the court and served on the plaintiff Prentice Hall © 2005

Statute of Limitations Statute of limitations—a statute that establishes the period during which a plaintiff must bring a lawsuit against a defendant Prentice Hall © 2005

Discovery Discovery—a legal process during which both parties engage in various activities to discover facts of the case from the other party and from witnesses prior to trial Prentice Hall © 2005

Dismissals and Pretrial Judgments Motion for judgment on the pleadings—motion that alleges that if all the facts presented in the pleadings are taken as true, the party making the motion would win the lawsuit when the proper law is applied to these asserted facts Motion for summary judgment—motion that asserts that there are no factual disputes to be decided by the jury; if so, the judge can apply the proper law to the undisputed facts and decide the case without a jury Prentice Hall © 2005

Phases of a Trial Jury selection Opening statement Plaintiff’s case Defendant’s case Rebuttal and rejoinder Closing arguments Jury instructions Jury deliberations Verdict Entry of judgment Prentice Hall © 2005

The Appeal In a civil case, either party can appeal the trial court’s decision once a final judgment is entered In a criminal case, only the defendant can appeal An appellate court will reverse a lower court decision if it finds an error of law in the record It will generally not reverse a finding of fact Prentice Hall © 2005

Types of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Arbitration Conciliation Fact finding Judicial referee Mediation Minitrial Prentice Hall © 2005

Arbitration Arbitration is a form of ADR in which parties choose an impartial third party to hear and decide the dispute Many contracts require that disputes arising out of the contract be submitted to arbitration Prentice Hall © 2005

Mediation and Conciliation A form of ADR in which the parties choose a neutral third party to act as the mediator of the dispute Conciliation A form of mediation in which the parties choose an interested third party to act as the mediator Prentice Hall © 2005

Minitrial A minitrial is a session, usually lasting a day or less, in which the lawyers for each side present their cases to representatives of each party who have authority to settle the dispute Prentice Hall © 2005

Fact-Finding Fact-finding is a process where the parties hire a neutral person to investigate the dispute The fact-finder reports his findings to the adversaries and may recommend a basis for settlement Prentice Hall © 2005

Judicial Referee If the parties agree, the court may appoint a judicial referee, often a retired judge, to conduct a private trial and render a judgment Prentice Hall © 2005