Fundamentals of Business Law

Answers to the even-numbered questions in this For Review section can be found in Appendix F at the end of this text. What are the three necessary elements for an effective gift?

Gifts. Jaspal has a severe heart attack and is taken to the hospital. He is aware that he is not expected to live. Because he is a bachelor with no close relatives nearby, Jaspal gives his car keys to his close friend Friedrich, telling Friedrich that he is expected to die and that the car is Friedrich's. Jaspal survives the heart attack, but two months later he dies from pneumonia. Sam, Jaspal's uncle and the executor of his estate, wants Friedrich to return the car. Friedrich refuses, claiming that the car was a gift from Jaspal. Discuss whether Friedrich will be required to return the car to Jaspal's estate. (See Acquiring Ownership.)

Answers to the even-numbered questions in this For Review section can be found in Appendix F at the end of this text. What is the difference between a joint tenancy and a tenancy in common?

ISSUE SPOTTERS Rosa de la Mar Corporation ships a load of goods via Southeast Delivery Company. The load of goods is lost in a hurricane in Florida. Who suffers the loss? Explain your answer. (See page 674.)

The five Learning Objectives below are designed to help improve your understanding of the chapter. After reading this chapter, you should be able to answer the following questions: What are the three necessary elements for an effective gift?

Case Problem with Sample Answer In July 2003, Chester Dellinger and his son Michael opened a joint bank account with Advancial Federal Credit Union in Dallas, Texas. Both of them signed the "Account Application," which designated Chester as a "member" and Michael as a "joint owner." Both of them received a copy of the "Account Agreement, Disclosures and Privacy Policy," which provided that "a multiple party account includes rights of survivorship." Chester died in February 2005. His will designated Michael as the executor of the estate, most of which was to be divided equally between Michael and his brother, Joseph, Chester's other son. Michael determined the value of the estate to be about $117,000. He did not include the Advancial account balance, which was about $234,000. Joseph filed a suit in a Texas state court against Michael, contending that the funds in the Advancial account should be included in the estate. Michael filed a motion for summary judgment. Who owned the Advancial account when Chester was alive? Who owned it after he died? What should the court rule? Explain. [ In re Estate of Dellinger, 224 S.W.3d 434 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2007)]

ISSUE SPOTTERS Quintana Corporation sends important documents to Regal Nursery, Inc., via Speedy Messenger Service. While the documents are in Speedy's care, a third party causes an accident to Speedy's delivery vehicle that results in the loss of the documents. Does Speedy have a right to recover from the third party for the loss of the documents? Why or why not? (See page 670.)

Answers to the even-numbered questions in this For Review section can be found in Appendix F at the end of this text. What are the three elements of a bailment?

The five Learning Objectives below are designed to help improve your understanding of the chapter. After reading this chapter, you should be able to answer the following questions: What are the three elements of a bailment?

The five Learning Objectives below are designed to help improve your understanding of the chapter. After reading this chapter, you should be able to answer the following questions: What is the difference between a joint tenancy and a tenancy in common?

What is real property? What is personal property?

The five Learning Objectives below are designed to help improve your understanding of the chapter. After reading this chapter, you should be able to answer the following questions: What is real property? What is personal property?

Spotlight on Joint Tenancy-Property Ownership. Vincent Slavin was a partner at Cantor Fitzgerald Securities in the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City. In 1998, Slavin and Anna Baez became engaged and began living together. They placed both of their names on three accounts at Chase Manhattan Bank according to the bank's terms, which provided that "accounts with multiple owners are joint, payable to either owner or the survivor." Slavin arranged for the direct deposit of his salary and commissions into one of the accounts. On September 11, 2001, Slavin died when two planes piloted by terrorists crashed into the WTC towers, causing their collapse. At the time, the balance in the three accounts was $656,944.36. On September 14, Cantor Fitzgerald deposited an additional $58,264.73 into the directdeposit account. Baez soon withdrew the entire amount from all of the accounts. Mary Jelnek, Slavin's mother, filed a suit against Baez to determine the ownership of the funds that had been in the accounts. In what form of ownership were the accounts held? Who is entitled to which of the funds and why? [In re Jelnek, 3 Misc.3d 725, 777 N.Y.S.2d 871 (2004)] (See pages 661-662.)

Bailment Obligation. Don Gray, who ran an aircraft paint shop, was hired to repaint an airplane owned by Bob Moreland. When Moreland left the plane for the paint job, a bailment was created. The price agreed upon was $9,470. When Moreland picked up the airplane, he was disappointed in the quality of the work and pointed out numerous defects. Gray had signed the airplane logbooks, indicating that the work was complete. Moreland flew the plane to another shop, which redid the paint job and estimated the cost of repairing the damage caused by Gray to be about $7,000. Moreland refused to pay Gray, who then sued for the work he had performed on Moreland's plane. Moreland made a counterclaim. The jury awarded Moreland damages of $9,385, plus attorneys' fees of $12,420. Gray appealed, contending that when Moreland took possession of the airplane after the job was completed, he had accepted the work. Moreland had no right to take it to another shop without giving Gray a chance to repair any defects. Is that argument correct? Why or why not? [ Gray v. Moreland, 2010 Ark.App. 207 (2010)]

What are the basic rights and duties of a bailee? What are the rights and duties of a bailor?

Vanessa Denai owned forty acres of land in rural Louisiana with a 1,600-square-foot house on it and a metal barn near the house. Denai met Lance Finney, who had been seeking a small plot of rural property to rent. After several meetings, Denai invited Finney to live on a corner of her land in exchange for Finney's assistance in cutting wood and tending her property. Denai agreed to store Finney's sailboat in her barn. With Denai's consent, Finney constructed a concrete and oak foundation on Denai's property and purchased a 190-square-foot dome from Dome Baja for $3,395. The dome was shipped by Doty Express, a transportation company licensed to serve the public. When it arrived, Finney installed the dome frame and fabric exterior so that the dome was detachable from the foundation. A year after Finney installed the dome, Denai wrote Finney a note stating, "I've decided to give you four acres of land surrounding your dome as drawn on this map." This gift violated no local land-use restrictions. Using the information presented in the chapter, answer the following questions. 1. Is the dome real property or personal property? Explain. 2. Is Denai's gift of land to Finney a testamentary gift, a gift causa mortis, or a gift inter vivos? 3. What type of bailment relationship was created when Denai agreed to store Finney's boat? What degree of care was Denai required to exercise in storing the boat? 4. What standard of care applied to the shipment of the dome by Doty Express? DEBATE THIS: Common carriers should not be able to limit their liability.

Gifts. John Wasniewski opened a brokerage account with Quick and Reilly, Inc., in his son James's name. Twelve years later, when the balance was $52,085, the account was closed. The funds were then transferred into a joint account in the names of James's father and brother. Only after the transfer, when James received a tax form for the prior account's final year, did James learn of this new account. He filed a suit in a Connecticut state court against Quick and Reilly, alleging breach of contract and seeking to recover the account's principal and interest. What are the elements of a valid gift? Did John's initial opening of the account with Quick and Reilly constitute a gift to James? What is the likely result in this case, and why? [ Wasniewski v. Quick and Reilly, Inc., 292 Conn. 98, 971 A.2d 8 (2009)]

Question with Sample Answer-Bailments. Curtis is an executive on a business trip to the West Coast. He has driven his car on this trip and checks into the Hotel Ritz. The hotel has a guarded underground parking lot. Curtis gives his car keys to the parking lot attendant but fails to notify the attendant that his wife's $10,000 fur coat is in a box in the trunk. The next day, on checking out, he discovers that his car has been stolen. Curtis wants to hold the hotel liable for both the car and the coat. Discuss the probable success of his claim. (See page 699.)

Duties of the Bailee. Discuss the standard of care traditionally required of the bailee for the bailed property in each of the following situations and determine whether the bailee breached that duty. (See Bailments.) 1. Ricardo borrows Steve's lawn mower because his own lawn mower needs repair. Ricardo mows his front yard. To mow the backyard, he needs to move some hoses and lawn furniture. He leaves the mower in front of his house while doing so. When he returns to the front yard, he discovers that the mower has been stolen. 2. Alicia owns a valuable speedboat. She is going on vacation and asks her neighbor, Maureen, to store the boat in one stall of Maureen's double garage. Maureen consents, and the boat is moved into the garage. Maureen needs some grocery items for dinner and drives to the store. She leaves the garage door open while she is gone, as is her custom, and the speedboat is stolen during that time.

The five Learning Objectives below are designed to help improve your understanding of the chapter. After reading this chapter, you should be able to answer the following questions: What are the basic rights and duties of a bailee? What are the rights and duties of a bailor?