Exam 3: Judgement

A subpoena is to a writ as a(n) _________ is to a(n) _________.

A plaintiff's personal injury attorney recently took the deposition of a third party witness in an auto accident case. The witness is a friend of the defendant. During the deposition, the witness stated that she has a Facebook® page and that she will "friend" or grant full access to her Facebook® page to almost anyone who requests it. The attorney asks his paralegal to go on Facebook® and request that the witness "friend" her. The attorney wants his paralegal to download copies of any photos that show the defendant drinking at a party just before the accident. The above situation is most analogous to which of the following scenarios?

On June 1, Art Dealer mailed an offer to Collector. The offer, which was received on June 3, offered to sell a painting to Collector. On the same day he received the offer, Collector mailed an acceptance of the offer to Art Dealer. On June 5, Collector called Art Dealer's office and left a message on Art Dealer's voicemail. The message indicated that Collector had mailed an acceptance, but was calling to revoke it. Art Dealer was out of town that day and was unable to check her voicemail. On June 6, Art Dealer received the acceptance and immediately mailed a letter to Collector confirming the sale. Under the Mailbox Rule, an acceptance is effective when mailed. However, an exception exists if a revocation is actually received by the offerer before the acceptance is received. On the facts above, was Collector's acceptance effectively revoked?

You work for an attorney who is handling a commercial litigation case involving a contract for the sale of a business. As part of the sale price, the seller agreed to make herself available to the buyer for one year as a consultant on matters related to the business. As your attorney is drafting a motion, she asks you to find a precedent for the proposition that consideration in a contract case does not necessarily need to be in the form of money. Which of the following cases is most analogous to your attorney's case?

Corrigan Law Group (CLG) is a mid-size law firm practicing in commercial law and litigation. CLG represents Biltmore Medical Products Co. (BMP), and Bill Samuelson is the president of BMP. Bill calls Paula, a paralegal at CLG, because he wants to see if Paula's boss, Andre, can meet with him to discuss whether Andre can represent Bill. Bill says he received a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice stating that he is being investigated for insider trading involving the purchase of shares in BMP. From the options listed below, what is Paula's best response?

Defamation is to contracts as _________ is/are to _________.

Which of the following metes and bounds legal descriptions is NOT correct?

Rule 37 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure states: (a) Motion for an Order Compelling Disclosure or Discovery. (1) In General. On notice to other parties and all affected persons, a party may move for an order compelling disclosure or discovery. The motion must include a certification that the movant has in good faith conferred or attempted to confer with the person or party failing to make disclosure or discovery in an effort to obtain it without court action. Rule 37 also states that a motion to compel can be filed in connection with required disclosures under Rule 26, depositions, interrogatories, and requests for production. Madison is a paralegal who works for Andre, an attorney representing the plaintiff in a suit involving real estate. On behalf of the client, Andre served interrogatories on the defendant, but the defendant failed to respond. Andre sent both an e-mail and a letter to the defendant's attorney, but in both instances, the defendant's attorney stated the defendant would not respond to the interrogatories. If Andre asks Madison to prepare an initial draft of a motion to compel, which of the following approaches properly prepares the required certification of good faith in accordance with Rule 37?

Katrina is a lawyer with Gotcha & Payup, a law firm in Springfield. After spending the morning in trial, Katrina has just returned to the office. The trial will resume tomorrow because the judge will be hearing motions in other matters during the afternoon. Katrina has a brief conversation with Patty Paralegal and Sharon Secretary, and Katrina comments the trial went very well that morning. About an hour later, Sharon stops by Patty's office and says "We should have the firm's social media coordinator send out a tweet on Twitter® and let everyone know that the trial is going well." What is the best way for Patty to respond out of the following options?

Bigtime Business is a Minnesota corporation that manufactures widgets and employs 500 individuals. Bigtime Business's Articles of Incorporation state that all employees are considered at-will employees, except for the President and other officers appointed by the Board of Directors. Bigtime Business's employees formed a union, and all employees joined, but the union agreed in a collective bargaining agreement that the rules in Bigtime Business's employee handbook apply to all at-will employees. If a paralegal concluded that the rules of the employee handbook applied to Mr. Hernandez, what minor premise is necessary for that conclusion?

Max is a lawyer who is representing a small business owner. The business owner and his carpet sales and installation company were sued by a customer who tripped and fell in his retail store. The case is pending in federal court because the retail store is located in Kansas City, Missouri and the customer resides in Kansas. After the suit had been pending for some time and discovery was almost complete, Max recommended that a motion for summary judgment be filed. The business owner, who is very successful, but has only a high school education, calls Max's paralegal. The business owner says to the paralegal, "Jean, I don't understand this summary judgment thing. You mean we can get rid of this whole case by asking the judge to make a ruling? Why didn't we file one a long time ago?" Of the options listed below, what is the paralegal's best approach to answering the business owner's question?

Paula and Gabe attend the formal gala event to celebrate the opening of the city's new convention center and symphony hall. Paula, who is wearing a long evening dress, steps onto the escalator to enjoy the second-floor view overlooking the atrium. Paula's gown, however, gets caught between the moving escalator step and the guide mechanism on the side of escalator. On reaching the second floor, the mechanism pulls on Paula's gown, causing her to fall and be injured. This situation is most analogous to which of the following scenarios?

Peter, the president of Citywide Printing, and Darlene, the president of Darlene's Printing Supply, were negotiating a contract for printing ink. Peter stated, "I offer you $1,000 for ten cases of printing ink." Darlene responded, "I accept." Peter and Darlene then wrote up a contract and they both signed it. The next day Peter delivered a check for $1,000 to Darlene, and Darlene had her crew deliver ten cases of printing ink. Which of the following facts is LEAST relevant to whether a contract was formed?

A trucking company has three bays for loading and unloading delivery trucks, identified as Bay A, Bay B, and Bay C. The company also has five trucks that all need to be loaded for deliveries within one hour using only the three bays. Truck 1 will take 45 minutes to load. Truck 2 will take 25 minutes to load. Truck 3 will take 15 minutes to load. Truck 4 will take 35 minutes to load. Truck 5 will take 45 minutes to load. Which of the following answer choices will accomplish all of the loading within one hour?

Hannah is a paralegal working in the Minneapolis law firm of Jackson & Pollack. She is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and moved to Minneapolis to work with Bill Tallbear, who practices extensively in federal Indian law. Bill is representing the Red Lake Chippewa Tribe in a lawsuit involving upstream pollution of a river that runs through reservation land. As Hannah is preparing to schedule depositions and draft a request for production, a member of the tribal council calls and says, "Hannah, the other day, Bill kept talking about 'discovery,' and how we had to do a bunch of stuff in response to discovery. I don't understand this 'discovery' thing. Don't like the sound of it. Reminds me of Chris Columbus, and we both know that 'discovery' didn't work out too well for native peoples." Of the options listed below, what is the paralegal's best approach to answering the council member's question?

Mary works for an attorney who handles many probate cases, including will contests. Mary's employer represents the sister in a will contest between a brother and a sister who are the only beneficiaries of their mother's estate (their father had passed a few years earlier). After the brother and sister agreed to mediate the dispute, a retired judge acted as the mediator and a settlement was reached. One week when Mary's employer is out of town, she takes a call from the brother's attorney, who is known to be aggressive and rude. The brother's attorney claims the sister is not cooperating in the agreed-upon division of property, and before Mary could object, the brother's attorney connects the mediator in a three-way conference call. Mary advises the mediator that her employer is out of town and cannot be reached. Mary also tells him that she is not an attorney. From the options listed below, what is Mary's best response?

An investment company entered a contract with a landowner for the purchase of real estate. The land in question is divided into two lots - Parcel 1 and Parcel 2. After the transaction closed, a dispute arose as to whether both parcels were included under the Purchase and Sale Contract and whether both parcels should have been included in the legal description attached to the Warranty Deed. If a suit were filed (by either party), which of the following would be MOST relevant to resolving the dispute?

Paula is a trial paralegal working with attorney Lisa Osaka on a three-week trial. Paula worked many long hours preparing trial exhibits, an electronic database, and trial notebooks. Once the trial started, Paula helps Lisa with the jury-selection process and a PowerPoint® presentation used during opening statements. As the trial progresses, Lisa finds that Paula is quite skilled and adept at anticipating her needs-so that she (Lisa) can present a strong, polished case to the jury. On a personal note, Paula also enjoys socializing with friends and family through her Facebook® page. On the evening before closing statements, Paula posts a comment on her public Facebook® page stating that she has been working on a trial and thinks that one of the jurors is quite attractive. Did Paula use good judgment when she posted that comment?

Under Rule 33 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a party may serve on another party "no more than 25 interrogatories, including all discrete subparts." Patty is a paralegal at a large law firm and is working with Sharon, a senior partner, and Jill, an associate, on a commercial-litigation case. Sharon asked Jill to draft interrogatories that will be served on the opposing party. Jill drafts 28 interrogatories and asks Patty to proofread and prepare a final draft. Patty prepares the final draft, but tells Jill the total number of interrogatories exceeds the number permitted under Rule 33. Jill then revises the interrogatories by making some interrogatories subparts of other interrogatories, so that the total number of interrogatories is 25, excluding subparts. From the options listed below, what is Patty's best approach to this situation?

For the past ten years, Carolyn has been employed by Jeffrey, a sole practitioner who has practiced in family law for over thirty years. Carolyn knows that Jeffrey sometimes takes on cases that are emotionally charged and hotly contested, and that Jeffrey has a reputation as an aggressive litigator. In one case, Jeffrey represents the wife of a former mayor of Akron. Last Friday, Jeffrey filed a motion on behalf of the wife to dispute the former mayor's financial disclosure, which did not include the mayor's sailboat and $500,000 investment portfolio. Jeffrey now asks Carolyn to call the judge's assistant and ask about the hearing date for the motion. Carolyn knows that the judge will not set the hearing date until after a response to the motion has been filed, which is not due for another twelve days. She also knows that calling the judge's assistant will only irritate court personnel and the judge. From the options listed below, what is Carolyn's best response?