Chapter 4

20/20 Financial Consulting, Inc. v John Does

20/20 found defamatory statements about itself posted on various websites and
blogs by anonymous authors. The firm conducted an unsuccessful preliminary
investigation to discover the names of the authors from the operators of the
websites and blogs. 20/20 filed a lawsuit naming five unknown authors as "John
Doe" defendants and sought a court order to conduct expedited discovery in an
attempt to establish the true identity of the authors. The US District court in
Colorado found in favor of 20/20 and granted its request for expedited discovery.
The court ruled that since the plaintiff had exhausted reasonable attempts to
identify the defendants through nonjudicial means, 20/20 was entitled to use the
tools of discovery in order to help it locate the anonymous authors of the alleged
defamation.
Answer
Defendant's formal response to each paragraph of the complaint
Arbitration
method of alternatives dispute resolution in which the parties present their sides
of the dispute to one or more neutral parties who then render a decision; often
involves a set of rules designed to move from dispute to decision quickly
Bench trial
trial without a jury, in which the judge is both the finder of law and the finder of
fact
Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc v Mayberry
Mayberry filed a product liability action against Bridgestone alleging that tire tread
separation caused a car accident that killed her son. Mayberry sought the formula
for the steel belt skim stock on the tire in question. Bridgestone objected to this
request and moved for a court order to prevent disclosure of all trade secrets used
to produce the tires. The trial court directed the company to disclose the formula
for the steel belt skim stock on the tire in question, and Bridgestone appealed.
Indiana Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bridgestone. The court found that
Mayberry had not demonstrated that the skim stock formula is a trade secret.
Charging of the jury
Instructions given from the judge to the jury explaining how to work through the
process of coming to a factual decision in the case
Civil litigation
a dispute resolution process in which the parties and their counsel argue their
views of a civil controversy in a court of law
Closing arguments
Attorneys' summations of the case, during which each attorney tries to convince
the jury to decide the case in her party's favor; occurs after testimony is
completed and evidence has been submitted
Complaint
the first formal document filed with the law clerk of courts when the plaintiff
initiates a lawsuit claiming legal rights against another
Counterclaim
A claim filed by a defendant who believes that the plaintiff has caused her
damages arising out of the very same set of facts as articulated in the complaint
Cross-claim
a claim filed by a defendant who believes that a third party is either partially or
fully liable for the damages that the plaintiff has suffered and, therefore, should be
involved as an indispensable party in the trial
Cross-examination
the opportunity for an attorney to ask questions in court, limited to issues brought
out on direct examination, of a witness who has testified for the opposing party
Deliberations
the process in which jurors discuss, in private, the testimony and evidence
presented at trial and vote to reach their verdict
Deposition
Method to discovery in which a witness gives sworn testimony to provide evidence
prior to trial
Direct examination

the first questioning of a witness during a trial, in which the witness is questioned
by the attorney for the party presenting the witness
Discovery
Process for the orderly exchange of information and evidence between the parties
involved in litigation (or in some cases arbitration) prior to trial
Expert evaluation
Method of alternative dispute resolution in which an independent expert acts as
the neutral fact-finder; particularly useful for parties involved in a business dispute
where the issues are somewhat complex and related to the intricacies of certain
industry or profession
Expert evaluator
the neutral fact-finder in expert evaluation who reviews documents and evidence
provided by each party and draws on her range of experience and expertise in the
industry to offer an opinion on the merits and value of the claim and recommend a
settlement amount
Hooters of America Inc. v Phillips
Phillips was a bartender at Hooters. Hooters initiated an alternative dispute
resolution program
hung jury
a jury that cannot come to a consensus decision on which party should prevail in a
case
Interrogatory
Method of discovery in which one party submits written questions to the opposing
party to gather evidence prior to trial
Jury selection
the process of asking potential jurors questions to reveal any prejudices that may
affect their judgement of the facts
Med-arb
Method of alternative dispute resolution whereby the parties begin with mediation
and and, if mediation fails in a fixed time period, the parties agree to submit to
arbitration
Mediation
Method of alternative dispute resolution in which a mediator attempts to settle a
dispute by learning the facts of the matter and then negotiating a settlement
between the two adverse parties
Minitrial
a condensed version of the case is presented to the top management from both
sides, with an expert neutral party conducting the trial, allowing them to see and
hear facts and arguments so more meaningful negotiations can take place.
Motion
A request made by either party that asks the court to issue a certain order (such
as a motion for summary judgement). Motions may be made before, during, and
after the trial
Opening statements
attorneys' presentations of their theories of the case and what they hope to prove
to the jury; made at the onset of the trial
Preponderance of the evidence
a standard used to decide a civil case whereby the jury is to favor one party when
the evidence is of greater weight and more convincing than the evidence that is
offered in opposition to it
Pretrial conference
A meeting between attorneys for the parties and the judge in the case several
weeks prior to the trial, with the objectives of encouraging settlement and
resolving any outstanding motions or procedural issues that arose during the
pleadings or discovery stage
Request for admissions
A set of statements sent one litigant to an adversary for the purpose of
determining what facts are in dispute and which facts both parties accept as true
Requests for production
Requests aimed at producing specific items to help one party discover some
important fact in the case

Standing
requirement that, to maintain a lawsuit against another party, the party asserting
the claim must have suffered an injury in fact and the harm must be direct,
concrete, and individualized
Statute of limitations
a time frame, which begins when injury occurs, within which a lawsuit must be
filed or the lawsuit will be barred
Summary jury trial
an abbreviated trial conducted before a jury and a sitting or retired judge at which
attorneys present oral argument without witness testimony and the decision is
nonbinding
Summons
formal notification to the defendant that she has been named in the lawsuit and
that her answer must be filed within a certain period of time
Trial
stage of litigation that occurs when the case cannot be settled, generally taking
place in front of a judge as the finder of law and with a jury as a finder of fact
verdict
the final decision of a jury in a case
Chapter 5
Business Ethics
Recognizing right and wrong business behavior and acting responsibly to the
stakeholders
Stakeholder
Any person affected by a business's operations
Morals
Generally accepted standards of right and wrong in a given society
Ethics
A conscious system used for deciding moral dilemmas
Utlitarianism
Decisions must be made solely based upon outcomes that are useful and that lead
to the greatest good for the greatest number.
Values Management
Managerial system the prioritizes moral values and makes sure behaviors are
aligned with those values
Moral minimum
Ethical philosophy in which a company strives to act as ethically as possible as
long as reasonable profit is made
Maximizing Profits
Ethical philosophy in which a company strives to make as much money as possible
without breaking the law
Energy Bank
Business model adopted by Enron after deregulation of the energy markets in
which Enron purchased energy from one source at a discount and sold it to
markets where demand was the greatest
Yipsilanti v. GMC
GMC had a factory in the town of Yipsilanti. GMC had tax abatements and gave
13,000 jobs to the town. GMC closed on of the plants in the town. Lost 4,000 jobs.
Yisilanti sued for breach of its promise to give jobs. Lower court ruled in favor of
Yipsilanti. Appeals found in favor of GMC
Anderson v. US
Anderson was Enrons auditor who destroyed documents. Found guilty at the circuit
court and the appeals level. Conviction was overturned at the Supreme Court due
to wrong jury instructions
Grimshaw v. Ford
Ford designed the Pinto and produced it even though they knew it had a fuel tank
problem. Someone died and sued. Court ruled in favor of Grimshaw. Appeals also
ruled in favor of Grimshaw.
Primary Stakeholder

People that are directly impacted by a decison (workers and their families)
Secondary Stakeholder
feel an impact but its indirect ( restaurants and theaters)
Principal Based Approach
Kant thinks there are universal rules. Everyone knows the rules are right or wrong
Categorical Imperative
What is going to happen if everyone behaved in the same manner; would it be
good or bad for society?
Consequences Based Approach
Utilitarianism; most good for the most people; maximize overall benefit
Moral Minimum View
Do no harm or do the least amount of harm
AIG
Got bailout from the government and then gave bonuses to their executives; it
was legal due to their contract
Kenneth Lay
Founder and CEO of Enron; died before he went to jail
Jeffery Skilling
Enrons Chief Operating Officer; in jail
Andres Fastow
Enrons Chief Financial Officer; in jail
Rick Causey
Enrons Chief Accounting Officer
Arthur Anderson
Enron auditor; conviction was overturned
Corporate Social Responsibility
Conscience resides not only in the individual but also in the corportation
Milton Friedman
View that the only responsibility a company has is to maximize shareholder wealth
Narrow View
Adam Smith's idea of the Invisible Hand; markets efficiencies guide morality and
responsibility
Moderate View
Governments Hand; government sets guidelines because it represents the moral
views of the public
Broad View
Managements Hand; corporations have social responsibility to the public and
profitability is secondary