Question 1

You have just graduated and have started your own business. You will be providing goods and services to the general public, and you are concerned about potential legal exposure and resultant costs of litigation. You'd like to add a mandatory arbitration clause to all of your contracts. Is a mandatory arbitration clause legal and valid, and if so, what concerns must you consider in constructing this clause?

Accepted Answer

The answer of You have just graduated and have started...

Question 2

The Federal Arbitration Act provides four grounds by which a court may set aside the award of an arbitrator. Name them.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The Federal Arbitration Act provides four grounds...

Question 3

In Brower v. Gateway, the issue involved the enforcement of a mandatory and binding arbitration agreement pertaining to disputes between Gateway and its customers. With regard to the agreements enforcement, the court determined that:

Accepted Answer

The $4,000 fee, of which $2,000 was nonrefundable even to a winner, along with the location of the forum made the process so unfair and biased as to nullify the arbitration agreement.

Question 4

The last time an attorney addresses a jury is during the:

Accepted Answer

The attorneys address the jury in the closing argument, which concludes the trial portion of the proceedings.

Question 5

Which of the following is categorized as informal ADR?

Accepted Answer

Negotiation involves face-to-face discussions, with or without intermediaries, in order to resolve a dispute without a formal process or procedure.

Question 6

When the American Arbitration Association receives an application for appointment of an arbitrator, it:

Accepted Answer

When the American Arbitration Association receives an application for appointment of an arbitrator, it appoints a tribunal administrator, who informs the parties of the procedures and rules of arbitration.

Question 7

Kathy is stopped at a red light when her car is run into from behind by Mike. This occurred at noon on a clear and sunny day on a dry road. Kathy claims a serious back injury and is suing for various forms of damages. There were three witnesses to the accident. With regard to discovery methods, which form of discovery would be most appropriate in each of the following situations? Fully explain.
a. Kathy would like to avoid calling an expert witness to testify as to road and weather conditions at the time of the accident.
b. Kathy would like to determine whether Mike was talking on his cell phone or texting at the time of the accident.
c. Mike would like to see the doctor's reports discussing Kathy's back injury.
d. Both Mike and Kathy would like to get statements from the witnesses.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Kathy is stopped at a red light...

Question 8

Discuss the potential advantages of ADR over litigation.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss the potential advantages of ADR over...

Question 9

From first to last, which of the following trial stages are in the correct order?

Accepted Answer

Answer D presents the proper order of the stages mentioned.

Question 10

When and why would a defendant file a cross-claim, and when would a defendant file a counterclaim?

Accepted Answer

The answer of When and why would a defendant file...

Question 11

What is a pretrial conference, when does it occur, and what are its purposes?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is a pretrial conference, when does...

Question 12

When disputing parties submit blind bids to an automated service, stating what they are willing to pay or receive to resolve the dispute, and the software evaluates the bids and produces a fair price based on the parties' input, the form of ODR being utilized is:

Accepted Answer

Submitting blind bids to automated software that produces a fair price based on the input is a form of online negotiation.

Question 13

Which of the following does not result in a decision rendered by the hearing officer?

Accepted Answer

Mediators do not issue decisions but instead work with the parties to have them arrive at an agreement.

Question 14

Lois is a reporter for the school newspaper and generally writes satirical articles spoofing students, faculty, and school policy. After one particular article, Professor Mackey fails to find the humor in Lois's portrayal of her as a leftover 1960s hippie and sues Lois for defamation. In fact, Professor Mackey is a modern woman with a degree in sociology and has written extensively on American culture in the 1960s and 70s. She did attend Woodstock, still listens to Led Zeppelin, and still occasionally wears tie-dyed T-shirts when not professionally dressed. The state trial court finds for Professor Mackey, and the jury awards her $10 million. Is there anything that Lois can do besides filing for an appeal?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Lois is a reporter for the school...

Question 15

After the complaint is filed, the complaint and summons are served on the defendant. What is the summons, and what constitutional mandate does service of the complaint and summons accomplish?

Accepted Answer

The answer of After the complaint is filed, the complaint...

Question 16

In American Express v. Italian Colors Restaurant, American Express entered into agreements with Italian Colors Restaurant and other merchants that accept American Express credit cards. The agreement required that all disputes be settled through arbitration and prohibits class actions. The merchants filed a class action antitrust claim against Amex, arguing that they should be allowed to bring the claim as a class because the cost of expert analysis to prove the case exceeded the maximum recovery available to an individual merchant plaintiff. How did the U.S. Supreme Court decide?

Accepted Answer

The Court held that the arbitration clause in the Amex-merchants agreements must be enforced by courts unless the FAA's mandate has been overridden by a contrary congressional command, and no such command required the Court to reject the waiver of class arbitration by contract.

Question 17

To successfully pursue a lawsuit, the plaintiff must evidence standing to sue. What must the plaintiff prove in order to establish standing to sue?

Accepted Answer

The answer of To successfully pursue a lawsuit, the plaintiff...

Question 18

ADR has some advantages for a company that makes it a better alternative than litigation in many situations. Name and explain the various methods of ODR and the advantages that ODR has over ADR for some companies.

Accepted Answer

The answer of ADR has some advantages for a company...

Question 19

Wanda has graduated from a university and after nine months has failed to find a job. She graduated with a degree in business, and her college was AACSB accredited. (AACSB accreditation is a specialized accreditation for business schools that evidences a quality program.) In her complaint, she alleges that four years of school and tuition should guarantee a job in the field of study and states that she wants her money back. At no time did her school guarantee job placement, either through express or implied statements. Wanda does not disagree with this but still thinks that she was wronged and that it's unfair to graduate and not get a job automatically. The school will be successful in extinguishing Wanda's lawsuit if its attorney files a:

Accepted Answer

Wanda has not presented facts that present an issue that needs to be adjudicated.

Question 20

JR Winery grows grapes and produces wine in the state of Delaware. It purchases its corks from Cork Masters, a California cork importer. Despite a written contract, Cork Masters has informed JR Winery that it will immediately be raising the cost of corks 20 percent. JR Winery disputes the added charges and claims a breach of contract. Both companies agree that they want to resolve the dispute as cheaply as possible but also agree that they want to actually see each other during any dispute resolution proceedings. Which type of ODR would best suit their mutual interests?

Accepted Answer

Online arbitration is the only method of ODR that is conducted via live webcast, allowing the parties to actually see each other during the proceedings.

Quiz 4: Resolving Disputes: Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Options