Legal Forms Of Business And Alternative Dispute Resolution

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Week 1 Study Guide: Legal Forms of Business and Alternative Dispute Resolution

Readings and Key Terms

Ch. 3 of Business Law

Pleadings
Discovery
Settlement conference
Trial
Rebuttal
Rejoinder
Appeal
Alternative dispute resolution
Arbirtration clause
Federal Arbitration Act
E-courts and E-dispute resolution

Ch. 34

Entrepreneurship
Sole proprietorship
General partnership
Limited partnership
Limited liability partnership
Limited liability company
Corporation

Ch. 35

Limited partnerships
Special partnerships
General partners
Limited partners
Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act (RULPA)

Ch. 36

Corporation
Articles of incorporation
Corporation types
Common stock
Preferred stock
Debt securities
Debt instruments
Dissolution

Ch. 39

Limited liability company
Limited liability company dissolution
Limited liability partnership

Ch. 40

Franchise
Distributorship franchise
Processing plant franchise
Processing plant franchise
Area franchise

Content Overview

Judicial, alternative, and e-dispute resolution

Pretrial litigation process

Pleadings

Party who sues files complaint
Based on complaint summons is issued
Answer is provided by person being sued
Cross-complaint can be filed by person sued in which case a reply must be sent by the original party

Discovery

Deposition is taken, which is oral testimony given prior to the trial
Interrogatories are written questions given by one party to the other
Production of documents are all of the documents that are secured by one party for use at trial

Settlement conference: a hearing before trial to facilitate a settlement

Trial

Jury selection using process of voir dire
Opening statements given by each party
Plaintiff’s case: has the burden of proof to persuade trier of fact on the merits of the case
Defendant’s case: rebuts plaintiff’s case; offers affirmative defenses; or proves allegations alleged in the cross complaint
Rebuttal occurs when evidence is put forth to disprove the defendants case
Rejoinder occurs when the defense offers evidence to refute the rebuttal Closing arguments to convince jury of their case
Instructions, deliberations and verdict take place after the closing arguments; the judge reads the instructions to the jury and they consider all of the evidence (deliberate) and render a decision
Judgment given by judge to the parties

Appeal

Appellant is the appealing party
Appellee is the responding party to the appeal

Alternative dispute resolution

Arbitration

Where contract contains arbirtration clause, the enforcement of clause is set forth in Federal Arbitration Act
Impartial third party chosen to decide the dispute, which can be either binding or nonbinding on the parties

Mediation: expert in disputed area helps parties to come to a settlement
Minitrial: lawyers present a shortened version of trial to an agreed to expert who hears case; less expensive than trial and shows the case weaknesses and facilitates settlement
Fact-finding: parties hire someone to investigate the dispute
Judicial referee: parties agree to have court appoint a judicial referee to conduct a trial; decisions can be appealed

E-courts and E-dispute resolution

E-courts allow for electronic filings of court documents
E-dispute resolution renders online dispute resolution in the form of arbitration

Small business, entrepreneurship, and general partnerships

Entrepreneurship occurs when an individual opens a business:

Forms for opening a business: sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company and corporation
Sole proprietorship: business owned by one person who is personally liable for debts of business but takes all of the profits
General partnership: two or more owners form business and where partners are personally liable for debts of partnership

Limited partnerships and