case study report

1- Many states prohibit their lottery tickets from

being sold out of the state, so Pic-A-State

would have its agents buy lottery tickets in

various states and hold them there; someone in

Pennsylvania would buy a claim on the tickets

held in the other states. Congress passed a law

prohibiting interstate transmission of lottery

ticket information to be used for lottery ticket

sales. Pic-A-State, which was being put out of

business, challenged the law as unconstitutional.

Was it correct? [Pic-A-State Pa.  v. Reno , 76 F.3d

1294 3rd Cir. (1996)]

2- Brogan lied when IRS agents asked if he had

received gifts from a company whose employees

were represented by the union in which he was

an officer. Brogan was convicted on federal

bribery charges and for making a false statement

to a federal agency. He appealed, contending that

false statements to federal investigators are protected

by the Fifth Amendment, which holds that

a person cannot be forced to testify against

himself. Did Brogan have a right to use the Fifth

Amendment in this situation? [Brogan  v. U.S. ,

118 S.Ct. 805 (1998)

3- Charlotte Newsom worked as a cashier at a store.

One day she was told to report to the manager’s

office, where she was accused by two security

staff members of stealing $500. She denied stealing

the money. The meeting lasted two hours.

The security staff asserted to have evidence of

theft, although Newsom constantly denied the

claim. Whenever Newsom said she wanted to

leave, the staff told her she would be arrested for

theft if she left. Finally, Newsom wrote a statement

denying the charge. She was fired on the

spot and left the store. Did she have a case for

false imprisonment? [Newsom  v. Thalhimer

4- Eating bags of microwave popcorn for years is

claimed to cause “popcorn” lung from inhalation

of the flavoring used on the popcorn. Plaintiffs

with the medical problem sued the popcorn

makers and the maker of the flavoring. The flavoring

maker asserted it was not liable under the

bulk-supplier defense. Would that apply?

[Daughetee  v. Chr. Hansen, Inc. , 2013 WL

828126, N.D. Iowa (2013)]

5- A KFC restaurant was on a major street in town

until the city redesigned the road, leaving the

KFC at the end of a dead-end road, which caused

business to fail. The KFC owners sued the city for

inverse condemnation—a taking of their property

by reducing the value of it. Can they demand

compensation for this loss of value? [Kau Kau

Take Home  v. City of Wichita , 135 P.3d 1221,

Sup. Ct., Kan. (2006)]

6- Polk listed property to sell with a real estate agent.

Avon made an offer, and the two parties went back

and forth on terms. When Polk rejected an offer

fromAvon, Avon then accepted an earlier offer

from Polk and gave a $25 000 deposit check to

cinch the deal. Polk refused to sell. Avon sued,

claiming there was a contract or, at a minimum, an

option contract formed by the deposit check. Is

there a contract? [Polk  v. Avon Properties , 946 So.2d

1120, Dist. Ct. App., Fla. (2006)]

7- Marquette agreed to provide all cement that

Norcem would need for two years. The quantity

and sales price for the first two shipments were

specified in the contract. The third shipment,

according to the contract, was to be negotiated

for a price “not to exceed $38 per short ton.” At

the time of the third shipment, Marquette told

Norcem the price would be $38; Norcem

responded that Marquette’s insistence on the

maximum price was not in good faith and

refused to buy the cement. Marquette sued for

breach of contract. Was Marquette right? [Marquette

v. Norcem , 494 N.Y.S.2d 511, Sup. Ct.,

App. Div., NY (1985)]

8- Dr. Citrin had an agreement with Dr. Mehta for

Mehta to work in Citrin’s medical offices to see

his patients when he was on vacation. While

Citrin was on vacation, Mehta saw a patient and

misdiagnosed the problem; the patient died. The

heirs of the patient sued Citrin, claiming that

Citrin and Mehta were partners. Were they?

[Impastato  v. DeGirolamo , 459 N.Y.S. 2d 512,

N.Y. Sup. Ct. (1983)]

9- Chung was at a racetrack operated by the New

York State Racing Association. He bought a

gambling voucher for use in SAMS, which are

machines that take payments for gambling. The

money credited to a voucher in a machine can be

bet at once or can be used over time to make bets

on SAMS. Chung forgot his voucher in a SAMS

machine; it had several thousands of dollars

credit on it. Someone found it and traded it in for

cash. The betting system does not link a person

to a voucher, so the thief was unknown. Chung

sued, contending that the racetrack should be

liable for failing to check the identity and ownership

of vouchers prior to their use. Is the

racetrack liable or is Chung out of luck? [Chung

v. New York State Racing Assn. , 42 UCC

Rep.Serv.2d 867, Dist. Ct., N.Y.C., NY (2000)]

10- Hunter Mining hired Hubco Data to customize

computer equipment specific to Hunter’s needs.

Before the job was done, Hubco went out of

business. Hunter sued MAI, the company that

made the computer products that Hubco sold to

Hunter, for breach of contract. Hubco was a

licensed distributor of MAI when it sold Hunter

the computer package. Was MAI liable as principal

for Hubco’s failure? [Hunter Minings

Laboratories, Inc.  v. Management Assistance, Inc. ,

763 P.2d 350, Sup. Ct., Nev. (1988)]

11- Lack sued his former employer, Walmart, and his

former supervisor, Bragg, for sexual harassment.

He contended that Bragg made “inappropriate

and demeaning statements … of a sexual nature”

and told vulgar jokes in front of Lack and others.

When Lack complained, he suffered retaliation as

Bragg made “his work schedule more burdensome

and inconvenient.” Wal-Mart ignored the

problem. Other employees testified as to Bragg’s

behavior. The jury found for Lack and awarded

him $80,000 in damages. Walmart appealed. Did

Lack have a case? [Lack  v. Wal-Mart Stores ,

240 F.3d 255, 4th Cir. (2001)]