Business Ethic Case 3.

5 University of Phoenix BUS 415

Shirley Jones vs. The National Enquirer, Inc. The state of Confusion enacted a statute requiring all trucks and towing trailers that use its highways to use a B-type truck hitch. This hitch is manufactured by only one manufacturer in Confusion. The result of this statute is that any trucker who wants to drive through Confusion must stop and have the new hitch installed, or drive around Confusion. The federal government has not made any attempt to regulate the truck hitches used on the nations highways. Tanya Trucker, who owns a trucking company in the state of Denial, is not happy about the additional expense this statute imposes on her business. She intends to file suit against Confusion to overturn the statute.

1. What court will have jurisdiction over Tanyas suit? Why? The Federal Court is who will have jurisdiction over Tanyas suit because she is file suit against a state. Tanya could file suit against Confusion in the State Court but probably she is not going to win due to the State of Confusion is who enacted the statute. When cases are appealed from district courts, they go to a federal court of appeals which would be the case of Tanya if she decides to start the suit process in the state court. Inside Confusion state there are two types of highways the federal highways and the state highways. The federal highways are responsibility of the federal government and only them can create, adjust, or modify any law, or rule under those roads. The federal government gives money to the state to maintain the highways. The state highways are responsibility of the state and they can approve or reject any law or statute under those roads. In this case the State of Confusion enact a statute for all the state which is not right because the state do not have the power of create any rule to federal roads.

2. Is the Confusion statute constitutional? Discuss your legal reasoning. After analyzing the case, I can say that Confusion statute is unconstitutional as it imposes an impermissible burden on interstate commerce and is comparable to an import duty to drive through the state which was prohibited with the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.

3. What provisions of the U.S. Constitution will be applied by a court to determine the statutes validity? The court must be applied the interstate commerce clause to determinate the validity of Confusion statute. The Commerce Clause gives the federal government the authority to regulate interstate commerce. Originally, the courts interpreted this clause to mean that the federal government could only regulate commerce that moved in interstate commerce. This rule allows the federal government to regulate activities that affect interstate commerce which is reflected in this case. (Henry R. Cheeseman, 2010). Under the effects on interstate commerce test, the regulated activity does not itself have to be in interstate commerce. Thus, any local (intrastate) activity that has an effect on interstate commerce is subject to federal regulation. Theoretically, this test subjects a substantial amount of business activity in the United States to federal regulation (Henry R. Cheeseman, 2010).

4. Is Tanya likely to prevail on her suit? Explain the reasons for your answer. Tanya has many chances of win this case and having the bill overturned. When the state passed a law the only way to get the specific hitch installed is to enter the state of Confusion and have the hitch installed by the one company that manufactures it there. In one or another way the State forced to break the law to enter and have the hitch installed. If the company has stores or operates in the limits of the state the hitch could be installed outside the borders of the state and it would have a chance of standing as a law for safety but this is not the situation. In addition, if this is the only company manufacturing this hitch and has it been tested to meet the standards of the ICC and DOT why is the rest of the country uninterested in using that hitch, and even the federal government not requiring it as a modification.

5. Set forth in detail the stages of a civil suit. The first stage of civil litigation is the pleading stage. The pleading stage refers to the filing of the complaint against the party that is the defendant. The defendant then has the right to argue certain elements of that complaint and can object that the complaint does not apply to them. The next stage of civil litigation is discovery. Discovery is simply the process of learning what evidence each side has regarding the dispute. Typically a party can ask to see any supporting documents the other side has and ask them questions. Other methods of discovery include request for admissions, special interrogatories and various other methods specific to your state. Once discovery comes to a close, the defendant will often file something known as a motion for summary judgment. A summary judgment motion is simply an argument by the defendant that the evidence provided by the plaintiff in the case does not support a claim against the defendant. If the

court finds in favor of the defendant, the lawsuit is over. At this point, the plaintiff can either abandon the lawsuit or file an appeal to have a higher court review the matter.

Assuming the plaintiff survives a motion for summary judgment, the next step of a lawsuit is go to trial. Before that happens, the parties are usually sent to an arbitration hearing in which a mediator tries to cut a deal between the parties. This process is known as a settlement conference. If the settlement fails, then the court will set the matter for trial.

Reference:

Henry R. Cheeseman, Initials. (2010). The Legal environment of business [SIXTH EDITION]. (CHAPTER 5 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW FOR BUSINESS AND E-COMMERCE)

Gerard Simington , Initials. (2010). The Stages of civil litigation. Retrieved from http://www.articlecity.com/articles/legal/article_933.shtml