This lesson explores one of the fundamental requirements for contract formation, mutual assent. Mutual Assent is a mutual manifestation of assent to the terms of an agreement. This lesson looks at how parties establish mutual assent, including manifestations of mutual assent by words and conduct and the effect of misunderstanding. However, the attributes of offer and acceptance are covered in other lessons. This lesson concludes with a sample analysis exercise involving mutual assent.
Read moreThis exercise covers these four, most commonly used, specific exceptions to the Hearsay rule: 1) Present sense impressions; 2) Excited utterances; 3) State of Mind; and 4) Business records. The student will be applying these four exceptions in the context of scenarios presenting hypotheticals. The student's goal in this lesson is to work with the four exceptions, to gain a basic understanding of them with a focus on those fundamentals and problem areas identified in the FRE's Advisory Committee's Notes, recent judicial decisions, and legal commentators.
Read moreThis lesson deals with basic principles and measures of damages recoverable for harms to real property. The analysis to which students will be acquainted examines the harms in the context of three categories of interests to be protected by the law of damages. Those categories, which are separately treated in the lesson, are exclusive possession, physical integrity and use and enjoyment.
Read moreThis lesson reviews the definition of "director's conflicting interest transaction" in Subchapter F of chapter 8 of the Revised Model Business Corporation Act. It focuses on the definition and does not discuss judicial review of director's conflicting interest transactions under Subchapter F. That is dealt with in a companion lesson, Judicial Review of Director's Conflicting Interest Transactions under the Model Business Corporation Act.
Read moreThis lesson examines shareholder inspection rights under RMBCA Chapter 16. In particular, it examines which documents a shareholder may inspect and the requirements for a shareholder to inspect. This lesson is a good opportunity to practice your statutory reading and interpretation skills.
Read moreThis is an introduction to the sharing of profits and losses by partners in a general partnership. The lesson has three parts: (1) a general introduction to the default rules concerning how partners share profits and losses; (2) a discussion of partnership accounts; and (3) a discussion of the distribution rules applicable when a partnership is dissolved and its business is wound up.
Read moreThis lesson will cover the basic, common law elements of defamation. The discussion will review the defamatory statement, truth, and publication concerning the plaintiff. The lesson will also cover the basic issues in privileges. Although substantial Constitutional issues now exist with defamation, those problems will be covered in a separate lesson.
Read moreThis lesson covers the types of marks that are deemed eligible for protection under federal and state dilution laws. Although the focus is on eligibility under the Federal Trademark Dilution Act (Lanham Act section 43(c)), there is coverage of the different types of state dilution statutes -- those based on the earlier (1964) Model State Trademark Bill (such as Massachusetts), and those based on the federal statute.
Read moreThis lesson covers the fair use and related "nominative" fair use defenses to claims of trademark infringement.
Read moreThis lesson provides an overview of the central role of "use" in United States trademark law. It examines how the policy justifications driving trademark law (1) justify generally requiring use to obtain and maintain trademark rights and related infringement considerations and (2) define sufficient use for those trademark law purposes. It also addresses and explains the few specific exceptions to the use requirement. The lesson assumes a basic knowledge of trademark policy, the distinctiveness classification system and infringement.
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