UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
Department of Marketing, Business Economics and Law School of Business
Business Law 402, B1 Course Outline Instructor: Elaine Geddes Term II, Winter 2008/2009
Time: T R 1400-1520
Room: Business B-05
Office: Room 2-20C, Business Building Telephone: 492-5773
e-mail: [email protected] website: https://ulearn.ualberta.ca/
Office Hours: By arrangement. What this means is that I propose that you should simply drop in if you need to see me and I will see you whenever time allows. If this does not work out, some other arrangement will be discussed. Appointments can also be made. I welcome questions on my e-mail.
• Topic One - Employment COURSE DESCRIPTION
• Topic Two -Agency
• Topic Three -Insurance
• Topic Four - Personal Property
• Topic Five - Intellectual Property
• Topic Six - Real Property
• Topic Seven - Negotiable Instruments
This course is an introduction to some of the specialized contracts and contractual arrangements that would be encountered in a business setting: insurance, property and bailment, agency, employment, interests in land, landlord and tenant, and mortgages.
This course presumes that all students have taken Business Law 301 or its equivalent.
Because of the limited time available, we will be dealing with general principles only and will not go into any great depth on any subject.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this course is not to turn you into do-it-yourself lawyers. At the end of the course, you should understand the basic rules and principles that govern the business contracts covered by this course. You should be able to avoid some of the more common problems associated with these areas. Please see the course review for each section of the course on the website for the specific learning outcomes in each section.
The method of instruction will be primarily the lecture method. Participation of the class in discussion of principles and cases will be encouraged and questions are always more than welcome. There is no necessary requirement to participate although class attendance is strongly recommended. Course material is posted on the website.
METHOD OF INSTRUCTION
• Two exams: Mid-term - 25%
METHOD OF EVALUATION
Final - 50%
• One paper: Legal Decision - 25%
100%
The Mid-term Exam will be held during the class period on Thursday, February 12, 2009. The Final Examination is set for Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009, at (1400 hr) 2:00 p.m. It is two hours long. The final exam is not cumulative.
Final grades in this class will follow generally the guidelines laid down by the University for the distribution of grades in a 4th year class. Grading is therefore on a curve, although this normally works to students’ advantage in this class given that raw marks are usually on the low side.
RECOMMENDED MATERIALS
Willes - Contemporary Canadian Business Law, 8th edition. It is perfectly acceptable to use the 7th edition if you are short of funds and happen to already have one or can get one used. It is your responsibility to monitor differences between editions.
Please note that the text is only recommended and you may be able to do without a text as we only cover a small number of chapters in the book. A copy will be placed on reserve.
You might also share a textbook with another student.
Smyth & Soberman, The Law and Business Administration in Canada (most recent edition) is also acceptable, but again students are required to make note of any
differences themselves. Another choice you might want to make is Canadian Business and the Law by Duplessis, Enman, Gunz and O’Byrne. Managing the Law by McInnes, Kerr, VanDuzer and Carmody is not an acceptable text given the very brief coverage of some of the most important areas in this course.
Further reference - there are dozens (perhaps hundreds) of books dealing either generally or specifically with the topics in this course. Any interested students should contact me if a reference is required for further reading.
Website addresses with useful information:
Generally:
A great website for legal research and reference is CanLII , a non-profit organization managed by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. CanLII's goal is to make Canadian law accessible for free on the Internet. Go t check it out.
Students can also access a wealth of material through the Access to Justice Network:
The specific pathway for legislative materials is A list of all Alberta Statutes and full text can be found at
Note: You do not have to purchase these items to view them. There are links to the full text without having to buy them.
Decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada may be obtained at
This site also contains an excellent search engine.
Alberta court decisions may be found at
The University of Calgary maintains an excellent site for searching for judgments in a number of different jurisdictions in Canada and other English-speaking countries.
http://library.ucalgary.ca/branches/law Employment:
Discrimination in Employment
Employment Standards
Agency
The Agency relationship in Real Estate
Intellectual Property:
A good site for information about Intellectual Property is the Canadian Government Property Office:
Real Property:
The following sites are maintained by the Province of Alberta and provide very valuable information about the Land Titles System and about the Residential Tenancies Act.
Overview of the Land Titles System
Consumer Tips: Information for Landlords and Tenants
Land Titles Procedures Manual
Full of information about a multitude of different interests in land and the documents used to register or declare those interests. The opening three pages list all the available documents.
Common Questions about Land Titles
BUSINESS LAW 402 READING LIST
Text: John Willes, Contemporary Canadian Business Law, 8th edition
There will be various cases and supplementary material made available on the website for all topics. Statutory material is available either in the John Weir Memorial Law Library (Law Building) or online through the Access to Justice Network -
http://www.acjnet.org/home.cfm
Topic One: Employment
Text Chapter 20 (Chapter 19 - 7th edition.)
Topic Two: Agency
Text Chapter 16 (Chapter 15 – 7th edition)
Topic Three: Insurance
Text Chapter 26 (Chapter 25 - 7th edition)
Topic Four: Personal Property
Text Chapter 22 (Chapter 21 - 7th edition)
Topic Five: Intellectual Property
Text Chapter 34 (Chapter 33 - 7th edition)
Topic Six: Real Property
Text Chapters 28-31. (Chapter 27-30 - 6th edition) Students should read these chapters (especially 28 and 31) with caution noting the differences between Alberta law and the Registry system. Students are advised that some of the chapters in the textbook in the section on Real Property are primarily based upon legal practices in the Registry Provinces and could prove to be misleading and interfere with your understanding of land law practice in the Province of Alberta. Supplementary material will be provided on the website. Close attention to the classroom lectures and supplementary material is
important.
You will be given a handout containing a number of fact situations - some of them real, some of them hypothetical. They will be from all areas of the course. You are to choose one of these and render a legal decision in the case. Such a decision would lay out the facts, discuss the applicable law, and then apply the law to the facts to come up with a decision. You will receive enough handouts of actual cases and decisions to get a pretty good idea of what I want.
LEGAL DECISION
You should be able to write your decision based on your class notes and the text.
However, you are encouraged to do some basic research in the area of your decision.
There is no point in trying to track down the actual case as I may have changed the facts or, worse still, the actual case may have been subsequently over-ruled. Also, remember that some of these will be hypothetical. If you do find the actual case, you should
remember you are free to disagree with the judge's analysis. You are the Supreme Court.
You can decide whatever you like. Your decision will be marked on the quality of your analysis and your knowledge of the applicable law, not on whether it is 'right'. In all cases, the law to be applied is the law of Alberta.
Your decision should be 5-7 pages long. Please be sensible about margins, type sizes and spacing. I don't want to have to make rules about that. Your decision may be written and handed in at any time during the term. You have an opportunity to rewrite the paper and resubmit it for a higher mark if you want. If you plan on doing this, your first submission should be in plenty of time for me to mark it and return it to you. The deadline for
submissions is the last day of classes, April 7th, 2009. Absolutely no papers, whether submissions or resubmissions, will be accepted after that date.
Plagiarism
The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at www.ualberta.ca/secretariat/appeals.htm) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.
Policy about course outlines can be found in s.23.4(2) of the University Calendar.
Law Library - Legal Citation Cheat Sheet
The print version of Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, 6th ed. (Toronto:
Thomson Carswell, 2006), known as the "McGill Guide" , was developed to standardize Canadian legal citation. The following information has been adapted from the McGill Guide, and is intended to be a quick reference for footnoting some common types of citations.
For complete rules se
Cases
Elements: Style of cause, (name of parties), year, law report volume number, law report series, page, court, if necessary. (electronic source, if applicable)
R. v. Big M. Drug Mart Ltd. (1984), 49 A.R. 124, 5 D.L.R. (4th) 121 at 129(Alta.C.A)(QL).
Tommy Hilfiger Licensing, Inc. v. International Clothiers Inc., 2004 FCA 252, [2005] 1 F.C.R. 148, 32 C.P.R. (4th) 289.
Only cite a case from an electronic source, such as Quicklaw, CanLII or
WestlaweCARSWELL, if there is no print citation or neutral citation available.
Elements: Style of cause, identifier given by service, pinpoint, (jurisdiction, court if necessary) (electronic service, if no neutral citation available)
R. v. Keegstra, [1996] A.J. No. 833 at para. 13 (C.A.) (QL).
Fowers v. Fowers, 1990 CarswellAlta 770 (WLeC).
Franche v. Craig, 1998 ABCA 3.
R. v. Greenhow, 2004 ABCA 22, 348 A.R. 392.
Statutes
Elements: Short title, abbreviation for the statute type and jurisdiction and year, chapter number, section number (electronic source if applicable).
Annual Statutes example:
Family Law Act, S.A. 2003, c. F-4.5.
Revised Statutes example:
Fair Trading Act, R.S.A. 2000, c. F-2.
Books
Elements: Author, Title, edition. (place of publication: publisher, year of publication), pinpoint.
P.H. Osborne, The Law of Torts, 2nd ed. (Toronto: Irwin Law, 2003) at 44.
Journal Articles
Elements: Author, “title of article” (year), volume, abbreviation of journal, starting page number, pinpoint (electronic source if applicable).
J. Givner, "Child Poverty and Social Assistance: Gosselin v. Quebec (Attorney General)” (2005) 24 C.F.L.Q. 105 (WLeC).
Copyright © 2004-2006 University of Calgary
Marking Rubric for B LAW 402 papers
1. Recognition of Legal Issue(s)
1 2 3 4 5
Unable to properly identify issue(s), Recognizes issue(s), but not laid out clearly, Recognizes issue(s) and lays misidentification of issues or shows some confusion or errors them out clearly and articulately
2. Identification of Applicable Legal Principle(s)
1 2 3 4 5
Unable to identify the legal principle(s) Appropriately identifies applicable legal Clearly articulates the applicable involved or misidentifies them principle(s) without much elaboration legal principle(s)
3. Application of Appropriate Legal Standard(s)
1 2 3 4 5
Fails to apply the legal standard(s) Applies the legal standard(s) correctly but Applies the legal standard(s)
correctly with some confusion, ambiguity or uncertainty correctly to the facts and states
position without ambiguity or uncertainty
4. Recognition of Competing Issues or Arguments
1 2 3 4 5
Recognizes no counter-arguments Recognizes the existence of counter-arguments Recognizes and articulates possible
or competing views but without much elaboration counter-arguments and weighs
them appropriately
5. Style
1 2 3 4 5
Writing is ambiguous, ungrammatical, Writing is generally clear, unambiguous Writing is clear, unambiguous,
with errors throughout, and grammatical with some errors and grammatically correct with few
references missing or wrong. references weak or sloppy if any errors, references accurate
and complete
