Property law in the United States is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land and buildings) and personal property, including intangible property such as intellectual property. Property refers to legally protected claims to resources, such as land and personal property. Property can be exchanged through contract law, and if property is violated, one could sue under tort law to protect it. United States property law is primarily an area for state law, alt...
Oct 21, 2021•7 min•Season 17Ep. 2
Responsibility for criminal law and criminal justice in the United States is shared between the states and the federal government. Sources of law. The federal government and all the states rely on the following. Common law. Common law is law developed by judges through legal opinions, as opposed to statutes adopted through the legislative process or regulations issued by the executive branch. A common law crime is thus a crime which was originally defined by judges. Common law crimes no longer e...
Oct 20, 2021•21 min•Season 17Ep. 2
The posting rule (or mailbox rule in the United States, also known as the "postal rule" or "deposited acceptance rule") is an exception to the general rule of contract law in common law countries that acceptance of an offer takes place when communicated. Under the posting rule, that acceptance takes effect when a letter is posted (that is, dropped in a post box or handed to a postal worker). In plain English, the "meeting of the minds" necessary to contract formation occurs at the exact moment w...
Oct 19, 2021•12 min•Season 16Ep. 8
False imprisonment or unlawful imprisonment occurs when a person intentionally restricts another person’s movement within any area without legal authority, justification, or the restrained person's permission. Actual physical restraint is not necessary for false imprisonment to occur. A false imprisonment claim may be made based upon private acts, or upon wrongful governmental detention. For detention by the police, proof of false imprisonment provides a basis to obtain a writ of habeas corpus. ...
Oct 18, 2021•16 min•Season 14Ep. 7
In the United States of America, individuals and corporations pay U.S. federal income tax on the net total of all their capital gains. The tax rate depends on both the investor's tax bracket and the amount of time the investment was held. Short-term capital gains are taxed at the investor's ordinary income tax rate and are defined as investments held for a year or less before being sold. Long-term capital gains, on dispositions of assets held for more than one year, are taxed at a lower rate. Cu...
Oct 15, 2021•16 min•Season 16Ep. 8
Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land) and personal property. Property refers to legally protected claims to resources, such as land and personal property, including intellectual property. Property can be exchanged through contract law, and if property is violated, one could sue under tort law to protect it. The concept, idea or philosophy of property underlies all property law. In some jurisdictions, historically all property was owne...
Oct 14, 2021•24 min•Season 17Ep. 1
Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law is established by statute, which is to say that the laws are enacted by a legislature. Criminal law includes the punishment and rehabilitation of people who violate such laws. Criminal law varies according to jurisdiction, and differs from civil law, where em...
Oct 13, 2021•15 min•Season 17Ep. 1
Offer and acceptance are generally recognized as essential requirements for the formation of a contract, and analysis of their operation is a traditional approach in contract law. The offer and acceptance formula, developed in the 19th century, identifies a moment of formation when the parties are of one mind. This classical approach to contract formation has been modified by developments in the law of estoppel, misleading conduct, misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and power of acceptance. O...
Oct 12, 2021•19 min•Season 15Ep. 7
At common law, battery is a tort falling under the umbrella term 'Trespass to the person'. Entailing unlawful contact which is directed and intentional, or reckless (or, in Australia, negligently) and voluntarily bringing about a harmful or offensive contact with a person or to something closely associated with them, such as a bag or purse, without legal consent. Unlike assault, in which the fear of imminent contact may support a civil claim, battery involves an actual contact. The contact can b...
Oct 11, 2021•15 min•Season 14Ep. 6
The Executive: Powers committed to the President of the United States (Article II). Article II, Section 1, vests the executive power in the President of the United States of America. Unlike the commitment of authority in Article I, which refers to Congress only specifically enumerated powers "herein granted" and such powers as may be necessary and proper to carry out the same, Article II is all-inclusive in its commitment of the executive power in a President of the United States of America. Enu...
Oct 08, 2021•13 min•Season 15Ep. 2
United States constitutional law is the body of law governing the interpretation and implementation of the United States Constitution. The subject mainly concerns the scope of power of the United States federal government as compared to the individual states and the fundamental rights of individuals. As the ultimate authority on matters of constitutional interpretation, the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States make up a large portion of constitutional law. Interpreting the Constit...
Oct 07, 2021•11 min•Season 15Ep. 1
Formality. Ordinarily, contracts do not have to be in writing to be enforceable. However, certain types of contracts do have to be reduced to writing to be enforceable, to prevent frauds and perjuries, hence the name statute of frauds, which also makes it not a misnomer (fraud need not be present to implicate the statute of frauds). Typically, the following types of contracts implicate the statute of frauds: Land, including leases over a year and easements. Suretyships (promises to answer for th...
Oct 06, 2021•9 min•Season 15Ep. 6
Contract law regulates the obligations established by agreement, whether express or implied, between private parties in the United States. The law of contracts varies from state to state; there is nationwide federal contract law in certain areas, such as contracts entered into pursuant to Federal Reclamation Law. The law governing transactions involving the sale of goods has become highly standardized nationwide through widespread adoption of the Uniform Commercial Code. There remains significan...
Oct 05, 2021•15 min•Season 15Ep. 5
An intentional tort is a category of torts that describes a civil wrong resulting from an intentional act on the part of the tortfeasor (alleged wrongdoer). The term negligence, on the other hand, pertains to a tort that simply results from the failure of the tortfeasor to take sufficient care in fulfilling a duty owed, while strict liability torts refers to situations where a party is liable for injuries no matter what precautions were taken. Why intentional torts are different. As a matter of ...
Oct 04, 2021•13 min•Season 14Ep. 5
DNA paternity testing is the use of DNA profiles to determine whether an individual is the biological parent of another individual. Paternity testing can be especially important when the rights and duties of the father are in issue and a child's paternity is in doubt. Tests can also determine the likelihood of someone being a biological grandparent. Though genetic testing is the most reliable standard, older methods also exist, including ABO blood group typing, analysis of various other proteins...
Oct 01, 2021•14 min•Season 11Ep. 20
Credits. Credits are allowed against AMT for foreign taxes and certain specified business credits. The AMT foreign tax credit limitation is redetermined based on AMTI rather than regular taxable income. Thus, all adjustments and tax preference items above must be applied in computing the AMT foreign tax credit limitation. AMT credit against regular tax. After a taxpayer has paid AMT, a credit is allowed against regular tax in future years for the amount of AMT. The credit for individuals is gene...
Sep 30, 2021•22 min•Season 16Ep. 7
Remedies. In the United Kingdom, breach of contract is defined in the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 as: non-performance, poor performance, part-performance, or performance which is substantially different from what was reasonably expected. Innocent parties may repudiate (cancel) the contract only for a major breach (breach of condition), but they may always recover compensatory damages, provided that the breach has caused foreseeable loss. It was not possible to sue the Crown in the UK for brea...
Sep 29, 2021•13 min•Season 15Ep. 4
Intentional torts. Intentional torts are any intentional acts that are reasonably foreseeable to cause harm to an individual, and that do so. Intentional torts have several subcategories: Torts against the person include assault, battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and fraud, although the latter is also an economic tort. Property torts involve any intentional interference with the property rights of the claimant (plaintiff). Those commonly recognized includ...
Sep 28, 2021•19 min•Season 14Ep. 4
A tort, in common law jurisdiction, is a civil wrong (other than breach of contract) that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits a tortious act. It can include intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, financial losses, injuries, invasion of privacy, and many other things. The word 'tort' stems from Old French via the Norman Conquest and Latin via the Roman Empire. Tort law involves claims in an action seeking to obtain a...
Sep 27, 2021•18 min•Season 14Ep. 3
Defenses. Vitiating factors constituting defenses to purported contract formation include: Mistake (such as non est factum). Incapacity, including mental incompetence and infancy/minority. Duress. Undue influence. Unconscionability. Misrepresentation or fraud. Frustration of purpose. Such defenses operate to determine whether a purported contract is either (1) void or (2) voidable. Void contracts cannot be ratified by either party. Voidable contracts can be ratified. Misrepresentation. Misrepres...
Sep 24, 2021•15 min•Season 15Ep. 3
Formalities and writing requirements for some contracts. A contract is often evidenced in writing or by deed, the general rule is that a person who signs a contractual document will be bound by the terms in that document, this rule is referred to as the rule in L'Estrange v Graucob. This rule is approved by the High Court of Australia in Toll(FGCT) Pty Ltd v Alphapharm Pty Ltd. But a valid contract may (with some exceptions) be made orally or even by conduct. Remedies for breach of contract incl...
Sep 23, 2021•14 min•Season 15Ep. 2
A contract is a legally binding agreement that defines and governs the rights and duties between or among its parties. A contract is legally enforceable when it meets the requirements of applicable law. A contract typically involves the exchange of goods, services, money, or a promise of any of those. In the event of a breach of contract, the injured party may seek judicial remedies such as damages or cancellation. In the Anglo-American common law, formation of a contract generally requires an o...
Sep 22, 2021•14 min•Season 15Ep. 1
Negligence. Amongst unintentional torts one finds negligence as being the most common source of common law. Most Americans are under the impression that most people can sue for any type of negligence, but it is untrue in most US jurisdictions (partly because negligence is one of the few torts for which ordinary people can and do obtain liability insurance.) It is a form of extracontractual liability that is based upon a failure to comply with the duty of care of a reasonable person, which failur...
Sep 21, 2021•10 min•Season 14Ep. 2
Intentional torts. Intentional torts involve situations in which the defendant desires or knows to a substantial certainty that his act will cause the plaintiff damage. They include battery, assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress ("IIED"), trespass to land, trespass to chattels, conversion, invasion of privacy, malicious prosecution, abuse of process, fraud, inducing breach of contract, intentional interference with business relations, and defamation of charact...
Sep 20, 2021•12 min•Season 14Ep. 1
Public interest law refers to legal practices undertaken to help poor or marginalized people, or to effect change in social policies in the public interest, on 'not for profit' terms (pro bono publico). It is not a body of law or a legal field. Rather, it denotes the clientele they represent. Instead of serving powerful economic interests, it stands for the advocacy of otherwise under-represented or vulnerable individuals, especially those living in poverty. It has grown to encompass a broader r...
Sep 17, 2021•7 min•Season 15Ep. 7
Sports law in the United States overlaps substantially with labor law, contract law, competition or antitrust law, and tort law. Issues like defamation and privacy rights are also integral aspects of sports law. This area of law was established as a separate and important entity only a few decades ago, coinciding with the rise of player-agents and increased media scrutiny of sports law topics. Amateur sports law. Membership is voluntary. The NCAA operates along a series of bylaws that govern the...
Sep 16, 2021•14 min•Season 17Ep. 2
The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is a tax imposed by the United States federal government in addition to the regular income tax for certain individuals, estates, and trusts. As of tax year 2018, the AMT raises about $5.2 billion, or 0.4% of all federal income tax revenue, affecting 0.1% of taxpayers, mostly in the upper income ranges. An alternative minimum taxable income (AMTI) is calculated, by taking the ordinary income and adding disallowed items and credits such as state and local tax dedu...
Sep 15, 2021•22 min•Season 16Ep. 6
Paternity law refers to the body of law underlying the legal relationship between a father and his biological or adopted children and deals with the rights and obligations of both the father and the child to each other as well as to others. A child's paternity may be relevant in relation to issues of legitimacy, inheritance and rights to a putative father's title or surname, as well as the biological father's rights to child custody in the case of separation or divorce and obligations for child ...
Sep 14, 2021•18 min•Season 11Ep. 19
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc v Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, (2021), was a 2021 decision of the Supreme Court of the United States related to securities fraud class actions. Background. A group of investors sued Goldman Sachs after the financial crisis of 2007–2008 to recover up to $13 billion in losses. In 2020, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit allowed the class action to proceed, 2–1. Judge Richard J Sullivan dissented. Decision. The Supreme Court issued i...
Sep 13, 2021•2 min•Season 11Ep. 11
Derivative suits. Because directors owe their duties to the corporation and not, as a general rule, to specific shareholders or stakeholders, the right to sue for breaches of directors’ duty rests by default with the corporation itself. The corporation is necessarily a party to the suit. This creates a difficulty because almost always, the right to litigate falls under the general powers of directors to manage the corporation day to day (for example, Delaware General Corporation Law §141(a)). Of...
Sep 10, 2021•11 min•Season 15Ep. 6
