Business law

Ref:Mercantile Law by M.C.Shukla

Law of Contracts by Nyazee

Muhammad Faisal
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Definitions of Business

 Business has three dimensions of a meaning

A commerce
 An occupation
 An organization
Definitions of Business

 Business as a commerce is the process that

people produce, exchange and trade goods and
services
 Definitions of Business
 Business as an occupation is the acquired set of
specialized skills and abilities that allows people
to create valuable goods and services
 Definitions of Business
 Business as an organization is the system of
task and authority relationship that coordinates
and controls the interactions between people so
that they work toward a common goal
 Definitions of Business
 Business as a system is a combination of
business commerce, occupations, and
organizations that produces and distributes the
goods and services that create value for people
in a society
What is law

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Definition of Law
 Law – a standard or rule established by
society to govern the people in the society.
 The two types of law
 The law is often divided into:
 civil law and criminal law

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Civil Law
 Civil law concerns the rights and duties
that people or companies owe to each
other.

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Civil Law Key Points
 There is NO prosecution or punishment in
civil law.
 A person brings an action against another
and asks the court for a remedy (e.g.
damages).
 The process of starting a civil law action is
known as suing.

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Main Branches of Civil Law
 Contract law
 Law of tort
 Family law
 Company law.

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Litigation as an alternative
approach to Dispute resolution
Litigation
 An action brought in court to enforce a
particular right. The act or process of bringi
ng a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial
contest; any dispute

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Litigation
 When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the p
erson enters into a process called litigation
. Under the various rules of Civil
Procedure that
govern actions in state and federal courts,
litigation involves a series of steps that ma
y lead to a court trial and ultimately a resol
ution of the matter.
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 The person starting the action is known as
the claimant. The person being sued is
known as the defendant.

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 Litigation is a dispute resolution process
that typically involves many participants,
supporting characters, and observers.
 Plain Tiff : The plaintiff is the disputant
asserting some right or claim recognized
by law for which the other disputant

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Who Will Participate in the
Process?
 Defendant.: May be Liable for claim or
not.

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Basic Stages
 The litigation process begins when the
plaintiff files a formal, written complaint
with the trial court and serves it on the
defendant.

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Basic Stages
 The defendant must answer the complaint
or file a motion asking the court .
 To dismiss the lawsuit because the
complaint fails to state a claim recognized
by law or because the court lacks
jurisdiction over the subject matter of the
lawsuit or the defendant.

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Basic Stages
 If the court denies the defendant’s motion
to dismiss the lawsuit, the defendant must
answer the complaint, at which point the
process begins to progress through
various pretrial stages.

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Basic Stages
 . If the defendant refuses or otherwise fails
to participate, the court ordinarily will issue
a default judgment granting the plaintiff the
relief requested in the complaint.

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Basic Stages
 During the pretrial stages of litigation, the
parties engage in discovery
 Through a process by which they gather
evidence from each other and from third
parties
 The parties will identify witnesses,
determine what they will testify

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What is Business Law

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 Business law encompasses all of the laws
that dictate how to form and run a
business.
 This includes all of the laws that govern
how to start, buy, manage and close or
sell any type of business.

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 Business laws establish the rules that all
businesses should follow.
 A savvy businessperson will be generally
familiar with business laws and know
when to seek the advice of a licensed
attorney.
 Business law includes state and federal
laws, as well as administrative regulations
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 CONTRACTS
&
AGREEMENTS
Introduction
 Contracts are the basis of many of our
daily activities
 They provide the means for individuals
and businesses to sell and otherwise
transfer property, services, and other
rights
 Without enforceable contracts, commerce
would collapse
Definition of a Contract
 A contract is an agreement that is
enforceable by a court of law or equity

 If one party fails to perform as promised,

the other party can use the court system to
enforce the contract and recover damages
or other remedy
Parties to a Contract
 Offeror – The party who makes an offer to enter into a contract
 Offeree – The party to whom an offer to enter into a contract is
made

Offer
Offeror Offeree

Acceptance
Offeror makes an Offeree has the power
offer to the offeree to accept the offer and
create a contract
 AGREEMENT
 An agreement means a promise and a
reciprocal set of promises forming
consideration for each other—Section
2(e). All contracts are agreements but all
agreements are not contracts.
 CONTRACT = Agreement + Enforceable
by law

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Promisor: A person making the proposal (offer) is
known as a promisor. He is also known as an offeror.
We can also recognize him as a proposor.
Promisee: A person accepting the proposal (offer) is
known as a promisee. He is also known as an offeree.
We can also recognize him as an acceptor.
PROMISOR PROMISEE
Elements of a Contract

1. Agreement 2. Consideration

3. Contractual
4. Lawful Object
Capacity
Have you ever agreed to a
contract?

How many people think they are party to a

contract?
Examples
 Credit Card Agreement
Examples
 Credit Card Agreement
 Signed agreement related to a job
Examples
 Credit Card Agreement
 Signed agreement related to a job
 Online agreement when starting a
Facebook or email account
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Examples
 Credit Card Agreement
 Signed agreement related to a job
 Online agreement when starting a
Facebook or email account
 An agreement to buy something from a
friend
Examples
 Credit Card Agreement
 Signed agreement related to a job
 Online agreement when starting a
Facebook or email account
 An agreement to buy something from a
friend
 Buying something from a store
Civil Legal Duties

Groups of people, The specific individuals

generally everyone. who willfully enter into
the agreement.

Laws of society bind Specific agreements in

everyone in it. which the parties
mutually bind
themselves.
What does it mean to Contract?
Contracts are about:
What does it mean to Contract?
Contracts are about:
 Bargaining
What does it mean to Contract?
Contracts are about:
 Bargaining
 Coming to an agreement
What does it mean to Contract?
Contracts are about:
 Bargaining
 Coming to an agreement
 Being willing to be legally bound to your
side of that agreement, as long as the
other party is bound to theirs
Elements of contracting
 Offer Acceptance

 Consideration Contract Capacity

 Law Full Object
 These are the basic elements, but
contract law can get a lot more
complicated
Offer
 An offer is an invitation to make a contract
Offer
 An offer is an invitation to make a contract

 Examples?
Offer
 An offer is an invitation to make a contract

 Examples?
 Displaying a take it or leave it contract online
 Bidding on ebay
 Putting a price tag on an item in a store
Offer
 An offer is an invitation to make a contract

 Examples?
 Displaying a take it or leave it contract online
 Bidding on ebay
 Putting a price tag on an item in a store
Acceptance
 The point at which one party agrees to the
other parties offer
 Examples
 Clickingthat you accept the online contract
 Buying the item from the store
Consideration
 Generally, courts will only enforce a
contract if both sides are getting
something.
 What each side gives the other is called
consideration.
Is this a contract?

In each of the following examples, ask

yourself if there is mutual consideration?
Is this a contract?
 You order a book of xyz.com. Your credit
card is charged, but no book ever shows
up.
 Was there a legally enforceable contract?
Is this a contract?
 You order a book of xyz.com. Your credit
card is charged, but no book ever shows
up.
 Was there a legally enforceable contract?

 Yes, you agreed to payxyz.com money

and they agreed to send you a book.
Is this a contract?
 Last year, your uncle promised you an
iPhone for your 18th birthday. When you
turned 18, he gave you his old broken
basic cell phone.
 Was there a legally enforceable contract?
Is this a contract?
 Last year, your uncle promised you an
iPhone for your 18th birthday. When you
turned 18, he gave you his old broken
basic cell phone.
 Was there a legally enforceable contract?

 No, while your uncle made a promise, he

did not receive any consideration in
return. Consideration has to be more than
good feelings.
Is this a contract?
 You signed up for a week long summer
basketball camp which cost $100. You
paid and went to the camp. When you got
to the camp, they just had you watch
football movies all day.
 Was there a legally enforceable contract?
Is this a contract?
 You signed up for a week long summer
basketball camp which cost $100. You
paid and went to the camp. When you got
to the camp, they just had you watch
football movies all day.
 Was there a legally enforceable contract?

 Yes. You agreed to pay money to the

camp and they were supposed to give you
basketball training.
Negotiation and drafting activity
 We are going to negotiate and draft a
contract

 Negotiating and drafting contracts is

something that a lot of lawyers do—
including hopefully me.
 The goal is to come to an agreement.
 This requires each side to compromise, so
that they can get what they really want—to
make a deal.
When drafting be sure to
 Include all the terms
 Don’t be afraid of creative solutions
 Use specific binding language:
 “Shall” not “Will”
X shall pay Y $10.
 Y shall wash X’s car.
 Not:
X will pay Y $10.
 Y will wash X’s car.