business law

Alex Hardy was driving his Chevrolet S-10 Blazer when he was involved in a one-vehicle accident. Hardy was thrown from the vehicle, allegedly because the door latch failed, and he suffered serious and permanent injuries as a result of the accident. Hardy was paralyzed from the waist down. During the trial, Hardy admitted that he had been drinking beer immediately before he began his fateful drive. He also admitted that he was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident. Finally, he admitted that he had fallen asleep at the wheel of his vehicle while driving and was asleep at the time of the accident.

However, Hardy also asserted that none of these factors were involved in the crash or the subsequent injuries. According to Hardy’s theory, the axle of the truck broke, causing the crash. As a result of the crash, the vehicle rolled over, the door latch failed, and Hardy was thrown from the truck. Thus, according to Hardy, the vehicle did not conform to his expectations, the defects were hidden so that a reasonable inspection would not reveal them, and General Motors was in breach of its contract. A jury awarded Hardy $50 million in compensatory damages and an additional $100 million in punitive damages.

RESEARCH:

At Least 112 People Were Killed Or Injured Due to GM’s Defective Door Latches

http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/defective_door_latches (Links to an external site.)

ALEX C. HARDY V. GENERAL MOTORS CORP. AND CAPITOL CHEVROLET, INC. AND THELMA R. HARDY V. GENERAL MOTORS CORP. 6/3/96

http://www.butlerwooten.com/Results/Alex-C-Hardy-v-General-Motors-Corp-and-Capitol-Chevrolet-Inc-and-Thelma-R-Hardy-v-General-Motors-Corp-6-3-96.shtml (Links to an external site.)

Empowering the Active Jury: A Genuine Tort Reform

http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1379&context=facpub (Links to an external site.)

Reasonable Man Theory Law and Legal Definition

https://definitions.uslegal.com/r/reasonable-man-theory/ (Links to an external site.)

Differential Treatment of Corporate Defendants by Juries: An Examination of the Deep-Pocket Hypothesis Robert J. MacCoun Berkeley Law

http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1726&context=facpubs (Links to an external site.)

CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE/COMPARATIVE FAULT LAWS IN ALL 5O STATES

https://www.mwl-law.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/contributory-negligence-comparative-fault-laws-in-all-50-states.pdf (Links to an external site.)

California (Regarding Torts and Liabilities)

http://www.judicialhellholes.org/2011-12/california/ (Links to an external site.)

Deep pockets

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_pocket (Links to an external site.)

QUESTIONS FOR PAPER   

Please address the following questions within your paper.  Please keep in mind that this is NOT a Q&A paper, so please write it in an MLA paper format!

Write an introduction paragraph; a brief overview as to what happened, why it happened, and what issues are being presented.  Be sure and be specific, giving court names, names and titles of individuals, dates etc., as necessary.  Please remember that this is a college paper.  Your paper will require a cover sheet and a citations page. You need to review all of the necessary requirements as stated in the syllabus!

1   According to Hardy’s theory, the axle of the truck broke, causing the crash. As a result of the crash, the vehicle rolled over, the door latch failed, and Hardy was thrown from the truck. “Thus, according to Hardy, the vehicle did not conform to his expectations, the defects were hidden so that a reasonable inspection would not reveal them, and General Motors was in breach of its contract.” The suit filed was over the “door latch” failure and not the axle of the vehicle. Does that change the case in your mind? If yes, how; if no, why? Define the “reasonable man-standard” and why it is used in law. Using the reasonable man-standard approach, what judicial questions need to be asked and why?

2. According to the case, “During the trial, Hardy admitted that he had been drinking beer immediately before he began his fateful drive. He also admitted that he was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.” As an attorney for GMC, would the use of Contributory Negligence be a sound defense for GMC to use? Why or why not?  If the Pure Contributory Negligence Rule could be raised, how would you go about stating your argument as their attorney?
3. (Under Research above) According to the article, Empowering the Active Jury: A Genuine Tort Reform, “The tort system aims to compensate fairly and equitably those who are injured by others, and to do so in an efficient manner. Concerns about incompetence and bias on the part of juries have led to evidentiary and procedural rules that limit what juries can hear and do. But some of these rules have had a paradoxical effect, making it more difficult to cope with complex civil trials.” This article argues in favor of a diametrically opposed type of tort reform, one that expands–rather than restricts–the scope of jury decision making. This article advocates the widespread implementation of active jury reforms. This article argues that such reforms will improve the quality of jury decision making in tort cases, which in turn should promote the ability of the tort jury to fulfill its multiple functions. Hence, the introduction of active jury techniques constitutes genuine tort reform.” After reading the article, do you agree with the author’s paper? Specifically why or why not?
4. Define “deep pockets”. According to the Hypothesis by Robert J. MacCoun, regarding Differential Treatment of Corporate Defendants by Juries, what is the bias that juries have towards large corporations? Is it ethical for a jury to award a huge verdict to a plaintiff simply because the defendant has ‘‘deep pockets’’ and can afford to pay the award? On what do you base your answer?  Explain.
5. General Motors has appealed this case to your court. As a judge, after reviewing all the facts in this case, and analyzing the situation, how will you rule on this appeal and why? Explain your answer