Business Law I

Curriculum guideline

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Course
BUSN 1320
Discontinued
No
Course code
BUSN 1320
Descriptive
Business Law I
Department
Business
Faculty
Commerce & Business Administration
Credits
3.00
Start date
End term
201420
PLAR
No
Semester length
15 Weeks X 4 Hours per Week = 60 Hours
Max class size
35
Contact hours
Lecture: 3 Hours Seminar: 1 Hour Total: 4 Hours
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Learning activities

Lectures, videos, analysis of legal issues, discussion of legal cases, case assignments, and group activities

Course description
The course will conduct a general review of the meaning, sources and administration of business law and, in particular, will provide in-depth coverage of the two areas of business law most often encountered in the business setting; the law of contracts and the law of torts. The course will also address various legal relationships in the private law setting, legislation regulating business, consumer protection issues, and recent and relevant changes in Canadian law that may potentially affect the business climate.
Course content
  1. Introduction to the field of law and the administration of justice
  2. Sources of Canadian and British Columbia law
    • distinction between private and public law
    • Acts of the Canadian Parliament and the provincial legislatures (emphasis on British Columbia)
    • Canadian Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
    • subordinate legislation including by-laws and government regulations
    • the court process, case law, and judicial precedent
  3. Law of Torts
    • general principles including liability insurance, vicarious liability and alternative compensation schemes
    • intentional torts including assault, battery, false imprisonment, trespass, and invasion of privacy
    • business torts including nuisance, occupier's liability, defamation, injurious falsehood, deceit, unlawful interference with economic relations, and conspiracy
    • the tort of negligence including duty of care, breach of standard of care, causation of harm, and the available defences
  4. Law of Contracts
    • nature of a contract
    • elements of a contract
      • mutual agreement (offer, acceptance, and invitation to treat)
      • capacity of the parties
      • legal consideration and its exceptions
      • the concept of privity of contract and its exceptions including assignment
    • terms of a contract
      • express terms and implied terms
      • conditions and warranties
    • grounds of impeachment
      • misrepresentation
      • incapacity
      • illegality
      • mistake
      • duress, undue influence, and unconscionable transactions
    • discharge and breach of contract
      • discharge by performance
      • discharge by agreement
      • discharge by frustration
      • discharge by breach
    • contractual remedies
      • damages
      • specific performance
      • injunctions
  5. Contracts for the Sale of Goods
    • key provisions of the British Columbia Sale of Goods Act
      • contracts of sale of goods
      • risk and passing of property
      • the implied conditions and warranties of the consumer protection provisions
      • special remedies under the Sale of Goods Act
    • consumer protection provisions in other federal and provincial statutes
  6. Special Contracts
Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the successful student should be able to:

  1. describe the structure of the Canadian legal system;
  2. know the basic principles of common law and statute law that apply to most business situations.  Although the course is not designed to make the student a lawyer, it will provide the student with sufficient background and sophistication to understand circumstances that require a lawyer;
  3. recognize the main aspects of the Canadian judicial system including the sources of law, the levels and roles of courts in the judicial system, and the basic elements of the court process;
  4. set out the difference between common law, statute law, administrative law, and criminal law;
  5. explain the methods by which legal precedents are established and applied;
  6. know in detail the law of contracts, its principles and application to various business situations;
  7. recount the key elements of sale of goods legislation including passing of property and consumer protection;
  8. describe the basic principles of tort law and identify many of the important common law torts especially torts that arise in the business context;
  9. relate legal principles to economic, political and social situations that may arise in the business world.
Means of assessment
Term examinations (2) 30 - 40%
Mid-semester examination 20 - 25%
Final examination 25 - 35%
Class participation and/or assignments and/or quizzes   5 - 10%

 

Textbook materials

Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students

McInnes, Kerr, VanDuzer and Carmody, Managing the Law: The Legal Aspects of Doing Business

 Latest Edition, (Toronto: Pearson Education Canada).  also used in BUSN 2420

 (or such other textbook as agreed upon by the Business Law Instructors)

Which prerequisite

BUSN 2420 (Business Law II)

BUSN 4490 (Legal and Ethical Decision Making for Managers, Professionals and Executives)