1.You own a grocery store. Last week the following sequence of events occurred at your store. At 9:00 AM a customer knocked a jar of pickles off a shelf, causing it to crash to the floor and spread pickles and pickle juice over a ten foot area. You were so busy that you were unable to clean it up all day.

Riley and her 1 year old son, Coby, were shopping in the store at 4:00 PM. Riley did not see the pickle juice and slipped on it, breaking her leg. While she was on the floor waiting for an ambulance to arrive, her son ate a pickle off the floor and became violently ill, because he was allergic to pickles.

When Riley and her son Coby arrived at the hospital, the staff called Riley’s husband, Rusty, to inform him of Riley’s and Coby’s admission to the hospital. Rusty panicked when he heard the news and dropped a hot bowl of soup on his foot, burning his foot and ankle. Even with his injury, Rusty felt that he was able to drive to the hospital.

On his way to the hospital, a dog ran out in front of Rusty’s car and he was unable to stop quickly enough to avoid the dog, due to the pain in his right foot from the burn. The dog, Spot, belonged to 92 year old Belinda, who was walking with Spot  when he ran out into the street. Seeing her dog hit by Rusty’s car, Belinda suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized.

Spot, Belinda, Rusty, Coby, and Riley all recovered. They all filed lawsuits against you for causing their injuries. Discuss the claims of each of these plaintiffs. Upon what legal theory would they likely sue? What are the elements that they would have to prove? Do you have any defenses you might assert? What is the likelihood of their success against you?

2. You have a contract with a friend to pick your child up from kindergarten every day at 2:30 p.m. and to care for her till 5:00 p.m. when you come home from work. Your friend doesn't need to babysit on holidays, when your child doesn't go to school, or days when you are off of work. Your friend agrees to the arrangement and you agree to pay your friend once each month at the rate of $15 a day that she provides this service during the month. Do you want this to be a unilateral contract or a bilateral contract? Must this contract be in writing to be legally enforceable? Identify the consideration on each side of the transaction. Explain your answers fully.

3.Elizabeth  decided that she wanted to go to Florida to stay on the beach for Spring Break. She planned to use her 4 remaining paid days of vacation leave for the trip. Elizabeth remembered her friend Pam telling her that another friend, Flora, owned a condo on Star Fish Beach in Florida. Elizabeth got Flora’s telephone number and called Flora about renting the condo. Elizabeth and Flora agreed for Elizabeth to rent the Star Fish Beach condo for 3 nights for $150 per night during Spring Break. Elizabeth thought it was a great deal and sent Flora a check for $450.

Note: Do not combine the facts from item (a) and item (b) together. They are separate scenarios.

a) A week after signing the contract, Elizabeth was told by her employer that her vacation leave request had been refused because she had already used up all of her vacation leave. Elizabeth decided immediately that she would need to cancel the trip. Does Elizabeth have any right to cancel the contract because of the vacation mistake and obtain a refund of her $450? Explain.

b) Assume that a week before the scheduled trip, Flora sent Elizabeth directions to the condo and it became clear that the condo is located on Star Fish Beach, South Carolina. Elizabeth had believed that the condo was on Star Fish Beach, Florida and had booked a flight to Tampa, Florida and rented a car in Florida. Flora had assumed that Elizabeth knew the condo was located in South Carolina as they had never talked about its location, and Elizabeth assumed that Flora knew she wanted to rent a condo in Florida. Does Elizabeth have any right to cancel the contract because of the mistake about the location of the condo? Does Elizabeth have a legal right to a return of her $450 paid to Flora? Explain.

4. Nebraska Statute: § 28-1009.01. Interference with a service animal

A person commits the offense of interference with a service animal when he or she (a) intentionally impedes, interferes, or threatens to impede or interfere or (b) attempts to intentionally impede, interfere, or threaten to impede or interfere with an animal that he or she knows or has reason to believe is a service animal for a blind or visually impaired person, a deaf or hearing-impaired person, or a physically limited person.

a) What are the two basic elements that must be proven in every kind of criminal offense? Identify the specific language that describes those elements in this statute. (5 points)

b) What is the evidentiary burden of proof (or burden of persuasion) for criminal cases? How does it differ from the evidentiary burden of proof (or burden of persuasion) for civil cases? (5 points)

Assume that this is what happened: Amy is a blind woman with a service dog named Ranger. While Amy was out walking with Ranger one day, Sue saw Amy and Ranger and started to pet the dog. Amy asked Sue to stop petting Ranger and explained that he was a working dog. Sue stopped petting Ranger and watched Amy and Sue walk away. It was then that Sue noticed that Ranger, although walking normally, was leaving drops of blood from his back paw with every step. Sue thought Ranger might have glass in his foot. She ran to catch up with Amy and then took hold of Ranger’s collar and gently picked up Ranger’s back foot to begin inspecting it for glass. Amy protested loudly and accused Sue of interfering with her service dog.

c) Outline how a prosecutor would plan his or her case presentation for the case above against Sue. What elements would need to be proven and what facts would be used to prove each element?

d) What defenses would be available to Sue in this circumstance? What evidence might she offer to assert her defenses? Explain your answers.

5.  For each of the contracts described below, explain whether it not it must be in writing and signed in order to be legally enforceable. Fully explain the reasons for your answers. (Note: Of course, it is always smart to get contracts in writing. This question concerns the legal enforceability of a contract if the parties choose not to place it in writing.) (10 points)

a) A purchase of an iPad for $599

b) A four-year lease of a new farm tractor

c) An agreement to clean the carpets in a 5-story office tower for $35,000

d) An agreement to purchase a television for $485 that regularly sells for $525 but is on sale

e) A contract to sell an acre of land in Otoe County, Nebraska

6. New Century Studios hired Wiley Cyrus, age 16, to star in a new movie that will begin filming in 2015. The arrangements were all made verbally in October 2013. Wiley agreed to perform in the movie and New Century Studios agreed to pay her $5,000,000. In January 2014 Wiley was arrested for drug possession and gained significant negative media attention. As a result, New Century Studios would like to cancel its contract with Wiley. Explain whether or not New Century Studios can cancel the contract and on what legal basis. On what legal bases might Wiley cancel the contract?