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MASTER SYLLABUS |
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LAW 2300 |
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| Class Hours: 3.0 | Credit Hours: 3.0 | ||||||||
| Laboratory Hours: 0.0 | Revised: Spring 03 | ||||||||
| NOTE: This course is not designed for transfer credit. | |||||||||
| Catalog Course Description: | |||||||||
| Fundamental principles concerning the formation, performance, and enforcement of personal and commercial contracts; sales and secured transactions under the Uniform Commercial Code; and overview of federal and state law regulating consumer credit and collection procedures. | |||||||||
| Entry Level Standards: | |||||||||
| College-level competencies in logic, reading, and English are required. | |||||||||
| Prerequisites: | |||||||||
| LAW 1050 and 1060 for PARS majors; no prerequisite for MGT majors. | |||||||||
| Textbook(s) and Other Course Materials: | |||||||||
| Adamson-Mietus, Law for Business and Personal Use, 15th Ed. (South-Western Educational Publishing, 2000). | |||||||||
| I. Week/Unit/Topic Basis: | |||||||||
| Week | Topic | ||||||||
| 1 | Introduction; Overview (3 hours) | ||||||||
| 2 | Offer and Acceptance (1.5 hours); Genuine Agreement: Basic requirements for every valid contract; classification of contracts (1 hour); creation of contractual relationship (.5 hour) | ||||||||
| 3 | Consideration (1 hour); Capacity (.75 hour); Legality (.5 hour): The bargain that supports the entire contractual relationship (.25 hour); ability of the parties to enter into enforceable contractual agreements and intent of the parties (.5 hour) | ||||||||
| 4 | Duties (1 hour); Enforcement (1.5 hours); Statute of Frauds (.5 hour) | ||||||||
| 5 | Sales Contracts and Transactions (3 hours) | ||||||||
| 6 | Uniform Commercial Code, Article II: purpose, form and operation of statute (3 hours) | ||||||||
| 7-8 | Consumer Protection (6 hours) | ||||||||
| 9 | Bailments (3 hours) | ||||||||
| 10 | Employment Contracts (3 hours) | ||||||||
| 11-12 | Commercial Paper (3 hours); Rights of Holders of Commercial Paper (3 hours) | ||||||||
| 13 | Negotiability and Negotiation of Commercial Paper (3 hours) | ||||||||
| 14-15 | Secured and Unsecured Credit Obligations; UCC Article IX (6 hours) | ||||||||
| 16 | Final Examination | ||||||||
| II. Course Objectives*: | |||||||||
| A. | Understand legal principles governing commercial contract formation and enforcement. I, II, III, IV, V | ||||||||
| B. | Understand the basic law of commercial paper and secured transactions. I, II, III, IV, V | ||||||||
| C. | Collect relevant data and draft initial documents to assist the attorney in commercial cases. I, II, III, IV, V | ||||||||
| D. | Continue developing a legal vocabulary. I, II, III, IV, V | ||||||||
| *Roman numerals after course objectives reference goals of the Paralegal Studies program. | |||||||||
| III. Instructional Processes*: | |||||||||
| Students will: | |||||||||
| 1. | Practice elements of the work ethic such as professionalism, preparedness, punctuality, honesty, cooperation, dependability, contribution, effectiveness, good manners, etc. Personal Development Outcome, Cultural Diversity and Social Adaptation Outcome, Transitional Strategy | ||||||||
| 2. | Refine reading skills and expand legal vocabularies through completion of weekly guided reading exercises that allows more effective communication with lawyers and legal professionals. Communication Outcome, Transitional Strategy | ||||||||
| 3. | Strengthen analytical skills by locating court cases and statutes in the Educational Resources Center and on Westlaw to determine the application of the rules of law to specific facts. Information Literacy Outcome, Problem Solving and Decision Making Outcome, Cultural Diversity and Social Adaptation Outcome, Technological Literacy Outcome, Transitional Strategy, Active Learning Strategy | ||||||||
| 4. | Examine ethical issues related to legal representation, unauthorized practice of law, confidentiality, duty of legal professional to provide legal services, etc. Personal Development Outcome, Cultural Diversity and Social Adaptation Outcome, Transitional Strategy, Active Learning Strategy | ||||||||
| 5. | Listen to guest speakers from the legal and business community to learn the demands for for employees who possess basic knowledge of business law topics in the work world. Personal Development Outcome, Problem Solving and Decision Making Outcome, Transitional Strategy | ||||||||
| 6. | Develop investigative skills using the Internet, library, and governmental agency resources to find relevant information. Problem Solving and Decision Making Outcome, Information Literacy Outcome, Technological Literacy Outcome, Transitional Strategy, Active Learning Strategy | ||||||||
| *Strategies and outcomes listed after instructional processes reference Pellissippi State’s goals for strengthening general education knowledge and skills, connecting coursework to experiences beyond the classroom, and encouraging students to take active and responsible roles in the educational process. | |||||||||
| IV. Expectations for Student Performance*: | |||||||||
| Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to: | |||||||||
| 1. | Demonstrate a complete and thorough understanding of legal ethics. A,B,C,D | ||||||||
| 2. | Identify the elements of a contract. A,C,D | ||||||||
| 3. | Prepare initial drafts of contract clauses. A,C,D | ||||||||
| 4. | Identify UCC forms. B,C,D | ||||||||
| 5. | Determine when a holder is a holder in due course. B,C,D | ||||||||
| 6. | Prepare a stop payment order. B,C,D | ||||||||
| 7. | Recognize restrictive endorsements. B,C,D | ||||||||
| 8. | Differentiate negotiable from non-negotiable commercial paper. B,C,D | ||||||||
| 9. | Determine damages for breach of contract. A,D | ||||||||
| 10. | Determine when a contract must be in writing to be enforceable. A,D | ||||||||
| 11. | Recognize when a party lacks the capacity to contract. A,D | ||||||||
| 12. | Determine when purchase money security interest has been created by purchase on credit. B,D | ||||||||
| 13. | Draft a simple security agreement creating a security interest. B,C,D | ||||||||
| 14.
15. |
Determine
the priority of claims to a debtor's collateral which is subject to perfect
or unperfected security interests. B,C,D
Recognize and understand the creation and enforcement of sales warranties. A, C, D |
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| *Letters after performance expectations reference the course objectives listed above. | |||||||||
| V. Evaluation: | |||||||||
| A. Testing Procedures: | |||||||||
| Students are evaluated primarily on the basis of tests. | |||||||||
| B. Laboratory Expectations: | |||||||||
| N/A | |||||||||
| C. Field Work: | |||||||||
| Students
will complete several out-of-class skills projects.which may include:
Legal writing exercises Drafting initial drafts of contracts clauses Developing checklist for drafting contract Completing UCC forms Preparing a stop-payment order Drafting simple security agreement creating security interest |
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| D. Other Evaluation Methods: | |||||||||
| 1. Class
participation, group work, and homework will also comprise the final grade
for the course. The instructor will provide full details the first
week of class via a syllabus supplement.
2. All tests and papers will be graded for spelling and English usage in addition to content and format. 3. Any student encountering academic difficulty during the term is strongly encouraged to meet with the instructor to discuss options and solutions |
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| E. Grading Scale: | |||||||||
| A
93-100
B+ 88- 92 B 83- 87 C+ 78- 82 C 73- 77 D 65- 72 F 64 and below |
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| VI. Policies: | |||||||||
| A. Attendance Policy: | |||||||||
| Pellissippi State Technical Community College expects students to attend all scheduled instructional activities. As a minimum, students in all courses must be present for at least 75 percent of their scheduled classes and laboratory meetings in order to receive credit for the course. (Pellissippi State Catalog). | |||||||||
| B. Academic Dishonesty: | |||||||||
| Plagiarism, cheating and other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited. A student guilty of academic misconduct, either directly or indirectly through participation or assistance, is immediately responsible to the instructor of the class. In addition to other possible disciplinary sanctions that may be imposed through the regular Pellissippi State procedures as a result of academic misconduct, the instructor has the authority to assign an F or a zero for the exercise or examination or to assign an F in the course. | |||||||||
| C. Other Policies: | |||||||||
| Late papers will not be accepted nor will make-up tests will be given without specific approval of the instructor. | |||||||||