Reference no: EM133197243 , Length: 3 pages
Case: Pat Bilo is a mild-mannered tax accountant who enjoys pina colada's and getting caught in the rain. One day, while he is on his annual DisneyTM cruise, he is pulled aside by a shady character dressed as Goofy. The Goofy then gives him a job offer. He would like for Pat to do tax and other accounting for his company. The company is a waste management group in the northeast. Pat is justifiably annoyed, as it is his vacation, and he wants to get back his pina colada, but the Goofy gives the salary, $1,000,000 and a company bartender who will make in-office pina colada's. ALSO, they will give 5 weeks paid vacation, and an all-expenses paid DisneyTM cruise every year.
Pat takes the offer and a month later, his family has relocated to NYC. His wife Pam is a bit disappointed, as she is a Championship Skeet Shooter, but understands Pat's ambitions. Also, she discovers that with their new found salary, she can afford to join the NYC Underground Shooting Club. This is a group that travels through Central Park and skeet shoots. It is interesting because the club ran out of clay targets to shoot, but there seem to be plenty of live pigeons to tide them over. The club meets on Wednesday mornings and does their best not to hit pedestrians.
Pat enjoys the new job, but is thrown off a little a bit by some odd accounting in the business. He finds a large account labeled "G&A" with all payments going directly to a single company called "Unscrupulous." He approaches Goofy (his boss) about it, and Goofy says, "If you value your job, stop asking questions." Pat has been very happy with his pina colada's, so he decides to ignore the whole thing.
Goofy has really enjoyed having Pat on the team, and they want to surprise him next week for his birthday. Goofy knows that people often think that he is "mobster" with his Italian accent, his line of work, and his strong demeanor, but he really wants to show his employees that he is a caring business man and boss. His company does not have any ulterior motives, and everything is above board. He plans an exciting day for Pat and the company.
The next week, one day Pat wakes up, and he is thinking about the conversation he had with Goofy, he is very concerned about "Unscrupulous" and feels that maybe his boss is mixed up in bad business. He remembers back to Professor Tharp's business law class and the RICO act, he remembers that if he is apart of a criminal enterprise, he could be guilty of all their wrongdoings. He also thinks he remembers that double jeopardy says that if his boss is tried and convicted, he can't be tried and convicted as well. As it is said "one crime, one criminal." He makes up his mind to turn in Goofy.
In what seems to be mind reading, Goofy appears on his front lawn. He says, "Get out here you old so-and-so, I need to have a word with you!" Pat instantly is worried, he gathers his courage, and walks out onto the front lawn. Pam hears Goofy as well, and she decides to take things into her own hands. She grabs her custom BenelliTM Shotgun and takes a position looking out of the second story window. Pat approaches Goofy, and with no warning, punches him in the face, breaking his jaw. Goofy slumps down, but before anyone can react, three hooded figures jump out of a nearby van and grab Pat, tying him up and tossing him in the vehicle. Pam panics, runs outside and says "Goofy, I don't have a lot, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my husband go now, that'll be the end of it. Otherwise, you die." Goofy tries to plead with her, but his jaw is broken and he can't speak. She ties him up inside the house.
One hour later, the van with Pat arrives at it's destination, a dock outside of Manhattan. As the bag over his head is removed, he starts to notice a very familiar logo. First a circle, then two more circles at roughly 10 and 2 o'clock. It is a Disney logo, and then he sees the DisneyTM cruise ship. Everyone from the office appears and yells, "Surprise!" They explain that Goofy had arranged for everyone to go on a DisneyTM day cruise around Manhattan for Pat's birthday.
Pat panics, he says he needs to make a phone call. He calls Pam, and she says "Too late Pat, come help me sort this out."
Here are some questions to think about, these are not exhaustive, but could get you started:
- Were any crimes committed? If so, what are the elements of those crimes? Do the facts lead you to believe that offending party would be guilty?
- Were any intentional torts committed? If so, what are the elements of those torts? Do the facts lead you to believe that offending party would be guilty?
- Do you believe any party could be deemed guilty of negligence? Do you see any areas where you might be concerned there could be future negligence?
- Do you see any faulty reasoning with any of the people in the case? Is there anywhere where someone got something wrong?