Reference no: EM132270773

You and your three best friends are avid environmentalists. You guys started any number of clubs in school to encourage recycling, encourage the college to change out machinery that is not environmentally friendly and even started a ride share program to decrease the college’s carbon footprint.

After the most recent election, President Pmurt, was elected. President Pmurt’s first official act as President was to clear off the Red House’s website addressing any mention of Global Warming. Indeed, President Pmurt is so anti-environment protection, that he has rolled back many of the existing environmental laws.

You and your friends are outraged. But what can a few college students do?

You guys want to start a business to provide education on the environment protections that are important. We only have one world right? You eventually plan to expand the company as you guys create new environmentally sound ways to process plastic, batteries from electronics and Styrofoam to name a few.

You guys decide that after graduation, everyone will move back home, which means you will be working on this new endeavor from different states. Two from New York, one from New Jersey and the last from Hawaii. Thank goodness for the internet!

Since the registration fees for incorporation are cheaper in Hawaii, the group decides to incorporate there. The three individuals left in the North East enter into a lease for a space before the incorporation has taken place.

After a year, your friend in Hawaii has decided to take a job teaching surfing and quit the corporation. You and your associates are all very sad, but two years after the incorporation, you partner with a scientist who has a new product that contains enzymes that can take waste plastic and break it down to a putty that can be resold to the companies that utilize plastic in their products.

Your company is about to change the world!

A beta-customer who has been using the enzyme has found a very unwelcome byproduct whereby the putty, if left in temperatures over 80 degrees, will spontaneously combust. Since you guys figured that it was a possibility, you only used beta-testers that were in Alaska. But you did not tell anyone of this potential temperature issue—but you figured that when the high temperature of Alaska is generally 60 degrees—you should not have any issues. Your beta-tester not knowing of this temperature requirement and used the composting box as a table to hold their thanksgiving turkey—which made the temperature inside the box go above 80 degrees. Poor beta-tester’s family and friends were sitting around the table and there were varying levels of injuries around the table.  

Question

As a board member—is there a legal rule that you can use to defend yourself? What evidence would you provide to defend yourself?