Reference no: EM133673190
Assignment:
After meeting your sister's fiancé, Brian Green, you suspect that he is not all he pretends to be. You ask a friend of yours, who is a private investigator, to conduct a background check on him. You discover, among other things, that your prospective brother-in-law had an affair with a woman who was married to a prominent businessman, John Rockefeller. When John discovered their relationship and terminated their affair, Brian sought revenge. First he went to the attorney general's office and tried to convince an attorney to prosecute John for price fixing, even though he was aware that such claims were utterly false.
In a further act of petulance, he sent John materials advertising a get-rich-quick scheme that Brian knew was bogus and included several fake endorsements by well-known people, in an effort to capture John's interest. Not being one to forgive and forget, Brian is currently trying to purchase property next to John's business. He plans to open a bookstore that features pornographic materials. Because John operates a religious bookstore, he is confident that this will, at the very least, have a detrimental effect on John's business and, more likely, he hopes, contribute to its demise. From the scenario above, answer the following questions.
1. What torts has Brian committed? Has he committed interference with business relations, misrepresentation, or misuse of legal process? Apply the elements of each tort to this scenario to determine if Brian might be liable.
2. Does the opening of a pornographic bookstore next to a religious bookstore constitute a nuisance? If so, would it be a private or public nuisance? What remedy would the plaintiff in this case probably seek?
3. Suppose Brian is an elder in a large local church and he begins telling members of the congregation that John sells certain "New Age" books that Brian knows the members of the congregation consider works of the "devil." Does John have a cause of action against Brian if John's business begins to fall off (assuming he does not in fact sell these books)?
4. What will John have to prove if he wants to sue Brian because of his statements regarding John's alleged price-fixing?
5. Suppose instead that Brian sues John for breach of contract in connection with the get-rich-quick scheme. Assume that Brian's claims are somewhat legitimate as John fell for the scheme and signed an agreement, but failed to send payment as promised. In the course of this suit, Brian inundates John with discovery requests for which he has no real need. On what basis might John have a cause of action against Brian?