KY Bar cheat sheet

Agency: a principal is bound by an agent's act if the agent had actual authority (express or implied) or apparent authority created by the principal's manifestations to a third party; undisclosed principals are bound but the agent is also personally liable.

Partnership: absent an agreement, profits and losses are shared equally; each partner has equal management rights, and the partnership is liable for a partner's torts committed in the ordinary course of business.

Limited partnership: a limited partner who takes part in control of the business may become liable to third parties who reasonably believed the limited partner was a general partner; safe harbors include being a contractor, employee, or voting on certain major matters.

LLC: members are not personally liable for LLC debts; a member's interest is assignable but the assignee receives only economic rights, not management or voting rights, unless admitted as a member.

Corporate formation: de jure corporation exists upon substantial compliance with the incorporation statute; de facto corporation requires a good-faith attempt to comply, actual exercise of corporate privileges, and good faith in claiming corporate status.

Piercing the corporate veil requires a showing that the corporation is a mere instrumentality or alter ego and that honoring the entity would sanction fraud or promote injustice; undercapitalization alone is insufficient in most jurisdictions.

Board of directors manages the corporation; shareholders generally do not manage. Directors owe duties of care and loyalty. The business judgment rule presumes informed, good-faith decisions by disinterested directors.

A director or officer with a conflict must disclose material facts and obtain approval from disinterested directors, shareholders, or show fairness. A controlling shareholder owes fiduciary duties to minority shareholders.

Merger: after a statutory merger, the surviving corporation succeeds to all rights and liabilities of the constituent corporations; dissenting shareholders may have appraisal rights in specified transactions.

Subject-matter jurisdiction: federal courts have federal question jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and diversity jurisdiction under § 1332, which requires complete diversity and an amount in controversy exceeding $75,000 exclusive of interest and costs.

Personal jurisdiction: general jurisdiction requires systematic and continuous contacts so that the defendant is essentially at home; specific jurisdiction requires minimum contacts plus fair play and substantial justice, and the claim must arise from or relate to those contacts.

Venue: proper in a district where any defendant resides (if all defendants reside in the same state), where a substantial part of the events occurred, or where the defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction if no other district is proper.

Removal: a defendant may remove a case from state to federal court within 30 days of service of the initial pleading; in diversity cases, no defendant may be a citizen of the forum state, and removal is barred more than one year after commencement if based on diversity.

Pleading: a complaint must contain a short and plain statement of the claim showing entitlement to relief; under Twombly and Iqbal, it must allege plausible facts, not mere legal conclusions.

Summary judgment is proper when there is no genuine dispute of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law; the court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmovant.

Preclusion: claim preclusion bars a later suit on the same claim between the same parties or their privies; issue preclusion bars relitigation of an issue actually litigated and determined, and necessary to the judgment.

Discovery: parties must disclose initial information under Rule 26(a); work product is protected, and attorney-client communications are privileged. Sanctions under Rule 37 may include dismissal or default for willful failure to comply.

Domicile: a person acquires domicile by physical presence plus intent to remain indefinitely; a domicile is retained until a new one is established. Corporations are domiciled where incorporated and where they have their principal place of business.

Choice of law: the First Restatement uses the law of the place of the wrong for torts and the place of contracting or performance for contracts; the Second Restatement uses the most significant relationship test.

Marriage validity: a marriage valid where celebrated is generally valid elsewhere, except for polygamy, incest, or strong public policy. The place of celebration governs formalities; the domicile at the time of marriage governs capacity in some jurisdictions.

Full faith and credit: Article IV, § 1 requires states to recognize the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of other states. Final judgments on the merits must be recognized if the rendering court had jurisdiction.

Recognition of judgments: a judgment is not entitled to full faith and credit if the rendering court lacked personal or subject-matter jurisdiction; jurisdictional determinations by the rendering court are subject to collateral attack in some circumstances.

Choice-of-law clauses in contracts are generally enforced unless contrary to a fundamental policy of a state with a materially greater interest.

Renvoi: under the traditional approach, a court applies the whole law of the foreign jurisdiction, including its choice-of-law rules; under the modern approach, the court applies only the internal law.

Public policy exception: a court may refuse to apply foreign law that violates a fundamental public policy of the forum, but the exception should be invoked only for clear and serious violations.

Judicial review: Marbury v. Madison established that courts may review the constitutionality of legislative and executive acts. Standing requires injury in fact, causation, and redressability; ripeness and mootness are justiciability doctrines.

State action: the Fourteenth Amendment applies to state action, not private conduct. Private conduct may be treated as state action when there is significant state involvement or a public function.

Equal protection: strict scrutiny applies to race, national origin, and fundamental rights; intermediate scrutiny to sex and legitimacy; rational basis to all other classifications.

Due process: procedural due process requires notice and an opportunity to be heard; substantive due process protects fundamental rights, including privacy, marriage, and family.

First Amendment: content-based restrictions on speech are subject to strict scrutiny; content-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions must be narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest and leave open alternative channels.

Establishment Clause: the Lemon test (secular purpose, primary effect neither advancing nor inhibiting religion, no excessive entanglement) has been supplemented by historical practices and understandings.

Commerce Clause: Congress may regulate the channels and instrumentalities of interstate commerce, persons or things in interstate commerce, and activities that substantially affect interstate commerce.

Dormant Commerce Clause: state laws that discriminate against interstate commerce are invalid unless the state can demonstrate a legitimate local purpose that cannot be served by reasonable nondiscriminatory alternatives.

Second Amendment and other rights: the Bill of Rights applies to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (incorporation doctrine).

Formation: a contract requires mutual assent (offer and acceptance), consideration, and no valid defense. An offer must be definite enough to be enforceable; acceptance must be a mirror image unless the UCC or an option contract applies.

Consideration: bargained-for exchange; past consideration is not sufficient; a promise to perform an existing legal duty is not consideration; a modification of a UCC contract needs no consideration but must be in good faith.

Statute of Frauds: writing required for marriage, year, land, executor, surety, and UCC sale of goods over $500. The writing must be signed by the party to be charged and state the essential terms.

Parol evidence rule: a fully integrated writing may not be contradicted or supplemented by prior or contemporaneous agreements; evidence is admissible to explain ambiguity, show fraud, or establish a condition precedent.

UCC sale of goods: Article 2 applies to transactions in goods; merchants are held to a higher standard; the perfect tender rule allows rejection of nonconforming goods unless the seller cures within the contract time.

Anticipatory repudiation: a clear and unequivocal refusal to perform before the time of performance allows the nonbreaching party to treat the contract as breached and sue immediately.

Remedies: expectation damages put the plaintiff in the position as if the contract had been performed; reliance and restitution are alternatives. Mitigation and foreseeability (Hadley v. Baxendale) limit damages.

Excuse: impracticability requires an unforeseen event that makes performance impracticable; frustration of purpose requires the principal purpose to be substantially frustrated by an event whose nonoccurrence was a basic assumption.

Mens rea: common-law mental states are purposely, knowingly, recklessly, and negligently. Specific intent crimes include burglary, larceny, embezzlement, and assault; malice crimes include murder and arson.

Homicide: common-law murder is unlawful killing with malice aforethought (intent to kill, intent to cause serious bodily harm, reckless indifference, or felony murder). Manslaughter is killing without malice, including heat of passion and criminal negligence.

Felony murder: a killing during the commission of a felony is murder; the felony must be independent of the killing, and the death must be a foreseeable result. The agency theory limits liability to killings by the felon or accomplice.

Accomplice liability: an accomplice is liable for the crimes he aids or encourages and for foreseeable crimes committed in the course of the criminal conduct. Mere knowledge or presence is insufficient without assistance.

Attempt: requires the specific intent to commit the crime and a substantial step beyond mere preparation. Legal impossibility is a defense; factual impossibility is not.

Fourth Amendment: searches and seizures require a warrant supported by probable cause, subject to exceptions including search incident to arrest, consent, plain view, automobile, and exigent circumstances.

Exclusionary rule: evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment is generally excluded; exceptions include good faith, inevitable discovery, and attenuation. Miranda warnings are required for custodial interrogation.

Fifth and Sixth Amendments: the privilege against self-incrimination applies to testimonial compulsion; the Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches at the initiation of formal proceedings, and the right to a jury trial applies to serious offenses.

Sentencing and double jeopardy: the Double Jeopardy Clause bars retrial after acquittal or conviction and bars multiple punishments for the same offense, but does not bar prosecution by separate sovereigns.

Relevance: evidence is relevant if it has any tendency to make a fact of consequence more or less probable. Relevant evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice, confusion, or waste of time.

Character evidence: generally inadmissible to prove conduct in conformity, but admissible for other purposes such as motive, intent, identity, or absence of mistake. In criminal cases, the accused may offer evidence of a pertinent trait, and the prosecution may rebut.

Hearsay: an out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. Nonhearsay includes prior consistent statements, prior inconsistent statements under oath, and statements by opposing parties.

Hearsay exceptions: present sense impression, excited utterance, statements for medical diagnosis, recorded recollection, business records, public records, ancient documents, and learned treatises.

Confrontation Clause: testimonial hearsay is admissible only if the declarant is unavailable and the defendant had a prior opportunity to cross-examine; nontestimonial statements are governed by hearsay rules.

Privileges: attorney-client, physician-patient, psychotherapist-patient, spousal, and clergy privileges protect confidential communications. The attorney-client privilege survives the client's death and covers agents.

Impeachment: a witness may be impeached by prior inconsistent statements, bias, conviction of a crime involving dishonesty, and evidence of untruthfulness. Extrinsic evidence of a prior inconsistent statement requires an opportunity to explain.

Best evidence rule: an original writing, recording, or photograph is required to prove its content unless the original is unavailable or the content is collateral.

Burden of proof: the proponent of evidence generally bears the burden of establishing authenticity and admissibility; in criminal cases, the prosecution must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Marriage: a valid marriage requires capacity (age, no prior undissolved marriage, no close blood relation) and formalities (license, ceremony, solemnization). Common-law marriage requires cohabitation and holding out as married.

Divorce: a court may grant a divorce only if it has jurisdiction over the marriage; grounds include fault and no-fault. Property division follows equitable distribution in most states, not necessarily equal division.

Child custody: the best interests of the child standard governs; factors include stability, parental fitness, and the child's preference. Joint custody requires cooperation and communication between parents.

Child support: guidelines based on income shares or percentage of income; modification requires a substantial change in circumstances. Support continues until emancipation, which may occur at majority, marriage, or military service.

Paternity: a child born during a marriage is presumed legitimate; the presumption may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence, including genetic testing.

Adoption: requires termination of parental rights, consent of the biological parents, and a home study. The best interests of the child standard applies.

Domestic violence: protective orders may be issued ex parte and after a hearing; violations may be criminal contempt or a separate offense.

Premarital agreements: enforceable if in writing, voluntarily executed, and not unconscionable; full disclosure of assets is generally required.

Estates: fee simple absolute is the largest estate; fee tail, life estate, and leasehold estates are lesser. A life tenant must not commit waste and must preserve the property for remaindermen.

Concurrent ownership: tenancy in common has no right of survivorship; joint tenancy requires the four unities (time, title, interest, possession) and includes survivorship; tenancy by the entirety requires a valid marriage.

Landlord-tenant: a lease is a conveyance and a contract. The implied warranty of habitability requires the landlord to maintain the premises; retaliatory eviction is prohibited.

Easements: an easement appurtenant benefits a dominant estate; an easement in gross benefits a person. Easements may be created by express grant, implication, necessity, or prescription.

Covenants and equitable servitudes: a covenant runs with the land if there is intent, notice, touch and concern, and horizontal and vertical privity. Equitable servitudes require intent, notice, and touch and concern.

Recording: a bona fide purchaser for value without notice prevails over a prior unrecorded interest. Race-notice statutes require the subsequent purchaser to record first and take without notice.

Zoning: a nonconforming use may continue but may not be expanded; variances require undue hardship or practical difficulty. Spot zoning is invalid if it is arbitrary and unreasonable.

Mortgages: a mortgage is a security interest in real property. Foreclosure requires notice and a sale; junior lienholders may be joined. The purchaser at foreclosure takes subject to prior liens.

Intentional torts: battery requires harmful or offensive contact; assault requires apprehension of imminent contact; false imprisonment requires confinement without consent; trespass requires physical invasion of land.

Negligence: duty, breach, causation (actual and proximate), and damages. The standard of care is a reasonably prudent person; professionals are held to a professional standard; children to a child of similar age and intelligence.

Premises liability: trespassers are owed a duty to refrain from willful and wanton injury; licensees are owed a duty to warn of known dangers; invitees are owed a duty to inspect and make safe.

Strict liability: applies to abnormally dangerous activities and defective products. Product liability theories include negligence, strict liability, and breach of warranty.

Defamation: requires a false statement of fact, publication, fault, and damages. Public figures must prove actual malice; private plaintiffs need at least negligence for matters of public concern.

Privacy torts: appropriation, intrusion, public disclosure of private facts, and false light. Each requires a reasonable expectation of privacy or commercial use.

Damages: compensatory damages include economic and noneconomic losses; punitive damages require willful, wanton, or malicious conduct. Comparative and contributory negligence reduce or bar recovery.

Immunities: governmental immunity may bar claims for discretionary acts; charitable immunity is limited; intra-family immunity is largely abolished.

Intestate succession: property passes to heirs under the statute of descent and distribution; a surviving spouse and children take in specified shares. A child born out of wedlock may inherit from the mother and from the father if paternity is established.

Wills: a valid will requires testamentary capacity, intent, and formalities (writing, signature, and witnesses). Holographic wills are valid in some states if material provisions are in the testator's handwriting.

Revocation: a will may be revoked by a subsequent will, physical act, or operation of law. Divorce may revoke provisions for the former spouse by statute.

Trusts: a valid trust requires a settlor, trustee, beneficiary, and trust property. A charitable trust must have a charitable purpose and indefinite beneficiaries.

Trustee duties: loyalty, care, impartiality, and accounting. A trustee may not self-deal; investments must be prudent.

Future interests: remainder, reversion, possibility of reverter, and right of entry. The Rule Against Perpetuities invalidates interests that may vest too remotely; the common-law period is lives in being plus 21 years.

Probate: a will must be probated in the county where the decedent was domiciled. A personal representative administers the estate, pays debts, and distributes assets.

Nonprobate transfers: joint tenancy, life insurance, payable-on-death accounts, and trusts pass outside probate and are not governed by the will.

Kentucky courts: Circuit Court has general jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters; District Court has limited jurisdiction over small claims, misdemeanors, and juvenile matters.

Civil procedure: the Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure govern pleading, discovery, and trial. A complaint must state a claim for relief; a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim may be granted if no relief is possible.

Statute of limitations: Kentucky has a one-year statute for personal injury and a five-year statute for written contracts; the discovery rule may delay accrual in latent injury cases.

Venue: proper in the county where the defendant resides or where the cause of action arose. A motion to transfer may be granted for convenience or to avoid prejudice.

Appeals: the Kentucky Court of Appeals hears appeals from Circuit Court; the Kentucky Supreme Court may grant discretionary review. Notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of the final judgment.

Criminal procedure: a defendant has the right to counsel, a jury trial, and confrontation. Bail is governed by the Kentucky Constitution and rules; pretrial release may be conditioned on safety.

Evidence: the Kentucky Rules of Evidence largely track the Federal Rules; hearsay exceptions and privileges apply. Expert testimony must be reliable and relevant.

Domestic relations: dissolution of marriage requires a finding of irretrievable breakdown; property division follows Kentucky statutes, and maintenance is based on need and ability to pay.