OH Bar flashcards
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32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Complete diversity
- A federal court may hear a state-law claim under diversity jurisdiction only when no plaintiff shares citizenship with any defendant; minimal diversity is insufficient.
- Erie doctrine
- Federal courts sitting in diversity apply state substantive law and federal procedural law; the outcome-determination test asks whether ignoring state law would lead to forum shopping or inequitable administration.
- Claim preclusion
- A final judgment on the merits bars a later suit between the same parties or their privies on the same claim, including claims that could have been raised.
- Standing elements
- A plaintiff must show injury in fact, causation traceable to the defendant, and redressability by a favorable court decision; third-party rights generally cannot be asserted.
- Strict scrutiny
- A law survives only if it is necessary to achieve a compelling governmental interest and narrowly tailored; applies to race, national origin, and fundamental rights.
- Dormant Commerce Clause
- States may not discriminate against interstate commerce or impose undue burdens on it absent a legitimate local purpose that cannot be served by nondiscriminatory means.
- Consideration
- A bargained-for exchange of legal value that induces the return promise or performance; past consideration and moral obligation generally do not qualify.
- Perfect tender rule
- Under UCC Article 2, a buyer may reject goods that fail in any respect to conform to the contract, unless the seller cures within the contract time.
- Liquidated damages
- An agreed sum enforceable if damages were difficult to estimate at formation and the amount is a reasonable forecast of probable loss, not a penalty.
- Felony murder
- An unintended killing during the commission of an inherently dangerous felony is murder; the merger doctrine bars the underlying felony from also serving as the predicate.
- Miranda custody
- Warnings are required before custodial interrogation; custody exists when a reasonable person would not feel free to leave, and interrogation includes words likely to elicit incriminating responses.
- Terry stop
- A brief detention based on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, supported by specific and articulable facts, permitting a limited pat-down for weapons.
- Hearsay definition
- An out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted; nonhearsay uses include effect on the listener and legally operative language.
- Excited utterance
- A statement relating to a startling event made while the declarant was under the stress of excitement caused by the event, admissible despite the declarant's absence.
- Character evidence ban
- Evidence of a person's character is inadmissible to prove conduct in conformity therewith, subject to exceptions for the accused, victims, and character in issue.
- Recording acts
- Race, notice, and race-notice statutes determine priority between successive purchasers; a bona fide purchaser without notice prevails under notice and race-notice schemes.
- Adverse possession
- Title may be acquired through actual, open and notorious, exclusive, continuous, and hostile possession for the statutory period, without the owner's permission.
- Rule Against Perpetuities
- No interest is valid unless it must vest, if at all, no later than 21 years after a life in being at the creation of the interest.
- Res ipsa loquitur
- A doctrine permitting an inference of negligence when the accident is of a type that ordinarily does not occur without negligence and the instrumentality was in the defendant's control.
- Proximate cause
- A cause that produces a foreseeable result; unforeseeable intervening causes supersede, and the defendant takes the plaintiff as found under the eggshell rule.
- New York Times malice
- A public official or figure must prove the defamatory statement was made with knowledge of its falsity or reckless disregard for the truth to recover.
- Business judgment rule
- A presumption that directors acted in good faith, on an informed basis, and in the corporation's best interests; it is rebuttable by showing breach of duty.
- Piercing the corporate veil
- Courts may impose personal liability where the corporate form was abused, such as commingling assets or undercapitalization, and injustice or fraud results.
- Respondeat superior
- A principal is liable for torts committed by an agent acting within the scope of employment, including conduct incidental to authorized duties.
- Specific performance
- An equitable remedy compelling contract performance when damages are inadequate, typically for land or unique goods, and the contract terms are definite and fair.
- Punitive damages limits
- Due process permits punitive damages that are not grossly excessive, generally within a single-digit ratio to compensatory damages, considering reprehensibility and comparable penalties.
- Injunction elements
- A permanent injunction requires irreparable harm, inadequacy of legal remedies, a balance of hardships favoring the plaintiff, and no harm to the public interest.
- MPT closed universe
- The Multistate Performance Test requires candidates to rely only on the provided library and file, applying the supplied authorities to the given facts.
- MPT task memo
- The memorandum identifies the deliverable, the audience, and the specific legal questions; it should be read first to frame extraction from the library and file.
- MBE format
- The Multistate Bar Examination has 200 scored multiple-choice questions across seven subjects, each with one best answer, administered in two sessions.
- Ohio comparative negligence
- Ohio bars recovery if the plaintiff's fault exceeds 50 percent; damages are reduced by the plaintiff's percentage of fault under R.C. 2315.33.
- Ohio statute of limitations
- Personal injury claims must be filed within two years under R.C. 2305.10; written contracts have eight years and oral contracts six years.