BUS 161: Business Law and the Legal Environment II

Citrus College Course Outline of Record

Citrus College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Fall 2021
Credits: 3
Total Contact Hours: 54
Lecture Hours : 54
Lab Hours: 0
Hours Arranged: 0
Outside of Class Hours: 108
Transferable to CSU: Yes
Transferable to UC: Yes - Approved
Grading Method: Standard Letter, Pass/No Pass

Catalog Course Description

A study of law, with an emphasis on the law's relationship to business. Topics covered include agency, employment law, consumer law, environmental law, sole proprietorships, franchises, partnerships, corporations, insurance, real and personal property, landlord-tenant law, wills and trusts, elder law, creditors' rights and remedies, secured transactions, bankruptcy law, negotiable instruments, antitrust law, professional liability, and international law. 54 lecture hours.

Course Objectives

  • outline the environmental forces that affect the business organization
  • describe the methods of dissolution and winding up a partnership
  • determine the differences, advantages and disadvantages of corporation form as contrasted with a partnership, single proprietorship or limited partnership
  • enumerate the steps and procedures in corporate formation
  • distinguish between common, preferred, participating, non-participating, cumulative, and non-cumulative stock holding
  • list the rights of stockholders
  • list the rights, duties, and responsibilities of the bailor, and the bailee
  • define real property
  • distinguish between personal property, real property, leaseholds, easements, and fixtures
  • explain the characteristics of co-ownership of property
  • distinguish between the various forms of and liability issues relating to negotiable instruments
  • outline the basic constitutional rights of the business organization
  • explain the effects of antitrust laws
  • identify and explain laws governing agency and employment
  • explain the requirements of a valid will
  • explain the functions of a trust
  • identify issues relating to creditors' rights, secured transactions, and the bankruptcy laws
  • identify a security interest
  • distinguish the effect of the common law system and civil law system upon trade regulation
  • distinguish between the forms of multinational enterprises
  • recognize the impact international trade will have on our national trade balance with foreign nations
  • understand the common issues that arise under consumer laws
  • explain the relationship between business and administrative law
  • understand and explain the common issues that arise under the insurance laws.
  • exercise various legal applications in the area of "critical thinking" by requiring such outcomes as the ability to independently analyze, synthesize, explain, assess, anticipate and/or define problems, formulate and assess solutions, and apply principles to new situations, etc.
  • outline the factors in organizational and professional liability and accountability
  • identify the significant sections of the securities laws
  • identify the advantages and disadvantages of the various types of business organizations
  • compare and differentiate between domestic and international trade practices
  • define partnership
  • identify the duties of the partners to each other and to third persons

Major Course Content

  1. Negotiable Instruments
    1. The function and creation of negotiable instruments
    2. Transferability and holder in due course
    3. Liability, defenses, and discharge
    4. Banking in the Digital Age 
  2. Creditors' Rights and Bankruptcy
    1. Creditors' rights and remedies
    2. Secured transactions
    3. Bankruptcy law
  3. Agency and Employment
    1. Agency formation and duties 
    2. Liability to third parties and termination
    3. Employment, immigration, and labor law 
    4. Employment discrimination
  4. Business Organizations
    1. Sole proprietorships, small businesses, and franchises
    2. All forms of partnerships 
    3. Limited liability companies and special business forms
    4. Corporations - formation and financing
    5. Corporations - directors, officers, and shareholders 
    6. Corporations - merger, consolidation, takeovers, and termination 
    7. Corporations - securities law, investor protection, insider trading, and corporate governance
  5. Government Regulation
    1. Administrative law and agencies
    2. Consumer law
    3. Environmental law and protection
    4. Antitrust law
  6. Property and its protection
    1. Personal property and bailments
    2. Real property and landlord-tenant relationships
  7. Special Topics
    1. Insurance
    2. Wills and trusts
    3. Professional liability and accountability
    4. International law

Suggested Reading Other Than Required Textbook

The assigned textbook reading and various written handouts given out during the course of the semester.

Examples of Required Writing Assignments

Written essays and other written projects assigned by the instructor.
EXAMPLE: Submit a one- to two-page essay describing employer obligations under the disability discrimination laws.

Examples of Outside Assignments

Submit a one- to two-page essay describing employer obligations under the disability discrimination laws.

Instruction Type(s)

Lecture, Online Education Lecture