Course Description
This course will build upon the business law foundation provided in the pre-requisite course, BUSN 1320 (Introductory Business Law). The areas of law that will be covered in this course include business organizations (sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations), agency, corporate governance, real property mortgages, secured transactions, bankruptcy and insolvency, personal property, insurance, guarantees, trusts, wills and estates, and family law.
NOTE THAT STUDENTS WHO HAVE TAKEN BUSN 2420 CANNOT TAKE BUSN 3730 FOR FURTHER CREDIT.
Course Content
- Business Organizations
- structure of business organizations – sole proprietorship, partnership, limited partnership, corporation
- features of the various types of business organizations including advantages and disadvantages of each
- Law of Agency
- creation of the agency relationship
- authority of the agent
- duties of the agent and the principal
- liability of the agent and the principal
- termination of the agency relationship
- general nature of a franchise relationship including its advantages and disadvantages
- Corporate Governance
- the role of officers, directors, and shareholders in the corporation
- the fiduciary duty and duty of care required by management
- situations of conflict of interest between directors/officers and the corporation
- competition with the corporation
- taking a corporate opportunity
- transactions with the corporation
- shareholders’ rights and remedies
- liability of directors and officers
- Real Property Mortgages
- nature of real property mortgages
- remedies for default
- Secured Transactions
- nature of a security interest
- creation of a security interest
- registration of a security interest and the British Columbia Personal Property Security Act
- determination of priority of a security interest
- enforcement of a security interest
- Bankruptcy Law
- the role of bankruptcy and insolvency in business
- the bankruptcy process under the federal Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act
- filing for bankruptcy
- bankruptcy by assignment
- bankruptcy by petition
- creditor rights in a bankruptcy proceeding
- proposals in bankruptcy
- Law of Personal Property
- acquisition and loss of rights
- property insurance
- business insurance
- Law of Trusts
- general nature of a trust
- relationship of trustee and beneficiary
- inter vivos trusts
- testamentary trusts
- Family Law
- marriage
- common-law relationships
- separation and divorce
- child support
- spousal/common-law/partner support
- Wills and Estates
- purpose of a will
- types of wills
- duties of executor
- probate
- intestacy
- Power of Attorney
- purpose of a POA
- obligations of the Attorney
- risks associated with POAs
- attributes
- alternatives to POAs
- living wills
Learning Activities
Lectures, videos, analysis of legal issues, discussion of legal cases, case assignments, and group activities
Means of Assessment
| Term tests (2-3) |
55-65%* |
| Class participation and/or assignments and/or quizzes |
5-10% |
| Final examination |
25-35% |
| Total |
100% |
*No one examination may be worth more than 40%
Learning Outcomes
After completing this course, successful students will be able to:
- distinguish between the main forms of business organizations;
- identify the important legal aspects pertaining to corporate governance including the powers, duties and liabilities of officers and directors and the rights and remedies of shareholders;
- explain the basic features of the law of real estate mortgages, including the remedies available to a mortgagee in the context of default by the mortgagor;
- describe the use of security interests to finance personal property and set out the legal mechanisms available to creditors to enforce their rights;
- recognize the main requirements for a bankruptcy claim and outline the key aspects of a bankruptcy proceeding;
- identify the main legal principles relating to insurance and guarantees;
- recount the key features of the law of wills and estates;
- identify fundamental aspects of family law that are relevant to providing professional financial planning advice, including the economic rights and potential liabilities of parties in the context of marital breakdown;
- demonstrate a strong understanding of the law of trusts;
- recognize the primary legal concepts applicable to powers of attorney;
- apply the legal principles that are contained in this course to real world situations and cases; and
- state the more significant provincial and federal statutes pertaining to the foregoing areas of law.
Textbook Materials
McInnes, Kerr, VanDuzer and Carmody, Managing the Law: The Legal Aspects of Doing Business
Latest Edition, (Toronto: Pearson Education Canada).
(or any alternative textbook approved by the Business Department)
Additional cases and readings decided by the Instructor.