Legal Research and Writing Practice Assignment
Examine each of the following problems to determine the terms or phrases that can be used to locate legal research materials.
- Paul Mercer worked for Zimcom Enterprises, Inc. for 27 years. Mercer was recently fired. The Director of Human Resources told Mr. Mercer he was terminated due to poor performance. Mr. Mercer believes, however, that he was fired due to his age (he is 59 years old). He had a few minor health issues and had missed three days of work prior to his dismissal (but he had plenty of sick leave, which he used when he missed the three days of work). Mr. Mercer was promoted eight times during his employment; most recently he was promoted in April 2018. Was Mr. Mercer the victim of age discrimination?
- Ted Preston owns a ranch in St. Lucie County. He alleges that his neighbor’s cattle are wandering onto his property (there is a small area in which the fence has fallen down). The neighbor asserts that the area where his cattle are his property. Preston wishes to sue the neighbor for damages and to seek an injunction regarding the title issue. Will he be successful?
- In 2015 Jim Mellon hired ABC Construction, Inc. to add a master bedroom and bathroom to his house. A few months ago Mr. Mellon noticed that there were cracks in the walls and ceiling. He also noticed that the floor appeared to be damp when it rained or was humid outside. Mellon consulted with another construction company about the problems and was told that there were serious structural flaws in the foundation of the addition. Additionally, there was water leaking under the tile floor of the bathroom (of the addition). Mr. Mellon immediately contacted ABC Construction and demanded that the problems be repaired. ABC said someone “would look into it, but too much time had passed.” What remedies are available to Mr. Mellon?
- Kelly Ryan, an attorney, represented Kim James in a divorce action. After the case was concluded, Ms. James owed Ms. Ryan $2,700.00 in attorneys’ fees. James recently died in a car accident. Ms. Ryan would like to collect her attorneys’ fees from Ms. James’s estate. Can Ms. Ryan collect attorneys’ fees from a deceased client’s estate?