Facts: Television producers working for Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. (ABC) (defendant) received a tip that Food Lion,...

 

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Facts: Television producers working for Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. (ABC) (defendant) received a tip that Food Lion, Inc. (Food Lion) (plaintiff) grocery stores were mishandling meats. Lynne Dale and Susan Barnett (defendants) were ABC reporters. Dale and Barnett believed they could investigate the meat-mishandling claims by working inside a Food Lion location. Dale and Barnett fabricated resumes, references, and addresses to secure jobs in the deli and meat departments at Food Lions in South Carolina and North Carolina. While working at the Food Lions, Dale and Barnett secretly videotaped Food Lion employees in the meat department and collected 45 hours of footage. ABC aired the video footage, which showed Food Lion employees repackaging expired fish and grinding expired ground beef with fresh ground beef. Food Lion sued ABC and the reporters. Food Lion alleged that the reporters breached their duty of loyalty to Food Lion by investigating Food Lion while acting as Food Lion employees. At trial, the jury found Dale and Barnett liable for breach of the duty of loyalty. After trial, ABC, Dale and Barnett moved for judgment as a matter of law, and the motion was denied. ABC, Dale, and Barnett appealed. Summary: The case involved a grocery chain suing a news agency for fraud, breach of the duty of loyalty, trespass, and unfair trade practices. The grocery chain argued that the news agency used illegal newsgathering methods to obtain the information for the report. The case focused on the methods used to obtain the video footage, rather than the broadcast itself. The grocery chain alleged that the reporters breached their duty of loyalty to Food Lion by investigating Food Lion while acting as Food Lion employees. At trial, the jury found Dale and Barnett liable for breach of the duty of loyalty. Questions: 1. Define the duty of loyalty. (2 points) 2. In this case, who is the agent? (3 points) 3. In this case, who is the principal? (3 points) 4. How did the news reporters breach the duty of loyalty? (4 points) 5. In your opinion, as employees, what should the reporters have done instead to be able to publish the grocery store's mishandling of meat? (4 points) 6. In your opinion, what is another way the reporters could have approached the story of the mishandling of meat rather than becoming employees? (4 points) Facts: Television producers working for Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. (ABC) (defendant) received a tip that Food Lion, Inc. (Food Lion) (plaintiff) grocery stores were mishandling meats. Lynne Dale and Susan Barnett (defendants) were ABC reporters. Dale and Barnett believed they could investigate the meat-mishandling claims by working inside a Food Lion location. Dale and Barnett fabricated resumes, references, and addresses to secure jobs in the deli and meat departments at Food Lions in South Carolina and North Carolina. While working at the Food Lions, Dale and Barnett secretly videotaped Food Lion employees in the meat department and collected 45 hours of footage. ABC aired the video footage, which showed Food Lion employees repackaging expired fish and grinding expired ground beef with fresh ground beef. Food Lion sued ABC and the reporters. Food Lion alleged that the reporters breached their duty of loyalty to Food Lion by investigating Food Lion while acting as Food Lion employees. At trial, the jury found Dale and Barnett liable for breach of the duty of loyalty. After trial, ABC, Dale and Barnett moved for judgment as a matter of law, and the motion was denied. ABC, Dale, and Barnett appealed. Summary: The case involved a grocery chain suing a news agency for fraud, breach of the duty of loyalty, trespass, and unfair trade practices. The grocery chain argued that the news agency used illegal newsgathering methods to obtain the information for the report. The case focused on the methods used to obtain the video footage, rather than the broadcast itself. The grocery chain alleged that the reporters breached their duty of loyalty to Food Lion by investigating Food Lion while acting as Food Lion employees. At trial, the jury found Dale and Barnett liable for breach of the duty of loyalty. Questions: 1. Define the duty of loyalty. (2 points) 2. In this case, who is the agent? (3 points) 3. In this case, who is the principal? (3 points) 4. How did the news reporters breach the duty of loyalty? (4 points) 5. In your opinion, as employees, what should the reporters have done instead to be able to publish the grocery store's mishandling of meat? (4 points) 6. In your opinion, what is another way the reporters could have approached the story of the mishandling of meat rather than becoming employees? (4 points)

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

1 Define the duty of loyalty The duty of loyalty is a legal obligation that requires agents to act in the best interests of their principals and to av... View the full answer