L203 - Business Law Applied Learning Assignment #5 - Agency and Employment Law This assignment is required. Maximum Possible Points: The maximum number of points you may earn for this assignment is 55. You are to work on this assignment alone without assistance from others; however, you may use your text, class lectures and your notes in completing the assignment. Points earned from this assignment will be added to your total point score for the semester. (See the course syllabus for the course grading scale.) Due Date: This is an out-of-class assignment and is to be turned in no later than the beginning of class on the due date. See the Course Schedule for the due date. The Assignment: Read the news articles and the federal regulations that follow. Answer the questions about potential claims. Please note: Your answers are to be marked on the Assignment. Mark clearly to show which answer you have selected. Place your name on the Assignment Sheet. Submit electronically through Canvas. NTSB releases details on Lake Butler crash No charges have been filed against bus driver, although a criminal investigation continues. By ASSOCIATED PRESS Published February 3, 2006 LAKE BUTLER, FLORIDA - The truck driver who plowed into a car at a school bus stop last week killing seven children had been awake for 34 hours, except for a short nap, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday. David Rayburn, the lead NTSB investigator for the Lake Butler crash, said the 31-yearold truck driver, Alvin Wilkerson, was refusing to talk to investigators about the accident. Rayburn and Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Bill Leeper refused to release the name of Wilkerson's attorney. Calls to Crete Carrier Corp., the Lincoln, Nebraska, trucking company Wilkerson drove for, were not immediately returned. Blood tests showed he had not been using alcohol or drugs, Leeper said. Wilkerson was not using his cell phone at the time of the accident. No charges have been filed against Wilkerson, although a criminal investigation continues. Rayburn said driver fatigue was one of the main factors being looked into as the cause of the crash. \"He was driving quite a bit during those 34 hours, probably too much,\" Rayburn said, adding that Wilkerson was making deliveries and loading and unloading his truck. At the time of the crash, Wilkerson was driving a load of bottled water from High Springs to Jacksonville, a trip of about 85 miles. The NTSB, using an identical school bus and truck, determined the school bus should have been visible for about 3,000 feet (more than half a mile) and there was some light skid marks before hitting the car and pushing it into the school bus. The car burst into flames, killing all seven children, and forcing it under the school bus, carrying nine children. The dead victims were all related, five were siblings and two were their cousins. Two children from the bus remain at Shands hospital in Gainesvile in serious condition. When asked when Wilkerson saw the bus, Rayburn said, \"I don't know that he did.\" Rayburn said both the bus driver and the truck driver had valid commercial licenses. He noted that the driver of the car, Nikki Mann, was only 15, and had only a learner's permit. She was talking on her cell phone when the truck hit the back of her car. Sheriff Jerry Whitehead said the crash was not Nikki Mann's fault. \"Accidents happen. This was a tragedy. I don't believe she was at all at fault. The truck plowed into them and they had no chance.\" Rayburn said there were no mechanical problems with any of the vehicles involved and a recorder on the truck did not show the impact. Investigators don't know if a dog riding in Wilkerson's truck played any part in the collision. Rayburn said he investigated a 2004 crash in which a Crete Carrier driver had been driving excessive hours. That incident involved a multi-car pile-up on the Indiana toll road near Chicago resulting in two fatalities, including the Crete driver. NTSB records show Crete has been cited fourteen times in the last six years for driver hour violations. This tiny Union City town has been mourning since the crash last week. On Monday, the five children of Terry and Barbara Mann were buried after a service at the First Christian Church in Lake Butler. They were Nikki, 15, and adopted children Elizabeth, 15, Johnny, 13, Heaven, 3, and 20-month-old Anthony. Their cousins, twins Ashley and Amanda Finn, 13, were buried Wednesday next to the body of William Edwin Scott, 70, the grandfather of the seven children. Scott died of a heart attack shortly after hearing about the accident. Copyright, St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved. WESH 2 Orlando wesh.com Posted: 6:44 pm EST January 26, 2006 Fatal Accident Driver Has Long Legal History Investigators are still piecing together why an 18-wheeler slammed into the back of a car and school bus in Lake Butler yesterday, causing seven children to die. The truck that was involved in the accident was owned and operated by Crete Carrier Corp. It's a trucking company that has a pretty good reputation for safety nationwide. But the driver who was behind the wheel had anything but that. The WESH 2 I-Team discovered that he has a long history of problems with the law. According to driving records obtained by the I-Team, Alvin Wilkerson has been cited for eight traffic violations since 1995, including two speeding tickets and two seat belt violations. He's also been cited twice for driving with a suspended or revoked license and twice more for operating a motor vehicle in an unsafe condition. Wilkerson, age 31, was driving for Crete Carrier Corp., which is headquartered in Lincoln, Neb. Crete employs 5,400 drivers operating 5,100 tractor-trailers around the country. According to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records, Crete carries a satisfactory safety rating. Even so, the I-Team discovered that in the last two years, Crete drivers have been involved in 482 crashes and 20 of those ended in fatalities. In Florida, transportation officials conducted 259 inspections of Crete trucks and drivers in the last two years alone and found 111 violations. Eight of those violations were so serious that inspectors immediately forced the trucks out of service and off the road. WESH 2 News asked Crete officials why they would hire someone with Wilkerson's driving record, but they did not respond. A Florida Highway Patrol investigation of the accident continues. An investigator said they are checking on the truck's systems. He said there was no indication that the truck's brakes failed, but it appears the truck made no effort to stop before it slammed into that car full of children. Seven children, all related, perished in the crash when the car burst into flames. Their bodies were charred beyond recognition. Eight children on the school bus and the driver were transported to Shands HealthCare hospitals. Three of the children are reported in critical condition. Alvin Wilkerson suffered minor injuries and is reportedly at home. Accident Diagram: Bus Stop School Bus Car driven by Nikki Mann Truck driven by Alvin Wilkerson _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (the below are excerpts from federal regulations that apply to motor carrier businesses) 395 Hours of service of drivers 395.3 Maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles. (a) No motor carrier shall permit or require any driver used by it to drive a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle, nor shall any such driver drive a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle: (1) More than 11 cumulative hours following 10 consecutive hours off-duty(.) 395.8 Driver's record of duty status. (1) Every driver who operates a commercial motor vehicle shall record his/her duty status, in duplicate, for each 24-hour period. (2) Every driver who operates a commercial motor vehicle shall record his/her duty status by using an automatic on-board recording device that meets the requirements of (FMCSA rules). (d) The following information must be included on the form: (1) Date; (2) Total miles driving today; (3) Truck or tractor and trailer number; (4) Name of carrier; (5) Driver's signature/certification; (6) 24-hour period starting time (e.g. midnight, 9:00 a.m., noon, 3:00 p.m.); (7) Main office address; (8) Remarks; (9) Name of co-driver; (10) Total hours; (11) Shipping document number(s), or name of shipper and commodity; (e) Failure to comply with (the above sections) or the making of false reports in connection with such duty activities shall make the driver and/or the motor carrier liable to criminal prosecution. L203 - Business Law Applied Learning Assignment #5 ASSIGNMENT SHEET ___________________________________________________ Name Entering my name certifies that this assignment is my original work, completed without help from others, and this submission has been completed in compliance with the Honor Code of the Kelley School of Business - Indianapolis * For purposes of this section of the assignment, assume that the questions refer to potential civil claims arising out of this accident. 1. (2 points) Given the facts in the article and what you have learned in this class, which kind of case is most probable as a result of the accident? a. tort b. contract 2. (4 points) Name the two potential defendants with obvious liability for this accident: a. Defendant 1: b. Defendant 2: 3. (5 points) Name five potential plaintiff(s) who could bring a civil lawsuit against the named defendants resulting from the accident: a. b. c. d. e. 4. Assume the civil case was filed in Florida state court. Describe how the court would have jurisdiction over the parties in the case. (2 points) Personal jurisdiction over each of the plaintiffs named above: (2 points) Personal jurisdiction over Defendant 1 named above: (2 points) Personal jurisdiction over Defendant 2 named above: 5. Assume the driver of the truck is an employee of the trucking company. (2 points) Under agency law, who is primarily liable for the damages caused by this accident? (2 points) Name the legal term for this type of liability. (3 points) Would the trucking company owe a duty to indemnify the employee driver? Explain. 6. Assume the driver of the truck is an independent contractor with the trucking company. (2 points) Under agency law, who is primarily liable for damages caused by this accident? (2 points) Explain why both parties might be liable. (3 points) Would the trucking company owe a duty to indemnify the contractor/driver? Explain. 7. (2 points) Would the truck driver be entitled to Workers' Compensation benefits for injury as a result of this accident? Explain/defend your answer. 8. (2 points) Assume that all of the plaintiffs listed in Question 2 above sue both of the defendants in Question 3 above. Also assume the jury finds that both parties are responsible and awards a large judgment to the plaintiffs. If the court does not specify how much each defendant will pay, which of the following is true? a. The plaintiffs can collect the entire judgment from either defendant. b. Each of the defendants is responsible for half of the judgment. c. The plaintiffs can collect the entire judgment from both defendants thereby getting twice as much. 9. (6 points) In class, we have learned there are two circumstances under which a court will allow a jury to consider whether punitive damages are in order. Identify the circumstances and state whether each would apply to this case and explain your reasoning. First Circumstance: Second Circumstance: Defendant 1: Defendant 1: Defendant 2: Defendant 2: 10. (2 points) Assume the state where this accident occurred has a law similar to the one in Indiana regarding punitive damages. If punitive damages were awarded to the plaintiffs in this case, which of the following is true? a. The plaintiffs would divide the punitive damages among themselves. b. The lawyers would take most of the punitive damages as fees. c. Some of the punitive damages would be paid to the plaintiffs and the remainder would be paid over to the state. * For purposes of this section of the assignment, assume that the questions refer to potential criminal matters arising out of this accident. 11. For each of the defendants you named in Question 2 above, are criminal charges possible? (2 points) Defendant 1: yes / no (4 points) Explain why/why not. (2 points) Defendant 2: yes / no (4 points) Explain why/why not. End of assignment