Business litigation

• Author: Christina Marinakis
• Pages: 197-238

BUSINESS LITIGATION

4-1

CHAPTER 4

BUSINESS LITIGATION

I. MAIN TOPICS—OVERVIEW

II. PATTERN VOIR DIRE QUESTIONS

A. Questions Common to All Business/Commercial Cases

§4:01 Employment History

§4:02 Business Training and Awareness

§4:03 The Parties

§4:04 Experience With Business Disputes

§4:05 Business Ethics

§4:06 Damages

[§§4:07-4:09 Reserved]

B. Questions for Contract-Related Litigation

§4:10 Experience With Contracts

§4:11 Attitudes Toward Contracts

§4:12 Breach of Contract

§4:13 Breach of Warranty

§4:14 Allegations of Fraud

§4:15 Breach of Fiduciary Duty

[§§4:16-4:19 Reserved]

C. Questions for Landlord-Tenant Disputes

§4:20 Experience With Leases

§4:21 Attitudes Toward Leases

D. Questions for Real Estate Disputes

§4:22 Experience With Real Estate

§4:23 Attitudes Toward the Parties

E. Questions for Intellectual Property Disputes

§4:24 Experience With Intellectual Property

§4:25 Attitudes Toward the Parties and Issues

§4:26 Trade Secrets and Non-Compete Agreements

[§§4:27-4:29 Reserved]

F. Questions for Investments and Loan Disputes

§4:30 Experience with Investments and Loans

§4:31 Attitudes Toward the Parties and Issues

G. Questions for False Advertising Disputes

§4:32 Experience with Marketing and Advertising

§4:33 Attitudes Toward the Parties and Issues

III. SAMPLE JUROR QUESTIONNAIRES

BUSINESS LITIGATION

(Τηισ παγε ιντεντιοναλλψ λεφτ βλανκ.)

BUSINESS LITIGATION

4-3 Business Litigation §4:01

I. MAIN TOPICS—OVERVIEW

Τηισ χηαπτερ χοϖερσ ϖοιρ διρε ιν χασεσ ιν ωηιχη τηε δισπυτε ινϖολϖεσ α βυσινεσσ εντιτψ. Ιν εϖερψ βυσινεσσ/χοµ−

µερχιαλ χασε, ϖοιρ διρε σηουλδ χοϖερ τηε σιξ τοπιχσ λιστεδ βελοω. Ιν αδδιτιον το τηεσε χοµµον τοπιχσ, ψουρ ϖοιρ διρε

Σεε, 

1. Ωηατ ισ τηε ϕυρορσ εµπλοψµεντ ηιστορψ? Ωηατ ισ ηισ ορ ηερ σπουσεσ εµπλοψµεντ ηιστορψ?

2. Ωηατ βυσινεσσ τραινινγ?

 παρτιεσ?

4. ∆ο ϕυρορσ ηαϖε ?

5. Ωηατ αρε ϕυρορσ αττιτυδεσ τοωαρδ?

 

PRACTICE POINT: Written questionnaire will speed up voir dire

Request a supplemental juror questionnaire in business/commercial litigation cases. Questions about

employment history, business training, and experience can be answered easily and quickly in a questionnaire.

A model Supplemental Juror Questionnaire for use in all business/commercial litigation cases, including

questions specif‌ic to contract-related litigation, can be found on Digital Access.

II. PATTERN VOIR DIRE QUESTIONS

A. Questions Common to All Business/Commercial Cases

Use Note: Use these voir dire questions in conjunction with the questions found in Chapter 2, Common

Questions—Civil Cases.

§4:01 Employment History

Use Note: One of the easiest ways to learn about jurors’ attitudes toward business and business entities is

to ask about their work experiences. Due to the foreign or abstract nature of business disputes, jurors tend to

reason from their own experiences in deliberations. Include questions about past employment as well as current

employment because earlier experiences inf‌luence current attitudes toward business. It is especially important

to f‌ind out if jurors changed careers at some point in their life. Someone who started her professional life as a

school teacher, returned to school to study law, and currently practices law sees life through a very different

lens than someone who has been a teacher or a lawyer all her professional life.

Attitudes toward different sized companies and different types of business vary. Be sure to ask about the type

and size of the company in the suit.

Jurors who have experience in the plaintiff’s or defendant’s f‌ield have the potential to become perceived

experts about how business is conducted in that sector. Although these jurors may sympathize with the respec-

tive party’s point of view, they may also be harder on the party than jurors with other backgrounds. Thus,

it is important to obtain the details of the juror’s experience in addition to her attitudes about case-relevant

aspects of the business.



Ιφ ψεσ:

 

 Ωηατ ισ ψουρ ϕοβ τιτλε?

 Ωηο ισ ψουρ εµπλοψερ?

 ∆εσχριβε ψουρ χυρρεντ ϕοβ δυτιεσ.

 

 

 