Solutions Manual — Business Law Today: The Essentials Text & Summarized Cases, 14th Edition (Roger LeRoy Miller) | All Chapters 1-25 Covered

SOLUTIONS MANUAL
Business Law Today: The Essentials — Text &
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Summarized Cases
Roger LeRoy Miller
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14th Edition
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SOLUTIONS
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MANUAL
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, Solution and Answer Guide: Miller, Business Law Today, The Essentials Text & Summarized Cases, 14e, 9798214045962; Chapter 01:
Legal and Constitutional Foundations of Business



Solution and Answer Guide
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Miller, Business Law Today, The Essentials Text & Summarized Cases, 14e,
9798214045962; Chapter 01: Legal and Constitutional Foundations of Business


TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Critical Thinking Questions in Features............................................................................................ 1
Landmark in the Law—Application to Today’s World............................................................... 1
Adapting the Law to the Online Environment—Critical Thinking........................................ 2
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Ethical Issue—Value Judgment....................................................................................................... 2
Building Analytical Skills—Result and Reasoning....................................................................... 2
Critical Thinking Questions in Cases.................................................................................................. 3
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Case 1.1—Critical Thinking...................................................................................................................3
Case 1.2—Critical Thinking.................................................................................................................. 4
Case 1.3—Critical Thinking.................................................................................................................. 4
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Chapter Review......................................................................................................................................... 5
Practice and Review............................................................................................................................ 5
Practice and Review: Debate This...................................................................................................6
Issue Spotters........................................................................................................................................6
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Business Scenarios and Case Problems........................................................................................7
Critical Thinking and Writing Assignments....................................................................................12
Critical Thinking Question in Appendix Exhibit 1A–3................................................................ 13
A Sample Court Case........................................................................................................................ 13
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CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS IN FEATURES
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LANDMARK IN THE LAW—APPLICATION TO TODAY’S WORLD
1. The equitable maxims listed here underlie many of the legal rules and principles that are
commonly applied by the courts today— and that you will read about in this book.

For instance, in the contracts materials, you will read about the doctrine of promissory
estoppel. Under this doctrine, a person who has reasonably and substantially relied on the
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promise of another may be able to obtain some measure of recovery, even though no
enforceable contract exists. The court will estop (bar) the one making the promise from




© 2026CengageLearning, Inc. 1

, Solution and Answer Guide: Miller, Business Law Today, The Essentials Text & Summarized Cases, 14e, 9798214045962; Chapter 01:
Legal and Constitutional Foundations of Business

asserting the lack of a valid contract as a defense. The rationale underlying the doctrine of
promissory estoppel is similar to that expressed in which of the maxims just listed?
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Solution: The rationale underlying the doctrine of promissory estoppel is similar to
that expressed in the fourth and fifth equitable maxims listed in the feature. The
fourth maxim supports the notion that the law should not be applied unfairly just
because the law does not provide a solution to a particular problem. The fifth maxim
holds that those administering the law should not get bogged down in technicalities
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when doing so leads to unfairness or injustice. In a perfect legal world, then, a lack of
a valid contract should not punish a party who has justice and fairness on their side.


ADAPTING THE LAW TO THE ONLINE ENVIRONMENT—CRITICAL THINKING
1. One observer has said that the American legal system should evaluate social media
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companies based on how “they affect us as citizens, not only [on how] they affect us as
consumers.” What is your opinion of this statement?

Solution: The person who made this statement clearly sees a “citizen” as having
different motivations and concerns than a “consumer.” Presumably, a citizen is mostly
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concerned with the good of society as a whole, and therefore would be open to the
idea of government regulation that restricted the negative influence of social media,
regardless of the First Amendment. A consumer, by contrast, would be primarily
concerned with having a marketplace that offers the widest possible varieties of
freedom (of choice, of speech, etc.) and would for that reason be opposed to
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government regulation of social media. There is, however, an argument to be made
that the citizens that make up a society benefit when the marketplace of ideas—
whether they are subjectively “positive” or “negative”—is allowed to flourish in the
absence of government regulation.
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ETHICAL ISSUE—VALUE JUDGMENT
1. What are the pros and cons of a workplace policy that prohibits employees from
discussing politics while on the job?

Solution: The pros of a policy that prohibits employees from discussing politics while
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at work would seem to be increased workplace harmony. Politics are a touchy subject.
It is reasonable for management to conclude that arguments over political views can
negatively impact employee relationships, which might have a negative impact on
productivity, which would definitely have a negative impact on the bottom line.


BUILDING ANALYTICAL SKILLS—RESULT AND REASONING
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1. The Supreme Court ruled that Colorado cannot force Smith to speak in a manner that
aligns with state law but goes against her religious beliefs. In other words, the state’s
interest in preventing discrimination does not outweigh a business owner’s right to free
speech. As part of its reasoning, the Court asserted that Smith was not, in fact, negatively
disposed toward same-sex couples. It was their “message” that she objected to. Why
might this distinction be legally important in these types of cases?
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Solution: In his majority opinion for this case, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch explained
that while Lorie Smith was willing to serve gay customers, she was not willing to allow



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, Solution and Answer Guide: Miller, Business Law Today, The Essentials Text & Summarized Cases, 14e, 9798214045962; Chapter 01:
Legal and Constitutional Foundations of Business

her website to be used as a platform of gay marriage, which she believed “contradicts
biblical truth.” In doing so, Gorsuch drew a distinction between a business
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discriminating against a customer based on the customer’s status, which is not
allowed, and a business discriminating against the message a customer represents,
which, according to this ruling, is allowed.

Critics of this Supreme Court decision rejected this line of legal reasoning as being a
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distinction without a difference. Whether Smith is objecting to the “message”
promoted by homosexual couples or the homosexual couples themselves, the result is
the same. Many states have public accommodation laws similar to Colorado’s, and civil
rights activists worry that the Court has given American businesses a broad First
Amendment excuse to refuse service based on a customer’s race, religion, gender, or
sexual orientation.
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CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS IN CASES
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CASE 1.1—CRITICAL THINKING
1. Cultural. What “dangerous conditions” might have prompted the city to enact the
ordinances at issue in this case? Why?

Solution: As noted in the facts of the case, both ordinances at issue included an
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extensive rationale for their adoption, stating essentially that a geographically small
city has the right to restrict a business from operating within the city when the
restriction is for the safety of the city’s citizens and visitors.

The appellate court referred to “the dangerous conditions” created by the
irresponsible driving behavior of scooter renters, especially at night, amplified by the
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lack of training, supervision, and oversight practiced by the rental scooter businesses
that “existed throughout the entire city” as the basis for the city’s regulation. The
court paraphrased the expressive clauses in the ordinances more specifically:

• The City is geographically small and crowded and is being besieged by inexperienced
scooter drivers seeking amusement and driving in a dangerous manner.
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• The City is a tourist destination frequented by tens of thousands, and its streets are
congested by scooters that are being driven illegally and in areas where they are not
permitted.
• The City’s residents and visitors are put in dangerous situations as a result of the
improper use of scooters, especially at night.
• City businesses have complained about numerous trespasses on their property by
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people driving scooters while being disruptive
• City police have been unable to cope with the situation and essential police resources
are being drained.
• The City has been unable to control the situation through less restrictive means.
2. Economic. What is the likely economic impact of the ordinances on the businesses in the
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city? Discuss.

Solution: With the exception of the scooter rental businesses, the effect on the city’s
economy is likely to be positive in light of the result in the Classy case.



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