Also known as: positions · positional · legal position
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The status, role, or circumstances of a person or party that bears on legal rights, duties, or liabilities.
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Preston Pratt, facing mounting debts, tells a creditor that he never owned certain equipment. The statement is offered against him at trial. Because a reasonable person in Pratt's financial circumstances would have made the statement only if true, the hearsay exception applies and the statement is admitted.
Philip Powell, an officer at Prime Logistics, approves a risky contract without reviewing key terms. A court measures his conduct against the care a person in a like corporate role would reasonably exercise. Because Powell failed that standard, he is held to have breached his duty.
Judge Pierce Patterson accepts campaign support from a litigant and allows the litigant's counsel to suggest the donor can affect outcomes. The conduct creates the impression that the donor is in a position to influence the judge. The judge violates the rule and the judgment is subject to reversal.
Perry Pratt represents a client whose position conflicts with controlling precedent. Opposing counsel has not cited the case. Pratt must disclose the adverse authority to the tribunal or face discipline for failing to reveal it.
Premier Manufacturing permits Parker Phillips to negotiate deals as if he were its agent. Third parties change their positions by extending credit based on that belief. Because the company caused the belief and failed to correct it, the company is liable on the resulting contracts.
Pilar Pena repudiates a supply contract with Precision Tools. Before Precision Tools materially changes its position in reliance, Pena retracts the repudiation. The retraction nullifies the repudiation and the contract remains in force.
A statement is against interest when a reasonable person in the declarant's position would have made it only if believing it true. The position includes the declarant's proprietary or pecuniary circumstances at the time of the statement. Courts examine those circumstances to decide whether the statement tends to expose the declarant to liability or invalidate a claim.
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An officer must act with the care that a person in a like position would reasonably exercise under similar circumstances. The comparison focuses on the officer's role and the surrounding facts. Failure to meet that benchmark constitutes a breach.
…controversy, and that the termination of her 1970 pregnancy has not rendered her case moot. B. Dr. Hallford. The doctor's position is different. He entered Roe's litigation as a plaintiff-intervenor, alleging in his complaint that he: "[I]n the past has been arrested for violating the Texas Abortion Laws and at the…
…demand upon each of the petitioners. None of the individual petitioners responded to the demand, primarily because each took the position that he had not authorized the use of his name on the advertisement and therefore had not published the statements that respondent alleged had libeled him. The Times did not publish a…
…casting ballots in favor or opposed, and sometimes changing their minds. They see political leaders similarly reexamining their positions, and either reversing course or explaining adherence to old convictions confirmed anew. They see governments and businesses modifying policies and practices with respect to same-sex…
…fields.” Black & White Taxicab Co. v. Brown & Yellow Taxicab Co. , 276 U. S. 518, 535. If the opinion commits this Court to the position that the Congress is without power to declare what rules of substantive law shall govern the federal courts, that conclusion also seems questionable. The line between procedural and…
…of a landmark and landmark site restricts the owner’s control over the parcel, designation also enhances the economic position
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A judge violates the rule by conveying or permitting others to convey that any person or organization is in a position to influence the judge. The prohibition covers both direct statements and conduct that creates the impression of influence. Violation can lead to reversal or discipline.
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A lawyer must disclose controlling adverse authority known to be directly adverse to the client's position when opposing counsel has not disclosed it. The duty prevents misleading the tribunal about the state of the law. Nondisclosure can result in sanctions.
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A person becomes liable when others change their positions because they reasonably believe a transaction was entered on that person's account. Liability arises if the person caused the belief or failed to correct it after learning of it. The change must involve payment, expenditure, loss, or legal liability.
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A retraction is ineffective if the injured party materially changes position in reliance on the repudiation before receiving notice of the retraction. The injured party must also not have indicated that the repudiation is final. Timely notice restores the contract.
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