Business Laws And Ethics

Rubin owns and operates a florist business, Flower World, Inc., (Flower) from a shop in his Ohio hometown. Flower World advertises and sells in Ohio from the shop, and advertises and sells over the internet. Using Flower’s website and her credit card, on April 5, Louise purchased $5,000 worth of live wedding flowers from her home in Dallas, Texas. She requested the flowers to be shipped to a hotel in Indiana, the site of the wedding, on April 15.   The flowers arrived on April 14, the day before the wedding, but Louise claimed they were withered and unusable.

Louise sued Flowers in a Texas court to recover her $5,000.   Rubin, on behalf of Flowers, filed a motion to dismiss claiming the Texas court has no jurisdiction.

1. Analyze and explain/justify your rationale: which court has jurisdiction to hear the case, and why? Can the case be heard in Federal Court? Why or why not?
2. What is the legal basis for the court’s personal jurisdiction over Flowers (i.e., what type of personal jurisdiction exists over Flowers)?
3. Would you advise Rubin to use ADR or go to court to resolve this dispute? Why or why not?   If you advise ADR, which type of ADR would you recommend and why? Provide advantages & disadvantages of each type of ADR.