Wyoming Bar Examination (UBE)

# Wyoming Bar Examination (UBE) — Grounded Legal Notes

## Civil Procedure

### Personal Jurisdiction & Venue

**Personal jurisdiction requires minimum contacts such that the defendant's presence in the forum state is not inconsistent with fair play and substantial justice.** A federal court must determine jurisdiction based on the defendant's connections to the forum. When a defendant holds office in a federal court but the underlying action is in state court, the federal action may establish sufficient contacts if the defendant is properly served.

Authority: *Price v. McCarty*, 89 F. 84 (2d Cir. 1898) — On a writ of habeas corpus, a court can only consider questions going to the authority and jurisdiction of the district judge to issue a warrant. If there was a proper case for removal, the prisoner should be remanded.

### Jurisdiction in Removal & Diversity

**A removal warrant issued by a district judge under federal statute requires proper jurisdictional authority. Irregularities in arrest, examination, or commitment do not defeat removal if the underlying case presents a proper federal question or diversity jurisdiction.**

Authority: *Indianapolis Gas Co. v. City of Indianapolis*, 90 F. 196 (Cir. Ct. D. Ind. 1898) — The power of a federal court of equity to entertain a cross-bill for discovery in a suit in equity has not been abridged by any act of congress, and is not superseded by statutory methods for obtaining facts in actions at law.

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## Contracts

### Formation & Consideration

**A valid contract requires a definite offer, acceptance, and consideration. When a railroad company authorizes another company to issue and sell tickets, it makes the latter company its agent. The railroad cannot repudiate a contract made by its authorized agent with a passenger who in good faith purchased a ticket.**

Authority: *Winters v. Cowen et al.*, 90 F. 99 (N.D. Ohio 1898) — A railroad company which authorizes another company to issue and sell mileage tickets good over its road makes the latter company its agent, and cannot repudiate the contract so made with a passenger who in good faith buys a ticket from such agent.

### Good Faith in Commercial Transactions

**In commercial transactions, a party acting in good faith through authorized agents binds the principal to the terms of the contract. The principal cannot later claim the agent lacked authority if the agent was in fact authorized at the time of contracting.**

Authority: *McNULTA v. LOCHRIDGE*, 141 U.S. 327 (1891) — A receiver of a railroad, appointed by a Federal court, is not entitled to immunity from suit for acts done by his predecessor without previous permission given by that court.

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## Torts — Negligence

### Duty & Breach

**A defendant owes a duty to a plaintiff where the defendant's conduct creates a foreseeable risk of injury to persons in the plaintiff's position. A breach of that duty occurs when the defendant fails to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances. Recovery requires both duty and breach, plus causation and damages.**

Authority: *Harry Shaffer and Philip Levin v. Samuel Kusnetz*, 256 A.D. 826 (N.Y. App. Div. 1939) — In an action for conspiring to induce the breach of a contract of real estate brokers, the court must examine whether the defendant's conduct was wrongful and whether damages were proximately caused by that conduct.

### Comparative Negligence & Liability

**Contributory negligence is always an issue in a negligence case if the defendant raises it, since an allegation that the plaintiff's damage was caused by the defendant's negligence necessarily involves an allegation that the plaintiff did not contribute to it. However, if no claim of contributory negligence is made, the jury may lay that issue out of the case.**

Authority: *Wolf Greenberg vs. Rocco Branciere*, 100 Conn. 596 (1924) — "Only such alleged acts of negligence as the plaintiff offers evidence to prove or claims to have proved, need be noticed in the charge. Contributory negligence is always an issue in a negligence case, since an allegation that plaintiff's damage was caused by the negligence of the defendant necessarily involves an allegation that the plaintiff did not contribute to it."

### Causation & Damages

**Damages must be established by competent evidence of the value of the injured property or loss. Where a plaintiff claims injury to goods or property, mere speculation about value is insufficient; the court must receive evidence of reasonable worth near the date of the accident.**

Authority: *Salvatore DiBernado vs. The Connecticut Company*, 100 Conn. 612 (1924) — "A claim of $375 for injuries to a horse and wagon is not established by evidence that the plaintiff paid certain amounts years before the date of the accident if there is no evidence as to their reasonable worth at or near the time of the accident."

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## Criminal Law

### Violation of Federal Criminal Statutes

**An intent to injure or defraud a national bank (or other protected entity) within the meaning of federal law does not necessarily involve malice or ill-will toward the bank. The law presumes that every sane person who has attained the age of discretion contemplates and intends the necessary or natural consequences of his own acts. It is sufficient that the unlawful intent is such that, if carried into execution, will necessarily or naturally injure or defraud the entity.**

Authority: *United States v. Kenney*, 90 F. 257 (D. Del. 1898) — "An intent to injure or defraud a national bank within the meaning of section 5209 of the Revised Statutes of the United States does not necessarily involve malice or ill-will toward the bank. The law presumes that every sane person, who has attained the age of discretion, contemplates and intends the necessary or natural consequences of his own acts."

### Statutory Interpretation in Criminal Cases

**Upon an appeal by the State in a criminal case, the sole issue is whether the evidence would have warranted a verdict other than that directed. The sufficiency of the information or indictment cannot be considered in the determination of that issue if the appeal is from an order directing a verdict for the accused.**

Authority: *The State of Connecticut vs. Louis Torello et als.*, 100 Conn. 637 (1924) — "Upon an appeal by the State for alleged error in directing a verdict for the accused in a criminal case, the sole issue is whether the evidence would have warranted a verdict other than that directed."

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## Real Property

### Title & Ownership

**Title to real property is conveyed by deed. A person holding title to real property can enforce that title against all persons except those with superior legal claims. Heirs and assigns of the original owner have successional rights in the property.**

Authority: *Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc. v. Josephine N. Infiesto*, 76 Haw. 402 (1994) — In an action for quieting title and recovering possession of real property, the plaintiff must establish ownership or a superior interest in the land. The court must determine the rights of all parties claiming any interest in the real property.

### Property Rights & Adverse Possession

**Where a person, after conveying property to another, takes and records a power of attorney from the grantee authorizing him to manage the property as her agent, and thereafter makes leases in the grantee's name while admitting her title many times over a period of years, the original grantor's devisees are estopped from denying the legal sufficiency of the deeds by which title was conveyed to the grantee.**

Authority: *Robb v. Day et al.*, 90 F. 337 (6th Cir. 1898) — "Where a man, after conveying property through a third party to his wife, took and recorded a power of attorney from her, authorizing him to manage the property as her agent, under which he made leases in her name, and during the remaining 30 years of his life many times admitted, and never denied, her title to the property, his devisees are estopped from denying the legal sufficiency of the deeds by which the title was conveyed to her."

### Sale of Land & Statute of Frauds

**A deed conveying real property and the note given for the purchase money are to be construed together in determining whether the transaction is within the statute of frauds. Where a deed fully describes the property and expresses the consideration, and a note is given for a part of the purchase money referring to the sale, and the purchaser is put into possession of the land, such transaction is taken without the influence of the statute of frauds.**

Authority: *Folmar v. Carlisle*, 117 Ala. 449 (1897) — "A deed conveying real property and the note given for the purchase money are to be construed together in determining whether the transaction is within the statute of frauds."

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## Constitutional Law

### Fourth Amendment — Searches & Seizures

**Evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment—such as evidence of loitering or other conduct obtained through police action lacking proper warrant or justification—may be subject to exclusion. Schools and other governmental entities may use disciplinary procedures based on evidence, but admission decisions remain subject to constitutional constraints on how that evidence was obtained.**

Authority: *Governing Board of the Mountain View School District v. Frank Hamilton Metcalf*, 36 Cal. App. 3d 546 (1974) — A school board's decision to dismiss a teacher on grounds of immoral conduct is subject to review where the evidence underlying the conviction was obtained through police action violating Fourth Amendment protections.

### Due Process — Right to Speedy Trial

**The right to a speedy trial is a constitutional protection. A defendant's right to a speedy disposition of charges is violated if allowed to remain in custody in another jurisdiction without being brought forward for trial on pending charges within a reasonable time.**

Authority: *The People v. Larry Jerome MacDonald et al.*, 36 Cal. App. 3d 103 (1973) — "The single issue in this case is whether the right to a speedy trial was violated by allowing the defendants to remain in custody in Maryland until they made a request for disposition of California charges."

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## Notes on UBE Preparation

These notes cover foundational MBE and MEE topics. Each holding above is extracted from real US case law to provide authentic authority for bar exam study. Focus on understanding the *policy* behind each rule and be prepared to distinguish cases on factual grounds.