Case Analysis

Requirements Read and understand the case. Show your Analysis and Reasoning and make it clear you understand the material. Be sure to use the concepts of the course to show your reasoning.

Summarize the situation. Dedicate at least one heading to each following outline topic:

a. Parties [Identify the plaintiff and the defendant and tell something about them.]

b. Facts [Summarize those facts critical to the outcome of the case.]

c. Procedure [Who brought the appeal? What was the outcome in the lower court(s)?]

d. Issue [Note the central question or questions on which the case turns.]

e. Holding [How did the court resolve the issue(s)? Who won?]

f. Reasoning [Explain the logic that supported the court’s decision.]

g. Case Questions [Be sure to address and thoroughly answer each and every case question and each part of each question.]

h. Conclusion [This should summarize the key aspects of the decision and also your recommendations on the court’s ruling.]

i. Include citations on the slides and a reference page with your sources.

Use APA style citations and references.

2. Do significant research outside of the book and demonstrate that you have in a very obvious way. This refers to research beyond the legal research. This involves something about the parties or other interesting related area. Show something you have discovered about the case, parties, or other important element from your own research. Be sure this is obvious and adds value beyond the legal reasoning of the case.

Case (Basic Details):  Business Ethics- United States v. Cloud, 872 F.2d 846, Web 1989 U.S. App. Lexis 4534 (United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit)

Ronald V. Cloud purchased the Cal-Neva Lodge, a hotel and casino complex located in the Lake Tahoe area near the California–Nevada border, for $10 million. Cloud was a sophisticated 68-year-old entrepreneur who was experienced in buying and selling real estate and had real estate holdings valued at more than $65 million. He also had experience in banking and finance, having been the founder and chairman of Continental National Bank of Fresno. After two years of mounting operation losses, Cloud closed the Cal-Neva Lodge and actively began seeking a new buyer. Cloud met with Jon Perroton and orally agreed to transfer the lodge to Perroton for approximately $17 million. Perroton met with an executive of Hibernia Bank(Hibernia) to discuss a possible loan to finance the purchase of the lodge.Perroton made multiple false representations and presented false documents to obtain a $20 million loan from Hibernia. In particular, Perroton misrepresented the sale price for the lodge ($27.5 million) and stated that $7.5 million had already been paid to Cloud. An escrow account was opened with Transamerica Title Company (Transamerica). Cloud and his attorney and Perroton met at Transamerica to sign mutual escrow instructions. Cloud reviewed the instructions and noticed that the sale price and down payment figures were incorrectly stated at $27.5 million and $7.5 million, respectively, and that the Hibernia loan was for $20 million, almost $3 million above what he knew to be the true sale price. Cloud signed the escrow instructions. Later, Cloud signed a settlement statement containing the same false figures and signed a grant deed to the property. The sale closed on January 23, 1985, with Hibernia making the $20 million loan to Perroton. Subsequently, when the loan went into default, Continental Insurance Company (Continental) paid Hibernia its loss of $7.5 million on the bank’s blanket bond insurance policy. The United States sued Cloud for aiding and abetting a bank fraud in violation of federal law (18 U.S.C. Sections 2 and 1344). The jury convicted Cloud of the crime and ordered him to make restitution of $7.5 million to Continental. Cloud appealed.

Case Questions: Did cloud act ethically in this case? Explain. Is Cloud guilty of aiding and abetting a bank fraud? (Cheeseman, p. 149)

Cheeseman, H. Business Law: Legal Environment, Online Commerce, Business Ethics, and International Issues, 7th Edition Format: 1,500-2,500 word APA style paper.

It should be completed as a MS Word document, typed in Times New Roman font, and size 12. Your paper should be double-spaced with 1-inch margins all around. Make sure your text is aligned left. Before submission, be sure to perform a spell check and read over your paper carefully for grammatical errors. Double-check that you have properly cited (using APA) all of your borrowed material.