Fact Pattern 18-1 Jean LeFleur, Owner of Happy Feet, a Company That Makes

question 139

Multiple Choice

Fact Pattern 18-1
Jean LeFleur, owner of Happy Feet, a company that makes environmentally-sensitive foot wear, decided to move operations from Los Angeles to Bozeman, Montana. LeFleur wanted to be in an area noted for environmental quality. He built a new plant that produced oil-based sludge from its production process. The sludge could have been treated at the plant. But LeFleur decided that treatment was too costly, so the company dumped sludge into the Gallatin River, which runs through Happy Feet property. Other sludge was buried in drums in a field at night.
-Refer to Fact Pattern 18-1. If a Montana court were to follow the decision reached by the New York court in Whalen v. Union Bag & Paper Co., the Montana court would probably hold that Janet could:

• A) not hold Happy Feet liable, because the plant produced too much economic good and not enough harm
• B) enjoin Happy Feet from discharging sludge because this discharge violated her riparian rights
• C) not enjoin Happy Feet from discharging sludge because she held no common law rights to the river
• D) only sue Happy Feet for a breach of the boundaries of her property
• E) only sue for the emotional distress Happy Feet caused her llamas

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Definitions:

Time Zones

Geographic regions defined by the difference in hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

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A psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant used for medical or recreational purposes.

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A group of drugs derived from opium that are used for their analgesic (pain-relieving) properties, but also have a high potential for addiction.

Jet Lag

A temporary disorder that causes fatigue, insomnia, and other symptoms as a result of air travel across time zones.