Assessing and Managing Legal Risks in Business
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- Date Submitted: 06/07/2010 06:15 PM
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Assessing and Managing Legal Risks in Business
To run a profitable and successful business the issues of liability, litigation and legal risks need to be assessed on a regular basis. By doing so companies can increase their bottom line, maintain a positive reputation and be prepared if and when issue arises.
United States based Alumina, Inc. a $4 billion dollar company. Its business interests include automotive components, aluminum refining, packaging materials, bauxite mining and aluminum smelting. The products and activities are regulated by region 6 of the EPA. Based on EPA regulations, products, business interests and location Alumina can implement systems to respond to possible legal issues.
Foreseeable Risks
Due to the nature of the products, their toxicity and international locations Alumina can reasonably predict the following legal issues could arise.
Legal Issues
1. Complying with EPA regulations
2. Complying with International Laws
3. Complying with safe transportation of products: interstate, intrastate and internationally
These are the three main issues which Alumina can expect to encounter. By putting into place systems to offset claims in these areas if issues arise will decrease time researching and developing a plan. Complying with EPA standards and regulations requires monitoring of and documenting soil, water, and air quality. A mechanism to monitor on periodic basis and spot checks should be routine. If there is an EPA violation Alumina can show it has been proactive;
thus, the violation was accidental. The legal principle of negligence could be levied against Alumina. It meets the first two elements: duty and breach of duty. The elements of causation, proximate cause and damages could also be met. Unfortunately, Alumina did not have a system in place and EPA did levy a violation against the company when PAH concentrations’ were higher than the allowable limits. The violation could have...
To run a profitable and successful business the issues of liability, litigation and legal risks need to be assessed on a regular basis. By doing so companies can increase their bottom line, maintain a positive reputation and be prepared if and when issue arises.
United States based Alumina, Inc. a $4 billion dollar company. Its business interests include automotive components, aluminum refining, packaging materials, bauxite mining and aluminum smelting. The products and activities are regulated by region 6 of the EPA. Based on EPA regulations, products, business interests and location Alumina can implement systems to respond to possible legal issues.
Foreseeable Risks
Due to the nature of the products, their toxicity and international locations Alumina can reasonably predict the following legal issues could arise.
Legal Issues
1. Complying with EPA regulations
2. Complying with International Laws
3. Complying with safe transportation of products: interstate, intrastate and internationally
These are the three main issues which Alumina can expect to encounter. By putting into place systems to offset claims in these areas if issues arise will decrease time researching and developing a plan. Complying with EPA standards and regulations requires monitoring of and documenting soil, water, and air quality. A mechanism to monitor on periodic basis and spot checks should be routine. If there is an EPA violation Alumina can show it has been proactive;
thus, the violation was accidental. The legal principle of negligence could be levied against Alumina. It meets the first two elements: duty and breach of duty. The elements of causation, proximate cause and damages could also be met. Unfortunately, Alumina did not have a system in place and EPA did levy a violation against the company when PAH concentrations’ were higher than the allowable limits. The violation could have...