Fellow Weekly - Issue 82

WHAT'S THE LAW

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WHAT'S THE LAW?

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Fellow Weekly raises issues of business law and ethics through lively emails by featuring your real-life scenarios answered by our leading authorities and professionals.

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Practical Choshen Mishpat Halacha: Case Studies Curricula for High Schools
 

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CASE 182: Care of the Aging: The Baffled Babysitter Part IX!

  

The party Morris Berger lovingly arranged in honor of Grandma's one hundredth birthday [See Issue 70] turned out to be a momentous family experience affording the cousins a rare opportunity to pay tribute to their matriarch, reacquaint with one another and come up with novel ideas to keep the growing family in touch.

 

Grandma's awaited speech was both heartwarming as well as telling of the advent of a new family challenge. After one-hundred years, Grandma's   mind seemed to have begun to rapidly lapse.

 

Though rooted for decades in Baltimore, MD; Grandma had made it clear years before that she wished to spend her last epoch in Jerusalem near her granddaughter Mrs. Berman. Grandma allocated an additional twenty percent of her inheritance to Mrs. Berman for her newly assumed responsibilities.

 

Eager to honor her wish, Morris and his cousin arranged for Grandma to be comfortably relocated to a private studio off Mrs. Berman's apartment .  Morris felt comfortable knowing that Mrs. Berman would be taking charge, though he still continued to manage Grandma's finances.

 

Though, a herculean  responsibility and  far from an easy task, Mrs. Berman felt lucky that she could attentively honor her grandmother in such a special way. Moreover, her four children would learn a lot growing  up amidst such an extraordinary environment.

 

Mealtime was especially demanding, as vigilance over Grandma's proper pill intake was critical. Sara the favorite babysitter now began to stay longer and assumed  a new responsibility.

 

One Thursday evening, while Mrs. Berman was busy peeling her mushrooms, Sara wheeled Grandma into the kitchen.  After taking her position behind Grandma, Sara's stomach began to bother her. She stepped out intending to return in a few minutes. But it was too late. Grandma had reached  for her meds and inadvertently took the wrong pill. Immediate medical attention was called to the house and  after a few hours, the issues were stabilized.

 

Feeling terribly guilty about the episode, Mrs. Berman wished to foot the bill. "If I would have been more vigilant, this episode could have been avoided."

 

Morris argued that Grandma should cover the costs!

 


 

 

Who pays - Grandma, Mrs. Berman, or Sara? What about the apron?

  

 

What is the law?

Please email us with your comments and answers at [email protected].
Read next week's issue for the answer!

 

 

 

 

LAST WEEK'S CASE 181: The Baffled Babysitter Part VIII! :

 

"Problems? Never! Only room for solutions." Sandy undertook to keep an optimistic view on life and its vicissitudes. She tried hard not to get frustrated over the obstacles and challenges she encountered.

Sol Stern's canceled business supper and Sara's coinciding Hermon expedition was no exception. Sandy took a cab out to Entrecote, retrieved her valise and endeavored to find an alternative means of transporting her belongings back to Savannah.

While busy keeping her ears to the ground throughout the ensuing few weeks, her parents called her to discuss some life-altering changes.

Sandy's Dad, was a highly qualified engineer employed by JCB Excavators Limited. A world leader in the manufacturing of construction equipment, employing around 7000 people on 4 continents, JCB was relocating Sandy's Dad's position to their Staffordshire, England World Headquarters.

"Wow! No need to send my belongings to Savannah anymore! It's a good thing that Sol cancelled his business supper."

Three weeks later, Sandy overheard Sara talking to her Mom on the phone. "Mom, our Music group is performing in London next week. It would mean so much to me if I could join, but I understand that it is an expense above your means. I am willing to invest some of my personal savings into this trip. I found a cheap flight out from Tel Aviv, but I am $100 short."

Sandy jumped up! "Sara, I 'll cover the difference if you take this suitcase for me to England. My Dad will pick it up in Heathrow." [By now the oversized carry-on had graduated to a full sized suitcase].

After weighing her luggage on her home scale, Sara arrived at the ticket counter with two suitcases, one belonging to Sandy. She placed her baggage on the scale. "Shew! We're good to go. It's fifty pounds." Next came Sandy's suitcase. The agent looked down and her head began to shake to the left and to the right. "Madam, this suitcase is two pounds overweight. If you think you're getting this mammoth on the plane, we will have to charge you an additional one hundred fifty dollars." Sara broke into a cold sweat, tried to call Sandy, but was out of minutes.

Sara was paid $100 to take Sandy's valise. She is now facing potential charges of $150. What should Sara do?

 

What is the law?

The Answer

Sara, a paid trustee is required to lay out a reasonable amount of money to ensure that the valise makes it to London. Sandy to reimburse her for her outlay.

 

If however unexpected stress and additional responsibilities ensue from the issue, Sara may repeal the assignment, under which she must return ticket money to Sandy and try to arrange for temporary storage in the airport Lost and Found.


Detailed Explanation

 

  

To answer this dilemma, we must consider two cases and two laws.
 

I. Consider the following two cases:


A. A shepherd encountered predators or thieves attempting to rob some sheep. As the shepherd is a paid watchman, he/she is expected to lay out reasonable expenses to cover the cost of hiring auxiliary help of which he can demand reimbursement from the owner. ( An unpaid watchman is not even required to lay out $ to thwart off marauders.) [Choshen Mishpat 303: 8]

B. Abe accepted from Ben to transport merchandise from point I to point II, under the pretenses that Abe would not encounter taxation issues with the authorities. If the merchandise turns out to be contraband, and is subsequently seized by the authorities Abe may argue, "I never would have agreed to have to hassle with the authorities. If I would have known that I was carrying questionable merchandise, I would have declined the post" whereby absolving him/herself from dealing with the issues, claiming that the post was accepted under misinformed pretenses" [Choshen Mishpat 291: 4, Rama].

Sara received $100 for her services. She became a paid trustee. As such, she is required to lay out a reasonable expense (and subsequently demand reimbursement) to ensure the safe delivery of the parcel to its destination.

However, let us deliberate: 

Is Caring for the Aging more comparable to A. or B.?


The predators and marauders are calculated risks a shepherd considers when assuming his/her position. As such, included in his/her responsibility is to lay out a reasonable amount to guarantee the safe return of the trust.

A traveler understands that there are risks involved in taking luggage which "weighs exactly up to the limit." At times, the airport scale measures differently than home scales. And one can never predict the reaction of the ticket agent to a valise slightly overweight.

Additionally, in contrast to the contraband case, other than paying an additional fee, we can assume that the job does not entail additional stress or responsibility.

Accordingly, as a paid trustee, Sara should charge the fee on her credit card and demand Sandy to repay her.
 

Nevertheless, if the issue entails unexpected stress or responsibilities, we would compare it to the case of the contraband to which Sara retains the right to repeal her assignment and decide not to take the parcel with her. Obviously, she would then be required to return some of the $100 to Sandy.

II. If the issue entails unexpected stress or responsibilities and Sara decides not to take it with her, what should she do with the parcel?

Consider the following two laws

1. The spirit of the mitzvah of Hashavat Aveidah, returning a fellow's lost item requires us to protect our friends from suffering an impending or potential financial loss [Choshen Mishpat 259: 9].

2. Though, Hashavat Aveidah requires the finder to invest time and effort into locating the owner, one need not spend money to return the article. Additionally, a girl may fulfill her mitzvah simply by informing the loser of her find. If the loser wishes to retrieve the find, she must arrange for doing so herself. [Shulchan Aruch Harav: Hilchos Aveidah 13].

Application:

Sara must lay out $150 and may require Sandy to reimburse her. If the issue entails unexpected stress or responsibilities, Sara does may repeal her assignment claiming that she accepted the post under false pretenses, but will have to return $ to Sandy.

Assuming Sara decides to repeal her assignment, she now encounters an issue of Hashavat Aveidah. If she will not risk suffering a financial loss, she should attempt to arrange to leave the luggage in the lost and found until Sandy can retrieve it.To answer this dilemma, we must address six issues.

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Note:
 
Although we aim to present the correct ruling, varying details are always important and decisively influence every individual case. Our readers are thus encouraged to present their personal cases to a competent authority and not solely rely on the information provided.

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