UBE — Uniform Bar Examination practice questions and exam guide

Without any authority, a man signed a supply contract "as agent" for a bakery. Learning of it, the bakery's owner accepted the first delivery and used the flour, knowing all the contract's terms. The bakery then repudiated. The supplier's STRONGEST argument is

1. that the bakery ratified the deal by knowingly accepting its benefits
2. that the man had inherent authority arising from his general position at the bakery
3. that the bakery is estopped because it made a manifestation to the supplier
4. that the man's signature bound the bakery as an undisclosed principal here

Answer: A — that the bakery ratified the deal by knowingly accepting its benefits

A) Correct — a principal ratifies by accepting the transaction's benefits with knowledge of the material facts, and ratification relates back to make the contract binding. B) Inherent authority derives from a position the principal actually conferred; the man held none. C) Estoppel requires the principal's own manifestation or negligent failure to correct; here there was none before contracting. D) The principal was disclosed on the face of the signature, and lack of authority, not disclosure, is the issue.

The sole shareholder of a corporation paid her mortgage from the corporate account, kept no minutes, and started the business with almost no capital. A tort creditor seeks to reach her personally. The court is MOST likely to

1. refuse, because the corporate form becomes absolute once the articles are filed with the state
2. pierce the veil, given the commingling, disregarded formalities, and thin capital
3. pierce the veil, because a one-shareholder corporation is not entitled to limited liability
4. refuse, because veil piercing is available only to contract creditors who extended credit

Answer: B — pierce the veil, given the commingling, disregarded formalities, and thin capital

B) Correct — courts pierce where the shareholder treats the corporation as an alter ego and recognizing separateness would work injustice; these are the classic factors. A) Limited liability is the norm but is not absolute. C) Single-shareholder corporations are lawful and generally respected. D) The opposite tilt is truer: courts pierce more readily for involuntary tort creditors.

Under Twombly and Iqbal, a complaint survives a Rule 12(b)(6) motion if it:

1. Pleads any facts, even purely speculative allegations
2. Alleges facts stating a claim that is plausible on its face
3. Recites the elements of the cause of action in conclusory form
4. Attaches every document relied on by the plaintiff

Answer: B — Alleges facts stating a claim that is plausible on its face

A) Speculative pleading was rejected in Twombly. B) Correct — the Twiqbal plausibility standard requires factual content permitting a reasonable inference of liability. C) Conclusory recitations are insufficient. D) Attaching documents is not required.

Under Rule 12(h)(1), which defense is WAIVED if omitted from the first Rule 12 motion?

1. Failure to state a claim on the merits
2. Lack of subject-matter jurisdiction
3. Failure to join a party under Rule 19
4. Lack of personal jurisdiction over defendant

Answer: D — Lack of personal jurisdiction over defendant

A) 12(b)(6) may be raised through trial on the merits (Rule 12(h)(2)). B) SMJ can be raised at any time, even on appeal (Rule 12(h)(3)). C) Failure to join a Rule 19 party can be raised through trial. D) Correct — the disfavored defenses (lack of PJ, improper venue, insufficient process, insufficient service) are waived if omitted from the first Rule 12 filing.

A state statute made it a misdemeanor to make any statement that annoys another person in a public place. A defendant convicted under it appeals. Which challenge is STRONGEST?

1. The statute is overbroad and vague, sweeping in protected speech with no clear standard
2. The statute is a content-based rule that fails because it cannot survive strict scrutiny
3. The statute is invalid as a prior restraint on expression in traditional public forums
4. The statute cannot reach speech unless the state proves an actual breach of the peace

Answer: A — The statute is overbroad and vague, sweeping in protected speech with no clear standard

A) Correct — an annoyance standard gives no notice and licenses arbitrary enforcement while reaching vast protected speech, the classic overbreadth and vagueness pairing. B) is plausible since annoyance is arguably content-referential, but the definitional failure is the stronger and more direct ground. C) misuses prior restraint, which involves advance licensing or injunctions, not after-the-fact punishment. D) states an element the statute lacks rather than a constitutional defect in it.

A state law barred the sale within the state of milk produced outside the state unless the out-of-state producer paid a fee equal to the difference between its home price and the higher in-state minimum price. Producers elsewhere challenged the law. The law is MOST likely:

1. Valid, because a state may set minimum prices for goods sold within its own borders
2. Invalid, because it neutralizes the competitive advantage of out-of-state producers
3. Valid, because Congress has not enacted any statute preempting state dairy pricing
4. Invalid, because the fee is a tax on interstate commerce and taxes require apportionment

Answer: B — Invalid, because it neutralizes the competitive advantage of out-of-state producers

B) Correct — a measure whose design is to erase the cost advantage of out-of-state goods is economic protectionism and is virtually per se invalid under the dormant commerce clause. A) states a true general power but ignores the discriminatory operation. C) is true-but-irrelevant; the dormant doctrine operates without congressional action. D) reaches the right outcome by the wrong route; the defect is discrimination, not apportionment.

Promissory estoppel may substitute for consideration when there is:

1. A written contract signed by both parties
2. Any casual social promise between friends
3. An ordinary bargained-for exchange of value
4. A definite promise inducing detrimental reliance

Answer: D — A definite promise inducing detrimental reliance

A) A signed contract has its own consideration analysis. B) Social promises do not typically support estoppel. C) Bargained-for exchange is itself consideration. D) Correct — Restatement (Second) § 90 requires a definite promise, reasonably foreseeable and actual detrimental reliance, and enforcement to avoid injustice.

A supplier breached a contract to deliver a custom part, and the buyer's factory sat idle for two weeks. The supplier knew the part was for the buyer's assembly line but knew nothing of an unusual resale contract that the buyer lost. The buyer sues for both idle-plant losses and the lost resale profit. The court will MOST likely award:

1. Both items, because all losses flowing in fact from a breach are recoverable
2. The idle-plant losses only, because the resale loss was not within the supplier's contemplation
3. Neither item, because consequential damages require an express contractual provision
4. The resale profit only, because lost profits are the standard measure of expectation

Answer: B — The idle-plant losses only, because the resale loss was not within the supplier's contemplation

B) Correct — consequential damages are limited to losses the breaching party had reason to foresee at contracting, and the special resale arrangement was unknown. A) applies pure factual causation and drops the foreseeability filter. C) requires an express clause that the law does not demand. D) inverts the analysis, awarding the unforeseeable item and denying the foreseeable one.

Conspiracy at common law is complete upon:

1. An agreement between two or more with intent to commit a crime
2. A single individual's mental resolution to commit a specific crime
3. The successful completion of the substantive offense agreed to
4. A confession by any of the conspirators to law enforcement

Answer: A — An agreement between two or more with intent to commit a crime

A) Correct — at common law, the agreement plus mens rea completes conspiracy; many modern statutes add an overt-act requirement. B) A lone person cannot conspire at common law. C) Completion of the target offense is not required. D) Confession is not an element.

Under Terry v. Ohio, an officer may conduct a limited pat-down of outer clothing when:

1. Any citizen is standing on a public street corner alone
2. Reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and danger exists
3. The person refuses to provide the officer with their name
4. The officer works in a neighborhood with elevated crime data

Answer: B — Reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and danger exists

A) Mere presence is not suspicion. B) Correct — Terry authorizes a stop on reasonable articulable suspicion and a limited frisk if the officer reasonably believes the person is armed and dangerous. C) Silence alone is not suspicion. D) Location cannot supply suspicion by itself.

A corporation's general counsel interviewed a midlevel employee about a workplace accident, at the direction of senior management, to give legal advice to the company. A plaintiff seeks the interview content. The communication is MOST likely:

1. Privileged, because the employee spoke with counsel about matters within her duties for legal advice
2. Not privileged, because only the control group of senior officers can speak for the company
3. Not privileged, because the employee, not the corporation, holds any privilege in her own words
4. Privileged, because all internal corporate investigation materials are shielded from discovery

Answer: A — Privileged, because the employee spoke with counsel about matters within her duties for legal advice

A) Correct — in federal practice the privilege reaches communications from employees at any level about matters within their duties made to enable legal advice to the corporation. B) applies the narrower control group test, still followed in some states, so the split matters. C) misassigns the holder; the corporation holds the privilege. D) sweeps in all investigative material regardless of whether it involves legal advice.

A defendant charged with fraud calls a witness who testifies that the defendant is honest. On cross, the prosecutor wants to ask the witness whether she has heard that the defendant once falsified a loan application. The question is:

1. Improper, because a defendant's character may never be attacked by the prosecution
2. Improper, because specific instances may not be proved by extrinsic evidence
3. Proper, because prior fraud is admissible as evidence of a common scheme or plan
4. Proper, because a character witness may be cross-examined about relevant specific acts

Answer: D — Proper, because a character witness may be cross-examined about relevant specific acts

D) Correct — once the accused opens the door with character evidence, the cross-examiner may inquire into relevant specific instances to test the witness's basis for the opinion. B) states a true rule about extrinsic proof, but questioning on cross is not extrinsic evidence. A) ignores that the defendant opened the door. C) misuses the other-acts doctrine, which requires a genuine noncharacter purpose not present here.

Two siblings held land as joint tenants with right of survivorship. One sibling conveyed her interest to a friend and died a month later. In a jurisdiction following the lien theory of mortgages and majority severance rules, the friend holds

1. nothing, because the survivorship right defeated the lifetime conveyance
2. an undivided one-half interest as a tenant in common with the surviving sibling
3. the entire parcel, because the conveyance destroyed the other sibling's interest
4. an undivided one-half interest as a joint tenant with the surviving sibling

Answer: B — an undivided one-half interest as a tenant in common with the surviving sibling

B) Correct — an inter vivos conveyance by one joint tenant severs the joint tenancy as to that share, leaving the grantee a tenant in common. A) Survivorship applies only if the joint tenancy remains intact at death. C) Severance affects only the conveying tenant's share. D) A stranger who takes by severance cannot be a joint tenant, since the four unities are broken.

A grant 'to A for life, then to B and her heirs' creates in B:

1. A possibility of reverter in the grantor
2. A contingent remainder subject to a condition
3. An executory interest cutting short A's estate
4. A vested remainder in fee simple absolute

Answer: D — A vested remainder in fee simple absolute

D) Correct — B is ascertained, and no condition precedent bars her taking; 'and her heirs' are words of limitation indicating fee simple absolute. B) There is no unmet condition precedent. C) An executory interest divests a prior vested estate, not one that expires naturally. A) A possibility of reverter follows a fee simple determinable retained by the grantor.

A store detective, honestly and reasonably believing a shopper had concealed merchandise, detained her in a front office for fifteen minutes and questioned her calmly. Nothing was found. In her false imprisonment suit, the store's BEST defense is

1. that the shopper suffered no physical harm during the detention
2. the shopkeeper's privilege to detain briefly and reasonably on reasonable suspicion
3. consent, because entering a store implies consent to security procedures
4. that the detective was an independent contractor and not the store's employee

Answer: B — the shopkeeper's privilege to detain briefly and reasonably on reasonable suspicion

B) Correct — the shopkeeper's privilege permits a reasonable detention, for a reasonable time, in a reasonable manner, on reasonable suspicion of shoplifting. A) Physical harm is not an element of false imprisonment. C) Entering a store implies no consent to confinement. D) The facts identify him as the store's detective, and an unfounded status argument would not defeat the tort anyway.

Under strict products liability, a plaintiff must prove that a product was:

1. Sold with a plausible instruction manual by the manufacturer only
2. Defective when it left the defendant's control, causing plaintiff's injury
3. Purchased at a discount from a licensed authorized dealer only
4. Advertised in national media within one year of the incident

Answer: B — Defective when it left the defendant's control, causing plaintiff's injury

A) An instruction manual is not the standard. B) Correct — Restatement 2d § 402A requires a defect present when the product left defendant's hands, making it unreasonably dangerous, and causing plaintiff's harm. C) Purchase source is irrelevant. D) Advertising is irrelevant.

In a contested custody proceeding, a court is deciding between two fit parents. Which consideration is LEAST appropriate as a basis for the court's decision?

1. The comparative religious observance of each parent and the child's expected upbringing
2. The strength of the child's relationship and attachment with each of the two parents
3. Each parent's demonstrated willingness to support the child's contact with the other
4. The stability of each parent's home, including the child's school and community ties

Answer: A — The comparative religious observance of each parent and the child's expected upbringing

A) Correct - courts generally may not decide custody based on comparative religious practice absent a showing of actual harm to the child. B) Tempting to reject because attachment is subjective, but it is a core best-interests factor. C) Tempting to reject because it seems to punish a parent, but the friendly-parent consideration is widely recognized. D) Tempting to reject because stability favors the status quo, but continuity is a standard factor.

When a decedent dies without a valid will, the estate passes:

1. Under the state intestacy statute in effect at death
2. Automatically to the federal government via escheat
3. In equal shares to every acquaintance of the decedent
4. Solely to the attorney who drafted a prior draft will

Answer: A — Under the state intestacy statute in effect at death

A) Correct — intestate succession follows the state statute, typically favoring surviving spouse and descendants, then ascendants and collaterals, with escheat only if no takers. B) Escheat is to the state, not federal, and only as a last resort. C) Acquaintances have no intestate claim. D) The drafting attorney has no succession right.

A lender advanced funds to a merchant and both signed a written agreement describing the collateral as the merchant's existing and after-acquired inventory. The lender did not file a financing statement. Has the security interest attached?

1. Yes, because value was given, the debtor has rights in the collateral, and a signed agreement describes it
2. No, because attachment of an interest in inventory requires the filing of a financing statement
3. No, because an after-acquired property clause is ineffective as to inventory not yet acquired
4. Yes, but only as to inventory the merchant owned at the time the agreement was signed

Answer: A — Yes, because value was given, the debtor has rights in the collateral, and a signed agreement describes it

A) Correct - attachment requires value, debtor rights in the collateral, and an authenticated agreement describing it; filing goes to perfection, not attachment. B) Tempting because filing is the usual next step, but it affects priority against third parties. C) Tempting because after-acquired clauses are limited for consumer goods, but they are fully effective for inventory. D) Tempting because attachment to future property is delayed until acquisition, but the clause still reaches later inventory. This subject is tested on the legacy exam only and is not part of the NextGen content scope.

A car accident occurred in State X between two residents of State Y who had begun their trip in State Y. State Y's law would allow the passenger's claim; State X's guest statute would bar it. Under the traditional vested-rights approach, which law governs?

1. State X law, because the place of the wrong determines the rights of the parties
2. State Y law, because both parties are residents and their relationship is centered there
3. State Y law, because the forum applies its own law when the result would otherwise be unjust
4. Either state's law, at the plaintiff's election, since both have contacts with the occurrence

Answer: A — State X law, because the place of the wrong determines the rights of the parties

A) Correct - the traditional approach applies the law of the place of the wrong, without weighing the parties' connections to another state. B) Tempting because that is precisely the result modern interest analysis and the Second Restatement would reach, but it is not the traditional rule. C) Tempting because escape devices existed, but unfairness alone was not a recognized ground. D) Tempting because both states have contacts, but choice of law is never a matter of party election.

Two parties orally agreed that a deed would convey the northern half of a tract, but the written deed as drafted described the southern half. Both parties signed without noticing the error. What remedy MOST directly fits?

1. Rescission of the deed, returning both parties to their positions before the transfer
2. Specific performance of the writing as drafted, since the signed document controls
3. Damages equal to the difference in value between the two halves of the tract
4. Reformation of the deed to conform the writing to the parties' actual agreement

Answer: D — Reformation of the deed to conform the writing to the parties' actual agreement

D) Correct - reformation corrects a writing that, through mutual mistake, fails to express the agreement the parties actually reached. A) Tempting because rescission also undoes a mistaken deal, but here the parties did agree and want the agreement enforced. B) Tempting because writings usually control, but that ignores the mutual mistake in expression. C) Tempting because damages could equalize value, but they leave the wrong land conveyed. Remedies is a legacy MEE subject not tested on NextGen.

Under Model Rule 1.6, a lawyer may reveal client information to:

1. Any curious member of the general public on request
2. A journalist actively covering a related legal matter
3. The lawyer's spouse for private personal discussion
4. Prevent reasonably certain death or serious injury

Answer: D — Prevent reasonably certain death or serious injury

A) The general public is not an authorized recipient. B) Media disclosures generally violate confidentiality. C) Personal disclosures to a spouse violate the rule. D) Correct — MR 1.6(b) permits (and some states require) disclosure to prevent reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm.

Two long-time business partners dispute the valuation of one partner's interest. Both want to continue working together afterward, and the governing agreement is silent on process. Which factor MOST supports negotiated or mediated resolution over litigation?

1. The legal standard for valuing a closely held interest is unsettled in the jurisdiction
2. One partner has substantially greater financial resources to sustain a long proceeding
3. The parties have an ongoing relationship and share an interest in a confidential outcome
4. The dispute involves a modest sum relative to the total value of the business enterprise

Answer: C — The parties have an ongoing relationship and share an interest in a confidential outcome

C) Correct - a continuing relationship plus a shared preference for confidentiality is the classic profile in which a negotiated or mediated result outperforms adjudication. A) Tempting because uncertainty raises litigation risk, but unsettled law is also a reason some parties seek a ruling. B) Tempting because asymmetry pressures settlement, but that is leverage, not a reason the process fits. D) Tempting because small stakes discourage suit, but amount alone does not address the relationship.

The Multistate Performance Test consists of:

1. Multiple-choice practice-management questions
2. An oral argument before a mock appellate panel
3. A take-home research paper due one week later
4. Two 90-minute lawyering tasks using a closed universe

Answer: D — Two 90-minute lawyering tasks using a closed universe

A) The MPT is not multiple choice. B) It is not oral advocacy. C) It is proctored, not take-home. D) Correct — two 90-minute tasks that test practical lawyering skills using only the File and Library provided.

Hearsay definition?

Out-of-court statement offered to prove truth of matter asserted. Generally inadmissible.

What distinguishes a client-advice memo from a persuasive brief?

A memo objectively predicts outcomes and discloses weaknesses. A brief argues one side's position, though candor to the tribunal still applies.

What are the typical formalities for an attested will?

A writing signed by the testator with testamentary capacity, witnessed by the required number of competent witnesses (commonly two) who sign in the testator's presence.

What are the three elements of an enforceable contract?

Mutual assent (offer and acceptance), consideration or a substitute, and no defense to formation such as incapacity, duress, or illegality.

Name the standard governing child custody decisions.

The best interests of the child, weighing factors such as each parent's relationship with the child, stability, and the child's needs.

Attachment of security interest?

Value given + debtor has rights in collateral + authenticated security agreement (or possession).