Guest Blogger, Henry Lowenstein: Do You "Hear" The Law Sing?

DO YOU "HEAR" THE LAW SING?

by

Henry Lowenstein, Ph.D.

Professor of Management and Law

Coastal Carolina University

In the Legal Classroom Blog Profesor DeAngelis and guest professors provide different and unique approaches to assist students in their education on recognizing, understanding and interpreting business law and legal issues.  One such approach is through the use of music and in the exercise I offer today this learning device based upon one of the world's most famous and successful musicals.  

Many students returning to classes in 2013 doubtless enjoyed the premier and subsequent showing of Universal Pictures movie rendition of the popular and long-running musical Les Misérables starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried.   The story, based upon the novel by 19th century French author, Victor Hugo, takes place in France starting in 1815 and culminating in the June Rebellion (Paris Uprising) of 1832.

Les Misérables-The Musical premiered in Paris in 1980 in French, written and produced by Alan Boublil with music by Claude-Michel Schoenberg.  The English lyric version led to its London premier in 1985, over 30 years of performances, adaptations and now major movie.

Within the musical is a humorous scene and popular song sung by the rogue character, Monsieur Thénardier, a corrupt innkeeper who with his equally corrupt wife later loses the inn to bankruptcy.   The song, Master of the House provides an interesting opportunity for students of business law, and particularly students in a hospitality law courses to reflect on all the federal, state and local laws and regulations Monsieur Thénardier would be violating in the conduct of his establishment where he to find himself in the United States in the year 2013!! 

The exercise can be made to different degrees of challenge for students by adapting to particular states or localities in which they attend their business law class. Those in hospitality law can run down the list of issues posed in each state's Law of Innkeepers.  Other students can meet the challenge of identifying all the various unfair trade practices, statutory, regulatory and common law violations in such areas as bailment, bad faith and fair dealing, fraud and misrepresentation, animal abuse, contract and the list goes on. 

To help demonstrate this point we create two columns.  The first contains the lyrics to Master of the House.  In the second column is space where the students can identify in general (or if they and the professor desire) specific statute and regulation, the violation represented by each verse of this singing allocution of the innkeeper. (I have put some general identifications by a few of the lyrics as a demonstration.)

At the end I have attached a link to a YouTube performance of the song from the 10th Anniversary performance of Les Misérables.  I hope students and faculty find this a fun method to reinforce their learning on business law and the legal environment.

HL  12/29/12

BUSINESS LAW EXERCISE:  MASTER OF THE HOUSE*

*Lyrics “Master of the House” from Les Misérables (1980 English lyrics by Hervert Kretzmer)

(http://www.elyrics.net/read/l/les-miserables-lyrics/master-in-the-house-lyrics.html)

Monsieur Thénardier-Innkeeper

Business Laws Implicated

Welcome M'sier Sit yourself down And meet the best Innkeeper in town As for the rest All of them crooks Rooking the guests And cooking the books Seldom do you see Honest men like me A gent of good intent Who's content to be Master of the House Doling out the charm Ready with a handshake And an open palm Tells a saucy tale Makes a little stir Customers appreciate a bon viveur! Glad to do my friends a favor Doesn't cost me to be nice! But nothing gets you nothing, everything has got a little price. Master of the House Keeper of the zoo Ready relieve them of a sou, or two. Watering the wine, making up the weight, Picking up their knick-knacks When they can't see straight Everybody loves a landlord Everybody's bosom friend I do whatever pleases Jesus don't I bleed them in the end! Master of the House Quick to catch yer eye Never wants a passer by To pass him by Servant to the poor Butler to the great Comforter, philosopher And lifelong mate Everybody's boon companion Everybody's chaperone But look up your valises Jesus! Won't I skin yer to the bone! Enter M'sieur Lay down yer load Unlace yer boots And rest from the road This weighs a ton Travel's a curse But here we strive To lighten your purse Here the goose is cooked Here the fat is fried And nothing's overlooked Till I'm satisfied Food beyond compare Food beyond belief Mix it in a mincer And pretend it's beef Kidney of a horse Liver of a cat Filling up the sausages With this and that Residents are more than welcome Bridal suite is occupied Reasonable charges plus some little extras on the side Charge them for the lice Extra for the mice Two percent for looking in the mirror twice Here a little slice There a little cut Three percent for sleeping with the window shut When it comes to fixing prices There are lots of tricks he knows How it all increases All them bits and pieces Jesus! It's amazing how it grows! Master of the House Quick to catch yer eye Never wants a passer by To pass him by Servant to the poor Butler to the great Comforter, philosopher And lifelong mate Everybody's boon companion Gives them everything he's got Dirty bunch of geezers Jesus! What a sorry little lot! I used to dream That I would meet a prince But God Almighty, Have you seen what's happened since? `Master of the house?' Isn't worth me spit! `Comforter, philosopher' - and lifelong shit! Cunning little brain Regular Voltaire Thinks he's quite a lover But there's not much there What a cruel trick of nature Landing me with such a louse! God knows how I've lasted Living with this bastard in the house! Master of the house. Master and a half! Comforter, philosopher Ah, don't make me laugh! Servant to the poor. Butler to the great. Hypocrite and toady and inebriate! Everybody bless the landlord! Everybody bless his spouse! Everybody raise a glass Raise it up the master's arse. Everybody raise a glass to the master of the house!

Business License- Occupancy Permit? Fraud and Misrepresentation Slander per se False statements Bribery Fraud Bribery Larceny Violation of ABC law and regulation-adulteration of product Breach of Bailment Theft-Conversion Predatory pricing-bait and switch Food service violations Food labeling fraud, Violation of sanitation regulations.  Illegal treatment of animals…..etc, Bait and Switch Food and hospitality law violations Deceptive pricing practices Age discrimination in commerce

YouTube “Master of the House” 10th Anniversary performance Les Misérables.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi0Rlfble3A