Kentucky Bar Exam (UBE) — Questions and Answers

Question 1: A developer records a declaration stating that all lots in a subdivision are restricted to single-family residential use. A later buyer with record notice opens a business on her lot. Neighbors sue. What is the neighbors' strongest theory?

Trespass to land
Easement by prescription
Breach of the implied warranty of habitability
Enforcement of an equitable servitude under a common scheme (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Enforcement of an equitable servitude under a common scheme

A recorded common-scheme restriction binds purchasers with notice as an equitable servitude enforceable by injunction.

Question 2: In which of the following situations would a court most likely apply the 'alter ego' doctrine to pierce the corporate veil?

A corporation incurs significant debt while continuing its normal business operations
A corporation with many shareholders and regular board meetings fails to declare dividends for two years
A sole shareholder regularly commingles personal and corporate funds, uses corporate assets for personal purposes, and ignores all corporate formalities (Correct answer)
A wholly owned subsidiary enters into a contract without explicit board authorization

Correct answer: A sole shareholder regularly commingles personal and corporate funds, uses corporate assets for personal purposes, and ignores all corporate formalities

Courts apply the alter ego doctrine when a shareholder treats the corporation as a personal instrumentality by commingling funds, using assets for personal ends, and disregarding corporate formalities.

Question 3: A defendant wants to bring a claim against a nonparty who may be liable to the defendant for all or part of the plaintiff's claim against it. What device should the defendant use?

Implead the nonparty as a third-party defendant under Rule 14 (Correct answer)
Move to intervene under Rule 24
File a cross-claim under Rule 13(g)
File a counterclaim under Rule 13(a)

Correct answer: Implead the nonparty as a third-party defendant under Rule 14

Rule 14 impleader allows a defending party to bring in a nonparty who is or may be liable to it for all or part of the claim against it, such as an indemnitor.

Question 4: A contractor agrees to build a garage for $30,000. Midway, the contractor demands $5,000 more to finish, and the owner agrees under protest. At common law, is the modification enforceable?

No, because the contractor had a preexisting duty to complete the work (Correct answer)
Yes, because modifications never require consideration
Yes, because both parties agreed to the new price
No, because construction contracts cannot be modified orally

Correct answer: No, because the contractor had a preexisting duty to complete the work

The common-law preexisting duty rule makes a modification unenforceable without new consideration.

Question 5: A buyer under an installment land contract defaults after paying 80 percent of the price. The contract declares all payments forfeited and title retained by the seller. How are many modern courts likely to treat this arrangement?

As an equitable mortgage requiring foreclosure or restitution rather than strict forfeiture (Correct answer)
As a valid liquidated damages clause in all cases
As a lease with an option to purchase
As an automatic forfeiture enforceable as written

Correct answer: As an equitable mortgage requiring foreclosure or restitution rather than strict forfeiture

Modern courts increasingly treat installment land contracts like mortgages, protecting a defaulting buyer with substantial equity from harsh forfeiture.

Question 6: Which of the following correctly describes the duty of loyalty in a general partnership under the UPA?

Partners must place their own financial interests above those of the partnership when a conflict arises
Partners may freely compete with the partnership as long as they disclose the competition in writing
Partners owe a duty of loyalty only to the managing or senior partner
Partners must account to the partnership for any benefit derived from partnership business and refrain from competing with the partnership without consent (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Partners must account to the partnership for any benefit derived from partnership business and refrain from competing with the partnership without consent

The duty of loyalty requires each partner to account for and hold as trustee any benefit derived from partnership business and to refrain from competing with the partnership without the consent of all partners.

Question 7: A defendant leaves a bag of contraband in a garbage can placed on the curb for collection. Police retrieve and search it without a warrant. Under California v. Greenwood, the search is:

Lawful only if the officers had reasonable suspicion
Unlawful, because garbage retains privacy protection until collected
Unlawful because the cans were the defendant's property
Lawful, because there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in garbage left for collection outside the curtilage (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Lawful, because there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in garbage left for collection outside the curtilage

Greenwood holds that garbage left for collection outside the curtilage of a home is knowingly exposed to the public and carries no reasonable expectation of privacy.

Question 8: What protections does the Equal Protection Clause provide?

It only applies to racial discrimination
It prohibits states from denying any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws (Correct answer)
It guarantees equal income for all citizens
It requires identical treatment in all circumstances regardless of differences

Correct answer: It prohibits states from denying any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits arbitrary government discrimination, requiring similarly situated persons to be treated alike under the law.

Question 9: A buyer contracts for a rare antique clock, a one-of-a-kind item, and the seller refuses to deliver. What remedy best fits?

Specific performance, because the goods are unique and damages are inadequate (Correct answer)
Rescission with a statutory penalty
Cover damages only, because equity never applies to goods
Nominal damages, because the clock has sentimental value only

Correct answer: Specific performance, because the goods are unique and damages are inadequate

UCC § 2-716 permits specific performance where goods are unique or in other proper circumstances.

Question 10: Which of the following best describes a close corporation?

A nonprofit corporation subject to close regulatory oversight by the state
A corporation with a small number of shareholders, shares not publicly traded, and often restrictions on share transfers (Correct answer)
A corporation with shares publicly traded on a national stock exchange
A foreign corporation granted authority to do business in Kentucky

Correct answer: A corporation with a small number of shareholders, shares not publicly traded, and often restrictions on share transfers

A close corporation has a small number of shareholders, its shares are not publicly traded, and share transfer restrictions are commonly imposed by the articles or a shareholders' agreement.

Question 11: An heir in Kentucky feloniously and intentionally kills the decedent. What effect does this have on inheritance?

The killer inherits but must pay damages
The killer still inherits if not convicted of murder specifically
The estate escheats to the state
The killer forfeits the inheritance under the slayer statute, treated as if predeceasing the victim (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The killer forfeits the inheritance under the slayer statute, treated as if predeceasing the victim

KRS 381.280 bars one who feloniously kills the decedent from taking, passing the property as if the slayer had died first.

Question 12: In a negligence action, the defendant offers evidence that the plaintiff carries medical insurance to suggest the plaintiff suffered no real loss. This evidence is:

Inadmissible because evidence of liability insurance is barred, and this is analogous
Admissible to show plaintiff's motive to sue
Admissible to reduce damages
Inadmissible under the collateral source rule and irrelevant to liability or damages (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Inadmissible under the collateral source rule and irrelevant to liability or damages

The collateral source rule bars evidence that the plaintiff was compensated by an independent source, as it is irrelevant and prejudicial on liability and damages.

Question 13: A city ordinance bans all door-to-door solicitation, including religious canvassing, without a permit issued at the mayor's discretion. A religious group challenges the ordinance. What is the strongest constitutional defect?

The ordinance violates the Contracts Clause
The ordinance violates the Establishment Clause by regulating religious activity
The permit scheme vests unbridled discretion in an official, creating an invalid prior restraint on speech (Correct answer)
The ordinance is an ex post facto law

Correct answer: The permit scheme vests unbridled discretion in an official, creating an invalid prior restraint on speech

Licensing schemes for speech that give officials unfettered discretion are unconstitutional prior restraints under the First Amendment.

Question 14: A plaintiff sues a Kentucky physician for medical negligence. To establish the standard of care, the plaintiff generally must present:

Proof that the physician violated hospital bylaws
Only the medical records showing a bad outcome
Expert testimony on the degree of care of a reasonably competent practitioner (Correct answer)
Testimony from any layperson familiar with medicine

Correct answer: Expert testimony on the degree of care of a reasonably competent practitioner

Medical negligence in Kentucky ordinarily requires expert testimony establishing the standard of care and its breach, unless the negligence is obvious to a layperson.

Question 15: During a KRS 13B hearing, a party is denied any opportunity to cross-examine the agency's key witness. The final order is later challenged. The best ground for reversal is that the order was:

Made without procedures required by law, prejudicing substantial rights (Correct answer)
Supported by substantial evidence
Consistent with the agency's prior precedent
Within the agency's statutory authority

Correct answer: Made without procedures required by law, prejudicing substantial rights

KRS 13B.150 permits reversal where the agency acted without required procedures and the error prejudiced the party's substantial rights.

Question 16: A Kentucky agency adopts a binding policy of general applicability through an internal memo instead of promulgating it under KRS Chapter 13A. The policy is:

Valid if posted on the agency website
Unenforceable, because KRS 13A.130 bars using internal policies in place of duly promulgated regulations (Correct answer)
Enforceable only in Franklin County
Valid because agencies may choose their format

Correct answer: Unenforceable, because KRS 13A.130 bars using internal policies in place of duly promulgated regulations

KRS 13A.130 prohibits agencies from using internal policies or memoranda to modify law or impose requirements that must be promulgated as regulations.

Question 17: Grandparents petition for visitation over the objection of the child's fit parent in Kentucky. Under Walker v. Blair, the court must:

Grant visitation if it would benefit the child in any way
Presume the fit parent's decision is in the child's best interest, rebuttable only by clear and convincing evidence (Correct answer)
Apply a simple preponderance best-interests test with no parental presumption
Deny the petition because grandparents lack standing

Correct answer: Presume the fit parent's decision is in the child's best interest, rebuttable only by clear and convincing evidence

Walker v. Blair harmonized KRS 405.021 with Troxel by requiring a presumption favoring the fit parent's decision, overcome only by clear and convincing evidence that visitation serves the child's best interest.

Question 18: Two merchants exchange forms: the buyer's purchase order is silent on arbitration, and the seller's acknowledgment adds an arbitration clause that materially alters the deal. Both perform. Is arbitration part of the contract?

Yes, because performance always accepts all added terms
Yes, because the last form sent controls under the mirror image rule
No, because between merchants a material alteration does not become part of the contract (Correct answer)
No, because contracts between merchants must be identical or void

Correct answer: No, because between merchants a material alteration does not become part of the contract

Under UCC § 2-207, additional terms between merchants drop out if they materially alter the agreement.

Question 19: A defendant is convicted and sentenced to death by a judge who found the aggravating factors himself after a jury verdict of guilt. Under the Sixth Amendment, the sentence is:

Invalid, because any fact making a defendant eligible for death must be found by a jury (Correct answer)
Valid, because judges traditionally have discretion in sentencing
Valid, because the jury found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt
Invalid, because capital punishment is per se unconstitutional

Correct answer: Invalid, because any fact making a defendant eligible for death must be found by a jury

Ring v. Arizona requires that a jury, not a judge, find the aggravating facts that make a defendant eligible for the death penalty.

Question 20: Which doctrine generally requires a party to pursue all available administrative remedies before seeking judicial relief in Kentucky courts?

The political question doctrine
Sovereign immunity
Collateral estoppel
Exhaustion of administrative remedies (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Exhaustion of administrative remedies

Kentucky courts generally will not review agency action until the party has exhausted the administrative remedies available.

Question 21: What is the best evidence rule?

Only the strongest evidence in a case is admissible
Physical evidence always takes priority over testimony
Original documents must be produced to prove their contents unless an exception applies (Correct answer)
The party with the best evidence wins automatically

Correct answer: Original documents must be produced to prove their contents unless an exception applies

The best evidence rule requires the original writing, recording, or photograph when a party seeks to prove its contents, though copies may be admitted under certain exceptions.

Question 22: A plaintiff files a complaint but fails to serve the defendant within 90 days. Under Rule 4(m), what must the federal court do absent a showing of good cause?

Dismiss the action without prejudice or order that service be made within a specified time (Correct answer)
Enter a default judgment against the defendant
Dismiss the action with prejudice
Transfer the case to state court

Correct answer: Dismiss the action without prejudice or order that service be made within a specified time

Rule 4(m) requires dismissal without prejudice or an order setting a deadline for service when service is not made within 90 days, unless good cause extends the time.

Question 23: What is the Rule Against Perpetuities?

A rule that limits lease terms to 99 years
A rule requiring that future interests must vest within a life in being plus 21 years (Correct answer)
A rule preventing property from being sold more than once
A rule against multiple mortgages on one property

Correct answer: A rule requiring that future interests must vest within a life in being plus 21 years

The Rule Against Perpetuities invalidates future interests that might not vest within 21 years after the death of a measuring life in being at the creation of the interest.

Question 24: A jury in a Kentucky felony trial convicts by a vote of 11 to 1. The conviction is:

Valid, because only one juror dissented
Invalid only if the defendant objected before deliberations
Invalid, because Ramos v. Louisiana requires unanimous verdicts for serious offenses in state court (Correct answer)
Valid, because states may permit non-unanimous verdicts

Correct answer: Invalid, because Ramos v. Louisiana requires unanimous verdicts for serious offenses in state court

Ramos v. Louisiana held that the Sixth Amendment, as incorporated against the states, requires a unanimous jury verdict to convict for a serious offense.

Question 25: A Kentucky lawyer is appointed by the court to represent an indigent defendant. Under Rule 6.2, the lawyer may seek to avoid the appointment only for:

Any reason at all, since appointments are voluntary
Cases outside the lawyer's preferred practice area, automatically
Clients who cannot pay a retainer
Good cause, such as an unreasonable financial burden, a conflict, or the client or cause being so repugnant as to likely impair the representation (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Good cause, such as an unreasonable financial burden, a conflict, or the client or cause being so repugnant as to likely impair the representation

Rule 6.2 allows declining appointments only for good cause, including conflicts, unreasonable burden, or impairing repugnance.

Question 26: What is relevance in evidence law?

Only direct evidence of the crime
Evidence that proves a fact conclusively
Evidence that has any tendency to make a material fact more or less probable (Correct answer)
Evidence that the judge personally finds interesting

Correct answer: Evidence that has any tendency to make a material fact more or less probable

Relevant evidence is any evidence that has a tendency to make a fact of consequence to the case more or less probable than it would be without the evidence.

Question 27: What is the purpose of a preliminary hearing in Kentucky criminal procedure?

To allow the defendant to plead guilty
To determine whether there is sufficient evidence to hold the defendant for trial (Correct answer)
To conduct a full trial on the merits of the case
To finalize the sentencing of the defendant

Correct answer: To determine whether there is sufficient evidence to hold the defendant for trial

A preliminary hearing in Kentucky criminal procedure serves as an initial judicial review to determine if there is sufficient evidence to justify holding the defendant for trial. It is not a trial to decide guilt or innocence, but rather a procedural safeguard. The court assesses whether probable cause exists to believe a crime was committed and that the defendant committed it, before the case proceeds to a grand jury or trial.

Question 28: A corporation incorporated in Delaware with its headquarters and executive offices in Louisville, Kentucky is a citizen of which state(s) for diversity purposes?

Kentucky only
Delaware only
Both Delaware and Kentucky (Correct answer)
Every state in which it does business

Correct answer: Both Delaware and Kentucky

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c), a corporation is a citizen of its state of incorporation and the state of its principal place of business, its 'nerve center' under Hertz.

Question 29: A state statute presumes that fathers of children born out of wedlock are unfit parents and removes children without a hearing upon the mother's death. The statute is:

Unconstitutional only if the father has formally legitimated the child
Constitutional, because unwed fathers have no parental rights
Unconstitutional, because parental rights are a fundamental liberty interest requiring individualized fitness hearings (Correct answer)
Constitutional, because child welfare is a compelling interest that justifies any procedure

Correct answer: Unconstitutional, because parental rights are a fundamental liberty interest requiring individualized fitness hearings

Stanley v. Illinois held that unwed fathers who have participated in raising their children are entitled to a hearing on fitness before losing custody.

Kentucky Bar Exam (UBE)

The Kentucky Bar Exam is a Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) consisting of the MBE (200 multiple-choice questions), MEE (6 essays), and MPT (2 performance tasks), testing competency across all major areas of law required for licensure in Kentucky.

200

Questions

360 min

Time Limit

67%

To Pass

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