Final answer:
To determine "within a reasonable time", laws from the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) will be referred to, which look at industry standards, nature of goods, and prior dealings to establish what would be considered reasonable in the context of business transactions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The laws that will be applied to determine the meaning of "within a reasonable time" are typically the ones found in the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) which deals with contracts for the sale of goods. The UCC is generally adopted by most U.S. states and provides a framework for determining what constitutes a reasonable time in the context of business transactions. Considerations might include industry standards, prior dealings between the parties, and the nature of the goods being delivered. In the absence of an exact delivery date specified by the contract, a court would look at what a typical business person would consider reasonable under the circumstances.
In this case, where a department store ordered action figures from a toy manufacturer, factors like the time of year (e.g., if it’s near the holiday shopping season), the usual lead times for producing and shipping such goods, and the communication between the parties might all influence what is deemed reasonable.