B Law Quiz - 8

Which of the following is not required for the plaintiff to prove in an action for negligence? a. Breach of duty b. Superseding event c. Injury d. Cause

B. Superseding event A superseding event could be a defense to liability for the defendant.

If an activity causes a foreseeable and highly significant risk of physical harm even when reasonable care is exercised by all actors, and the activity is not one of common usage, it is: a. proximate cause. b. abnormally dangerous. c. res ipsa loquitur. d. None of these are correct.

B. abnormally dangerous. A person who carries on an abnormally dangerous activity is subject to strict liability for physical harm resulting from the activity.

In most states, the possessor of land owes the greatest duty of care to which of the following? a. Licensee b. Trespasser c. Invitee d. Duty of care applies the same to all of these.

C .Invitee The possessor of land must exercise reasonable care to protect against dangerous conditions about which the possessor should know and which the invitee is unlikely to discover.

(T/F) The possessor of land is under a duty to exercise reasonable care for the safety of discovered trespassers and to warn them against dangerous conditions.

True. The possessor of land is not liable to trespassers for failure to maintain the land in a reasonably safe condition, but if the trespassers are discovered, they must be warned about potentially dangerous conditions.

(T/F) Res ipsa loquitor permits the jury to infer both negligent conduct and causation.

True. This concept means "the thing speaks for itself." This rule says that the mere occurrence of certain types of events will allow the jury to infer negligence.

To prove a case of negligence against a defendant the plaintiff must prove: a. negligence per se. b. duty of care, breach of duty, factual cause, and harm within the scope of liability. c. intentional infliction of injury. d. malice aforethought.

b. duty of care, breach of duty, factual cause, and harm within the scope of liability.

The reasonable person standard is: a. external and subjective. b. external and objective. c. internal and subjective. d. internal and objective

b. external and objective. The court examines the particular facts of the case

(T/F) Strict liability is a tort doctrine based on negligence.

False. Even if the utmost care is taken in some activities, those performing the activities may still be held liable because of the dangerousness of the activity.

(T/F) The doctrine of superseding cause is not a defense in negligence cases.

False. The law imposes two major limitations on liability. Superseding cause is one of them.

The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur would permit the court to infer negligence in which of the following situations? a. A chair broke when a customer sat down on it, but the customer wasn't injured. b. A chandelier fell on a patron's head in the restaurant dining room. c. A golfer on a golf course was hit in the head with a stray shot golfball. d. The situations with a chandelier falling and the golfer are both correct.

D. The situations with a chandelier falling and the golfer are both correct.

Which of the following is correct with respect to the reasonable person standard? a. It makes allowance for mental deficiency. b. It makes allowance for physical disability. c. It applies an individualized test to children that takes into consideration the child's age, background, and experience. d. Two of these answers are correct.

D. Two of these answers are correct. Tort law makes allowances for physical disabilities and children when applying the reasonable person standard.

Which of the following is not an element required for negligence that the plaintiff must prove? a. Breach of duty of care b. Proximate cause c. Injury d. None of these

D. none of these

Sometimes the reasonable person standard of conduct may be established by legislation. An unexcused violation of that statute which causes an injury to another is: a. negligence per se. b. supervening event. c. res ipsa loquitur. d. contributory negligence.

A. negligence per se. Some statutes expressly impose civil liability on violators.

Which of the following is correct with respect to the reasonable person standard when there is an emergency? a. The court will not consider the fact that an emergency existed at the time. b. The court will assume that the defendant's own negligent conduct created the emergency. c. The court will take into consideration the fact that he was at the time confronted with a sudden and unexpected emergency. d. All of these are correct.

C. The court will take into consideration the fact that he was at the time confronted with a sudden and unexpected emergency.

(T/F) Contributory negligence is a defense to strict liability.

False. The law in imposing strict liability places full responsibility on the defendant.

If a statute is found to be applicable to a fact situation, then the courts will hold that an unexcused violation of that statute which causes an injury to another is: a. negligence per se. b. assumption of the risk. c. strict liability. d. res ipsa loquitur.

a. negligence per se. The violation in itself conclusively shows negligent conduct or a breach of duty of care.

"Factual cause" in negligence cases is also known as: a. The matter-of-fact test. b. The true-cause test. c. The but-for test. d. The foreseeability test.

c. The but-for test. Under this test, a person's conduct is a cause of an event if the event would not have occurred but for the person's negligent conduct.

The pure comparative negligence doctrine is applied by some states to: a. eliminate recovery for plaintiffs that failed to exercise reasonable care. b. encourage plaintiffs not to file suit if they made poor choices. c. divide the damages between the parties according to their fault. d. All of these are correct.

c. divide the damages between the parties according to their fault. The award is made in proportion to the degree of negligence.

Proximate Cause in negligence cases is also known as: a. The matter-of-fact test. b. The true-cause test. c. The but-for test. d. Foreseeability.

d. Foreseeability.

Which of the following is a special relationship giving rise to a duty to act to aid or protect one in peril? a. Hotel and guest b. Cousin to cousin c. School principal and student d. Hotel and guest, and school principal and student

d. Hotel and guest, and school principal and student

What duty of care is owed by a possessor of land to adult trespassers? a. The possessor of land must take reasonable care to keep adult trespassers safe. b. The possessor of land is only responsible to keep himself safe. c. The duty of the possessor of the land extends only to those who are on the land. d. The possessor is not liable to adult trespassers for failure to maintain land in a reasonably safe condition.

d. The possessor is not liable to adult trespassers for failure to maintain land in a reasonably safe condition. The lawful possessor must avoid inflicting intentional injury, but does not have a duty to keep the land safe.

Cal sprayed pesticide on his crops in a very careful manner on a windless day. Nevertheless, some of the pesticide spray fell on his neighbor's side of the fence and contaminated the cornmeal for the chickens. The chickens died, and the neighbor sues. What is the likely result? a. Cal is not liable for the damage because of contributory negligence. b. Cal is liable because spraying pesticides is an abnormally dangerous activity. c. Cal is not liable because the neighbor assumed the risk of damage to the feed by placing it so close to the fence. d. Cal is not liable because he was not negligent in his spraying operation.

B. Cal is liable because spraying pesticides is an abnormally dangerous activity. Strict liability is based on the nature of the activity.