Chapter 7: Tort Law

"Assault and battery" is one indivisible tort

False

Contributory negligence, assumption of the risk, and product misuse are the three most common defenses to a strict liability claim

False

In a restaurant review, the mystery diner stated that the Good Chow Restaurant served the worst hamburger he had ever eaten. This is a good example of a defamatory statement as it would tend to hurt the restaurant's reputation

False

John and Joe are in an argument. They get very angry and John begins attacking Joe with his fists. In response, Joe pulls out a gun and shoots John. This is an example of self-defense

False

Martha waves a gun in front of Ben's face and tells him that she is going to shoot him. Ben believes that she is about to do so, but then a policeman arrives and arrests Martha before she can fire the gun. No tort was committed

False

Sam is angry with Raymond and tells him that he is going to go home and get his gun. Raymond is frightened. This constitutes assault

False

The three major affirmative defenses to negligence are contributory negligence, assumption of the risk, and consent

False

Torts have traditionally been classified into one of four major categories based on whether they involve intentional acts, mere accident, negligence, or strict liability

False

Verbal defamation is known as libel and written defamation is known as slander

False

If a person was injured when an elevator unexpectedly fell twenty stories, to prove negligence the plaintiff's attorney might rely upon the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur

True

In a case of medical malpractice, in order to prove how a reasonable physician would have acted under the circumstances, usually the plaintiff will be required to call an expert witness to testify as to the professional standard of care

True

In negligence cases, the court must evaluate the behavior based on all of the circumstances. Therefore, the specific facts become very important

True

Proximate cause is not really about cause at all, but represents a policy decision that at some point a defendant will not be held responsible for every consequence of every action

True

Sometimes the same set of facts will give rise to both a tort action and a crime

True

Sometimes the same set of facts will give rise to both a tort and a contract action

True

Suzanne told Sally that she thought Sally was a thief. This was said to Sally's face with no one else present in the room. However, Harry was next door and heard the whole thing. This is an example of slander

True

The tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress allows a plaintiff to sue for emotional distress, but usually requires that the defendant's behavior be extreme and outrageous.

True

Under strict liability, a product is considered to be defective if it is unreasonably dangerous for use in the ordinary manner

True

A tort occurs when someone's person or property is hurt

True

Compensatory damages are to compensate the plaintiff for the harm done

True