Chapter 7: Torts

An intentional act that creates a harmful or offensive physical contact is known as a________________.

Battery

The _______________ theory allows plaintiffs to recover proportionately from a group of manufacturers when the identity of the specific manufacturer responsible for the harm is unknown.

Market share

To prove defamation, a plaintiff would have to prove...?

Publication of false statements that cause harm to reputation.

In the context of defending a defamation suit, actual malice means that...?

Reckless disregard for truth or knowledge of falsehood of published material

The ________________ is an authoritative secondary source, written by a group of legal scholars, summarizing the existing common law of torts as well as suggesting what the law should be.

Restatement of the Law of Torts, Second

Tort and contract actions can be differentiated in that...?

Tort occurs when someone injures you or your property, and falls into the categories of intentional torts, negligence, or strict liability. Contract actions involves an agreement enforceable by law.

The person who commits a tort is known as...?

Tortfeasor

If a person directs a tortious act towards A but instead harms B, the intent to act against A is transferred to B; this is the legal fiction known as ________________.

Transferred intent

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

True

Both duty of care and proximate cause are based upon the concept of foreseeability.

True

Courts impose liability in strict liability cases for the policy reason that as between the defendant and the injured plaintiff, the defendant is in a better position to absorb the costs of the injury.

True

Generally, the law has always placed a higher value upon human safety than upon mere rights in property

True

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

Negligence is a failure to act as a reasonably prudent and careful person is expected to act in similar circumstances.

True

The "Restatement of Torts Second" is a uniform code that has been adopted by most state legislatures.

True

To prove that an assault occurred, a plaintiff must prove the following...?

An intentional act that creates a reasonable apprehension of an immediate harmful or offensive physical contract.

To prove that battery occurred, a plaintiff must prove the following...?

An intentional act that creates an offensive or harmful physical contact.

An intentional act that creates a reasonable apprehension of an immediate harmful or offensive physical contact is known as an ________________.

Assault

Voluntarily and knowingly subjecting oneself to danger is known as _____________.

Assumption of the risk

In negligence cases, the plaintiff must prove two types of causation...?

Actual cause (measured by "but for" standard if defendant had not acted this way, plaintiff would not be injured) and Proximate cause (the act and the resulting harm were so foreseeably related as to justify finding of liability)

The primary defenses available in intentional tort cases are...?

Consent, self-defense, defense of others, and various privileges

Assumption of the risk and contributory negligence differ from each other in that...?

Contributory negligence: plaintiff's own actions or negligence has contributed to their injury (complete bar to recovery) Assumption of risk: voluntarily and knowingly subjecting oneself to danger

______________ is the publication of false statements that harm a person's reputation.

Defamation

________________ is the intentional publication of embarrassing private affairs.

Disclosure

If a product proves to be defective, the only remedy available to the injured party is to sue under a theory of strict liability.

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

In determining if a battery occurred, the court is concerned with the defendant's motive, not with the defendant's intent

False

The question of whether someone owed a duty usually revolves around whether the plaintiff was someone whom the defendant could foresee would be harmed by his or her actions.

False

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

False (assumption of risk and product misuse only)

Punitive damages are rarely awarded.

False (commonly awarded)

Intentional behavior and recklessness describe negligent behavior.

False (just failure to act reasonably)

Contributory negligence refers to the defendant's actions.

False (refers plaintiff)

Assault and battery are one indivisible tort

False (they are different)

A public official cannot recover damages for a defamatory falsehood relating to his official conduct unless he proves that the statement was made with the intent of causing him severe emotional distress.

False (unless he can prove it was totally false information)

Which of the following is not an element of false imprisonment...?

False imprisonment is an intentional act that caused confinement or restraint through force or the threat of force.

Your boss has asked you to research a client's situation involving tort law. You would look at all of the following resources, except...?

Federal law

Written defamation known as ______________.

Libel

A ________________ claim represents the loss by one spouse of the other spouse's companionship, services, or affection.

Loss of consortium

A strict liability lawsuit is easier to prove than one based on negligence because under strict liability there is no...?

No question of unreasonable behavior, no need to prove fault.

The defense to a products' liability claim that states the product was not being used for its intended purpose or in a dangerous manner, is known as ____________.

Product misuse

Spoken defamation is known as _______________.

Slander

An intentional tort occurs whenever...?

Someone intends an action that results in harm to a person's body, reputation, emotional well-being, or property.

The four basic elements in a negligence case are...?

The defendant must owe a duty to the plaintiff to act reasonably, and the defendant must have breached that duty and thereby causing the plaintiff harm.

To prove the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress, a plaintiff would have to prove...?

an intentional act that is extreme and outrageous and causes severe emotional distress

In the landmark case of Dillon v. Legg, the court held that a mother who saw her child injured through the negligence of a speeding motorist could recover...?

for her emotional distress