EOB test 6

Professional negligence by business professionals such as doctors, accountants, and lawyers is known as malpractice.

True

Public figures typically have a difficult time winning defamation lawsuits.

True

Punitive damages are intended not to compensate the plaintiff but to deter the defendant from ever engaging in similar conduct.

True

Strict liability applies in only a few limited circumstances.

True

Strict liability applies when restaurants serve alcohol to visibly intoxicated persons.

True

The norms that society protects make up the basis for tort law.

True

The tort of false imprisonment requires an actual and present confinement.

True

Trespass to personal property is the unlawful taking of another's personal property without the owner's permission.

True

When physical touching is absent, courts sometimes permit the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress to be claimed.

True

If someone is convicted of a crime, he/she is automatically liable in civil tort law under the _____ doctrine.

negligence per se

An act from which an injury results as a natural and direct consequence is called:

proximate causation

An advertisement that promises "the best food in town" is an example of _____ since it is opinion.

puffery

Oral defamation is considered _____.

slander

The oral form of defamation is considered:

slander

If a tortfeasor is engaged in certain activities and someone is injured or killed, then under _____ the tortfeasor is held liable no matter how careful or careless he or she may have been.

strict liability

The most important area of strict liability application is _____.

strict product liability

Often, the same conduct can be both a crime and a tort.

True

Product misuse is a defense to strict product liability.

True

Defense of others is a reasonable and proportionate force used to defend another person from harm or injury.

True

Identify the rule under which the jury is asked to determine to what extent the plaintiff is at fault, and the plaintiff's total recovery is then reduced by that percentage.

Comparative negligence

Which of the following is true about the tort of assault?

A sense of apprehension is enough for assault

Which of the following can be a defense to strict product liability?

Assumption of risk

_____ is a defense which bars the plaintiff from recovery because the plaintiff voluntarily and knowingly assumed known perils.

Assumption of risk

_____ is any unconsented touching, even if physical injuries are not present.

Battery

Which of the following statements is true about compensatory and punitive damages?

Compensatory damages can be awarded for past, present, and future losses

_____ is the act of wrongfully hurting a living person's good reputation.

Defamation

Which of the following laws establish strict liability for taverns, bars, and restaurants for serving alcohol to minor or visibly intoxicated persons who then cause death or injury to others?

Dram shop acts

Which of the following is an example of invasion of privacy?

Hacking into a person's computer

By definition, crimes are intentional and therefore foreseeable.

False

Compensatory damages apply to contract law and tort law, but they are much more difficult to calculate in contract law.

False

Contract law usually allows for the award of punitive damages, something never permitted in tort law.

False

If a plaintiff unknowingly and involuntarily assumes the risk of participating in a dangerous activity, then the defendant is not liable for injuries incurred.

False

If an injury is foreseeable, then proximate cause does not exist.

False

In tort law, only people that you are a third-party-beneficiary to can probably sue you for breach of contract.

False

Most states limit Good Samaritan laws to professionals only.

False

Negligence torts require intent to harm and some level of carelessness to be committed.

False

Since comparative negligence is a fairly harsh rule, most states follow the contributory negligence rule instead.

False

Since product liability is strict liability, the plaintiff's comparative negligence is a defense.

False

Soot, noise, or odor cannot become the basis for trespass.

False

Strict liability applies to commercial sellers and private citizens.

False

The law of negligence is an expression of democracy at the community and local level, because ultimately, legislatures decide what conduct leads to liability.

False

The open and obvious doctrine shields those who aid the injured from negligence liability.

False

The right of a business owner to use extreme force in detaining a suspected shoplifter for a reasonable period of time is known as the shopkeeper's privilege.

False

The tort of tortious interference is similar across all states.

False

There are no constitutional limits to the award of punitive damages.

False

There is no liability for defamatory remarks left on a Facebook wall.

False

To prove negligence, plaintiffs have to demonstrate that five major elements are present.

False

_____ takes place when someone intentionally confines or restrains another person's movement or activities without justification.

False imprisonment

In 1994, President Clinton signed the _____ Act into law, imposing an 18-year statute of repose on product liability claims brought against general aviation aircraft manufacturers such as Cessna and Piper.

General Aviation Revitalization

_____ is the intrusion into the personal life of another without legal justification.

Invasion of privacy

Which of the following statements is true regarding intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED)?

It is extreme conduct (measured objectively) that intentionally causes severe emotional distress to another

Which of the following statements is true about the open and obvious doctrine?

It is used to defend against suits by persons injured while on someone else's property

Which of the following statements is true of fraud?

It requires the tortfeasor to misrepresent facts, with reckless disregard for the truth

_____ is the written form of defamation.

Libel

Which of the following is a civil tort involving numerous plaintiffs against one or few defendants?

Mass tort

Exploiting a known sensitivity in a child, the elderly, or pregnant women can constitute intentional infliction of emotional distress.

True

_____ takes place when a person or company uses someone else's name, likeness, or other identifying characteristic without permission.

Misappropriation

_____ is about breaching the duty we owe others, as determined by state tort law.

Negligence

Which of the following is an example of the tort of battery?

Picking up a chair and hitting another person with it

To which of the following would the attractive nuisance doctrine most likely apply?

Piles of sand

If consumer misuse of a product is foreseeable, manufacturers must warn against that misuse.

True

_____ is an act from which an injury results as a natural and direct consequence.

Proximate causation

_____ refers to promotional statements expressing subjective views.

Puffery

_____ are damages awarded to the plaintiff when the defendant acts wantonly, to punish the defendant and to deter future wrongdoing.

Punitive damages

In strict product liability, any retailer, wholesaler, or manufacturer that sells an unreasonably dangerous product is strictly liable.

True

Many businesses see tort lawsuits as a nuisance at best and ruinous at worst, and would like to see them disappear altogether.

True

Identify the doctrine that holds employers liable for tortious acts committed by employees while acting within the scope of their employment.

Respondeat superior

_____ is a reasonable and proportionate force to defend oneself from harm or injury.

Self-defense

Which of the following is NOT true about the shopkeeper's privilege?

Store employees are allowed to use excessive force in detaining the suspect if the suspect resists detention

_____ provides strong protection for sensationalist "news" organizations that cover celebrity gossip, and courts have held that public figures must show actual malice before they can win a defamation lawsuit.

The Sixth Amendment

Which of the following statements is NOT true about the duty of care?

The general rules surrounding when a duty exists cannot be modified in special situations

Misappropriation takes place when a person uses someone else's name, likeness, or other identifying characteristic without permission.

True

Negligence is about breaching the duty we owe others, as determined by state tort law.

True

Defamation can take place against goods or products instead of people.

True

Identify the correct statement about strict liability torts.

They require neither intent nor carelessness

_____ is the intentional damage of another person's valid contractual relationship.

Tortious interference

_____ occurs whenever someone enters onto, above, or below the surface of land owned by someone else without the owner's permission.

Trespass to land

A product may be defective because of a design defect.

True

A statute of repose functions like a statute of limitations and bars plaintiffs from filing tort claims after a certain period of time has lapsed.

True

To demonstrate that a product is unreasonably dangerous, plaintiffs have two theories available to them. They might allege that the product was defective either because of a flaw in the manufacturing process, or because of:

a design defect

A _____ is demonstrated by showing the defendant failed to act reasonably, when compared with a reasonable person.

breach

Strict liability torts exist because:

businesses that engage in covered activities profit from those activities

In a state that follows the _____, a plaintiff's own negligence, no matter how minor, bars the plaintiff from any recovery.

contributory negligence rule

If you gave your roommate permission to borrow your car for a day and he/she stole your car instead, it would be considered:

conversion

The tort of _____ takes place when someone takes another person's property permanently.

conversion

Many product liability cases arise from the _____ theory because courts have held that the warning labels on products, as well as accompanying literature, are all part of a product's design.

defective design

To prove negligence, plaintiffs have to demonstrate four elements are present. The first element is that the plaintiff has to:

demonstrate that the defendant owed it a duty of care

If a tortfeasor did not act intentionally but nevertheless failed to act in a way a reasonable person would have acted, then _____ has taken place.

negligence

Puffery is also known as _____.

eller's talk

Strict liability is:

imposed in certain situations without regard to fault or due care

Tort law:

is a reflection of American societal values

Good Samaritan statutes are:

limited by most states to laypersons and medical actions only

Negligence committed by certain professionals is known as:

malpractice

Punitive damages are:

money damages awarded to punish the defendant for gross and wanton negligence and to deter future wrongdoing.

The tort of conversion is the civil equivalent to the crime of:

theft

Negligence is distinguished from intentional torts in that:

there is a lack of intent to cause harm

A _____ can be broadly defined as a civil wrong, other than breach of contract.

tort

A _____ is a person who commits a tort.

tortfeasor

In most states, _____ takes place when someone publishes false information about another person's product.

trade disparagement

Punitive damages are awarded:

when the defendant acted with willful and wanton negligence