BLAW Chapter 7

Qualified privilege depends upon proper use of the privilege.

True

Storeowners can occasionally have a problem with liability for false imprisonment when they seek to question a suspected shoplifter.

True

The tort of appropriation is also known as the right of publicity.

True

The tort of false light imposes liability if the matter in question is objectionable to a reasonable person but is not necessarily defamatory.

True

Tim and his friend are playing catch in the back yard when Tim suddenly throws the ball over the fence into the neighbor's yard where it breaks a window. This is trespass to real property, even if Tim himself does not go onto the property to get the ball.

True

Tort law gives persons relief from civil wrongs or injuries to their person, property, and economic interests.

True

A photographer taking photos of a movie star with a telephoto lens would NOT be guilty of intrusion if:

the movie star was in a public building at the time.

The intentional dispossession or unauthorized use of the personal property of another is known as:

trespass to personal property.

A newspaper article hints that a certain corporation is a front for illegal activity. The corporation:

will likely win a defamation suit if the statement is untrue and was made with malice.

"Punitive damages" is a term referring to damages that will merely compensate victims for the harm they have suffered, but that will cost defendants more money than they have.

False

A defamatory communication that is spoken or oral is designated libel.

False

A letter sent to someone falsely accusing her of being a murderer constitutes the tort of defamation.

False

A major difference between trespass to personal property and conversion is that the latter does not require intent to harm whereas trespass does.

False

A person may employ deadly force to protect his property.

False

A true statement of a highly personal nature made to embarrass someone is defamation.

False

Camilla observes Ramon, a star soccer player, alone at a table at the back of a restaurant. If she asks him for an autograph, she has committed the tort of intrusion by interfering with his solitude and seclusion.

False

Generally, consent is not a defense in an intentional tort action.

False

In order to sue for battery, a plaintiff must prove that he or she has received a physical injury.

False

Intentional infliction of emotional distress is a tort that has long been recognized by the common law and which traces its roots back to England in the Middle Ages.

False

Intentional infliction of emotional distress will protect a person from abusive language and rudeness.

False

John and Megan are at a crowded theater. In the press of people exiting the theater, John accidentally steps on Megan's big toe and breaks it. Megan can sue John for the tort of battery.

False

Only the intentional destruction of personal property and not the use of the property in an unauthorized manner can give rise to a cause of action for conversion.

False

Sam, a student, goes to the movies one Friday evening. The movie is boring and Sam falls asleep. At 2 a.m., the security guard locks the building. Sam awakens the next morning when the cleaning crew opens the door. Sam can sue for false imprisonment.

False

The same act can never be both a tort and a crime.

False

The spoken threat, "If you don't give me your billfold and keys, I'll shoot you," is not an assault since it only involves words.

False

The terms "nuisance" and "trespass to property" refer to the same tort.

False

Three torts comprise the misuse of legal procedure: malicious prosecution, wrongful civil proceedings, and verbal abuse.

False

Tort law is primarily criminal law.

False

Under constitutional privilege, a public official does not have to prove that the defendant published the defamatory and false comment with knowledge or with reckless disregard of the comment's falsity and its defamatory character.

False

Under the Restatement, the publicity required for the tort of public disclosure of private facts is the same as "publication" under the law of defamation.

False

X knows that Y has offered to sell wheat to Z at a certain price per bushel. Hoping to get Z for a customer, X offers Z wheat at $.50 less a bushel than Y offered. X gets the contract. X is liable to Y for the tort of interference with contractual relations.

False

There is a(n) ____ privilege to comment regarding public officials or public figures so long as it is done without malice.

First Amendment

Hal doesn't like Bradley, so he spread untrue rumors about his personal lifestyle and sexual practices at a cocktail party. These rumors harm Bradley's reputation in the community.

Hal is guilty of slander.

Tim and Steve are roughhousing in Tim's parents' front yard when Steve intentionally pushes Tim onto the neighbor's property.

Steve is a trespasser.

A person would be liable to the rightful owner of stolen property for conversion even though the person bought it in good faith from the thief and without knowledge that it had been stolen.

True

AB, Inc. fires an employee and then, when asked for a reference on him, knowingly makes some untrue statements which prevent him from finding a job. AB is liable for defamation.

True

Abuse of process applies even when there is probable cause or when the plaintiff or prosecution succeeds in the litigation.

True

Al, the driver on a cross-country bus, kisses Susie, a passenger, while she sleeps. Al could be sued for battery.

True

All conversions of personal property are trespasses, but not all trespasses to personal property are conversions.

True

Arthur offers Bob, an employee of Carl, a yearly salary of $10,000 more than Bob receives under the contractual relationship between Bob and Carl. Arthur knows about the contract between Bob and Carl and knows that the contract should run for another five years, but Arthur badly wants Bob to work for him. Arthur probably is liable to Carl for intentional interference with contractual relations.

True

If Smith goes to work for Jones under an informal arrangement by which there is no contract stating dates for beginning or ending the relationship, Brown Co. could induce Smith to quit her job with Jones and come to work for Brown Co. and incur no liability to Jones.

True

In general, tort reform has focused on limiting liability by restricting damages or narrowing claims.

True

In many instances the same facts will give rise to both an action for false light and defamation.

True

Intent, for purposes of tort law, does not require an evil or hostile motive.

True

Internet service providers have immunity from liability for defamation when publishing information originating from a third party.

True

Invasion of privacy is in reality a collection of four distinct torts.

True

Malicious prosecution and wrongful civil proceedings impose liability for damages caused by improperly brought proceedings, including harm to reputation, credit, or standing; emotional distress; and expenses of defense.

True

Many courts will allow recovery for the infliction of emotional distress even in the absence of physical injury.

True

Minors under the age of 18 can be held liable for their intentional torts.

True

One of the principal objectives of tort law is to prevent future harms and losses.

True

Pointing an unloaded gun at someone who believes it is loaded and threatening to shoot constitutes an assault.

True

Fraudulent or intentional misrepresentation is covered under Section ____ of the Restatement.

525

A person can be guilty of trespass whether he or she intended or did not intend to violate the other's rights.

True

Andrew noticed Michael and his pregnant wife Georgette walking down the street and drove his car within inches of Michael, as a joke. Michael wasn't injured, but his wife suffered severe mental distress and needed to be hospitalized in order to save the pregnancy.

Andrew has committed the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress against Georgette.

Arnold wrote a defamatory letter regarding Bill which he mailed to Bill, but which he did not show to anyone else.

Arnold has committed neither libel nor slander, because there has been no publication of the letter.

Arnold wrote a defamatory letter regarding Bill which he did not show to anyone, but which he posted on a bulletin board in the laundromat.

Arnold has committed the tort of libel.

A points an unloaded gun at B and threatens to shoot. Unobserved by A, C witnesses the threat and believes A's gun is loaded and that B is about to die. C pulls out a gun and shoots and kills A.

C can successfully invoke the privilege of defense of others because of his reasonable belief at the time he shot A.

Arthur fired a gun in the middle of the desert. He intended to fire the gun, but had no reason to believe anyone else was in the area. The bullet hit Tom, who happened to be riding his ATV across the desert.

It is unlikely that Arthur has the necessary intent to commit a tort.

The Hometown News snapped a picture of Tom, a local teenager, as he was sleeping under a tree in the park on a warm spring day. They printed the picture on the front page of the paper.

It is unlikely that the Hometown News is guilty of any tort.

Les, a teenager, has the permission of Harold to walk across his yard on the way to school. Les now brings twenty of his friends across the yard, and they stop to play ball.

Les and his friends are guilty of trespass to real property, because they played ball in Harold's yard.

Mark gave the keys to his apartment to his friend Jack so Jack could sleep after an all-night study session. When Jack walked in, Mark's roommate, Sam, was standing behind the door in the dark, holding a baseball bat over his head. Jack flicked on the light and Sam saw it was Jack, so he lowered the bat before Jack noticed him.

Neither Jack nor Sam is guilty of assault.

Tammy joined a religious cult while a student at college. Her father hired a deprogrammer who spent several weeks with her, during which they occasionally went on outings. After Tammy met with her boyfriend one weekend, she rejoined the cult and sued her father and the deprogrammer for false imprisonment.

Tammy will lose if she had a reasonable means of escaping and voluntarily consented to the confinement.

Ray threw a bomb into the office of his insurance agent, intending to kill the agent because the company had disallowed his claim. The agent wasn't in the building, but the bomb seriously injured his secretary, who was working in the office.

The intent to harm the agent is transferred to the secretary who can sue Ray for her injuries with an intentional tort cause of action.

Acting with reckless disregard for the falsity of the matter, Anita included Joe's name and photograph in a list of the FBI's top ten criminals. Joe has never been convicted of a crime and is horrified by the thought of being considered a criminal.

This could be either defamation or false light.

Assault is principally a mental rather than a physical intrusion.

True

Brad doesn't like Rob and especially dislikes Rob's new felt hat, so he intentionally knocks it off Rob's head in order to embarrass Rob. Brad has committed a battery.

True

Businesses that conduct their business activities through employees are liable for their employees' torts committed in the course of employment.

True

Consent, given by a person with capacity, negates the wrongfulness of an act.

True

Disparagement differs from defamation in that defamation pertains to personal reputation, whereas disparagement pertains to economic interests.

True

For purposes of intentional torts, a person can have the intent to cause harm if the harm is substantially certain to occur even if he or she doesn't desire that such harm occur.

True

Which of the following is ordinarily held liable for their intentional torts?

a. A person who has not reached the age of majority b. An incompetent c. An employer, for the acts of employees in the course of employment d. ALL OF THE ABOVE

An absolute privilege exists to protect which of the following defendants in defamation cases?

a. Members of Congress on the floor of Congress b. Statements made by the U.S. President in the discharge of official duty c. Statements about third persons made to one's spouse when they are alone d. ALL OF THE ABOVE

Alice was briefly married at the age of 16. She is now 28 years old and plans to marry Henry in the spring. Henry's sister found out about Alice's first marriage and then told Henry's parents. Alice now wants to sue Henry's sister for public disclosure of private facts. Does Alice have a case against Henry's sister?

a. No, because marriage is a public and not a private fact. b. No, because telling Henry's parents is not sufficient publication for public disclosure of private facts. Both (a) and (b) are correct.

Which of the following can be raised as a defense to a claim of defamation?

a. That the statement was true. b. That there was a constitutional privilege to comment about the plaintiff who is a public figure and that the statement was made without malice. c. That there was a conditional privilege to make defamatory comment on another's statements in order to protect legitimate self-interest. d. ALL OF THE ABOVE!

An employer:

should act quickly to remove any defamatory statements brought to its attention because Section 230 of the CDA grants immunity from defamation liability only to ISPs.

Intentional harm to property includes which of the following torts?

a. Trespass to real property b. Nuisance c. Trespass to personal property d. Conversion e.ALL OF THE ABOVE

Invasion of privacy consists of:

a. appropriation. b. intrusion. c. public disclosure of private facts. d. ALL OF THE ABOVE

Harms or injuries that are tortious may be inflicted:

a. intentionally. b. negligently. c. without fault. d. ALL OF THE ABOVE

Business torts consist of:

a. interference with contractual relations. b. disparagement. c. fraudulent misrepresentation. d. ALL OF THE ABOVE

Defenses to intentional torts include:

a. self-defense and consent. b. defense of others and consent. c. self-defense and defense of property. d. ALL OF THE ABOVE

The intentional exercise of dominion or control over another's personal property which so seriously interferes with the other's right of control as to justly require the payment of full value for the property is:

a. trespass to personal property. b. interference with economic interests. c. fraudulent misrepresentation. d. NONE of the above.

Sally, while walking in a park, got hit on the head with a baseball. The ball was thrown at her by Aaron who intended to hit her to show off in front of his friends. She may recover damages for:

a.bodily harm. b.emotional distress. c.reasonable medical expenses. d. ALL OF THE ABOVE

The constitutional privilege protects the press in a defamation action:

a.in the absence of malice. b. when the plaintiff is a public figure or official. d.Both (a) and (b)

Damages for interference with contractual relations include:

payment for emotional distress.

Intent as used in the law of intentional torts requires the defendant to:

b. desire to cause the consequence of her action. c. believe the consequences are substantially certain to result from her action. d. Both (b) and (c)

Bodily contact that is harmful or offensive can give rise to the tort of:

battery.

The tort of ____ is a false communication which injures a person's reputation and good name by disgracing him and diminishing the respect in which he is held.

defamation

The Restatement Third, Torts:

has been expanded to include chapters on emotional harm and landowner liability.

In an article about a prominent judge, a newspaper indicates the possibility that the judge had organized crime connections. The judge sues. The judge will have a cause of action:

if the information is untrue and the newspaper did not check its sources.

Tort law:

is primarily common law.

Under the Third Restatement of Torts, a person acts recklessly if the person:

knows facts that make the risk obvious to another in the person's situation.

Handwritten, typewritten, printed, pictorial, or televised defamation is:

libel

A(n) ____ is a non-trespassory invasion of another's interest in the private use and enjoyment of land.

nuisance

Mary's car was parked just outside the east door of the Civic Center. When she tried to exit, three ominous-looking gang members were blocking that door. She called the police who arrested the three for loitering. If Mary brings suit against them for false imprisonment:

she will lose if there was another exit she could have used.