BLAW Chapter 8

Stella goes to Ranger's Department Store to look for clothes. The store is in the process of remodeling, and there is a lot of clutter in the aisle. Stella trips over the clutter and breaks her leg. What standard of care does the store have toward Stella under the circumstances?

Because Stella is a business visitor, the store must exercise reasonable care to protect her against dangerous conditions she is unlikely to discover.

Arthur negligently stopped his car on the highway. Betty, who was driving along, saw Arthur's car in sufficient time to attempt to stop. However, Betty negligently put her foot on the accelerator instead of the brake and ran into Arthur's car.

Because both parties were negligent, in a state that follows the comparative negligence doctrine, both parties will share the liability for their injuries.

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 feed for the chickens. The chickens died, and the neighbor sues. What is the likely result?

Cal is liable because spraying pesticides is an abnormally dangerous activity.

While driving his car five miles over the speed limit, Carl struck Darla, who was jaywalking across the street. When the case came to trial, the jury determined that Carl was 60% negligent and that Darla was 40% negligent. Darla's injuries are $10,000. This accident occurred in a state following the comparative negligence theory of recovery.

Darla will recover $6,000.

If a raccoon gets loose from a cage and harms someone, the owner can escape liability by showing that he took great care to keep the animal confined.

False

If negligence of the plaintiff and negligence of the defendant proximately caused the injury and damage sustained by the plaintiff, the plaintiff can recover some damages in those states where contributory negligence is still recognized.

False

Res ipsa loquitur makes it easier for the defendant to prevail in a negligence action.

False

The lawful possessor of land is liable to adult trespassers for failure to maintain the land in a reasonably safe condition.

False

Rick's driveway has potholes. He has been thrown from his bike several times because of them. If Rick invites his biking friends for a barbecue, what must he do to escape liability for any harm to them?

Telephone his friends to warn them about the potholes.

Andrew negligently hit a dog, which lay stunned in the street for a moment and then ran toward Bill, a bystander, and bit him.

The dog's action is a superseding cause of harm.

Which of the following is a defense that a defendant could raise in an action based on strict liability?

The owner of a car knowingly and voluntarily parked his vehicle in a blasting zone as a result of which the car was damaged.

The local supermarket has a large, glass front door which is well lighted and plainly visible. Nelson, who is new in the neighborhood, mistook the glass for an open doorway and walked into it, shattering the door and injuring himself.

The store is not liable to Nelson.

If a defendant acts under emergency conditions, these conditions will be taken into account in applying the reasonable person standard.

True

Some states have today merged the assumption of risk doctrine into their comparative negligence systems.

True

Special relations between the parties, such as babysitter and child, may impose a duty of reasonable care to aid or protect the child in situations where the duty would not otherwise exist.

True

In which of the following situations would a court be likely to find an affirmative duty to act?

Where an airline attendant sees one passenger threaten another passenger.

A form of strict liability applies to all of the following situations except:

a medical procedure.

The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur would permit the court to infer negligence in which of the following situations?

a. A can of peas fell off the shelf onto your foot. b. A sign over a storefront fell on your head. Both (a) and (b).

In determining the duty of care owed by a defendant using the reasonable person standard, the court will consider which of the following factors?

a. The existence of emergency conditions b. A physician's training and years of experience d. Both (a) and (b), but not (c).

The harshness of the contributory negligence doctrine has been mitigated by:

a. the last clear chance rule. b. substitution of the doctrine of comparative negligence. d. Both (a) and (b), but not (c).

In which of the following situations would a landowner have liability to a trespasser?

a.Where the landowner has rigged up a trap to injure anyone coming onto the property without permission. b. Where a landowner next to a nursery school has an unfenced swimming pool and a trespassing child drowns. Both (a) and (b).

An action for negligence consists of five elements, each of which the plaintiff must prove. These elements include:

harm.

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:

negligence per se.

Violation of a statute designed to protect underage, unlicensed drivers, as well as innocent third parties, from the consequences of juvenile car theft and "joy riding" by prohibiting car owners from leaving the keys in their cars if the cars are unattended, is likely to be characterized as:

negligence per se.

The rule which permits the jury to infer both negligent conduct and causation from the mere occurrence of certain events is:

res ipsa loquitur.

Perry is injured on the job at the factory where he works. He files a workers' compensation claim against his employer. The liability of the employer under the workers' compensation statute is:

strict.

Henry was burning leaves in his backyard. One of the burning leaves was lifted by the wind into Emilio's yard next door. It landed on the lawn mower which exploded, setting fire to the wooden lawn furniture. Henry's best argument against liability would be:

that it was not foreseeable that the lawn mower would explode.

Under the Third Restatement of Torts, if the plaintiff is a veterinarian who accepts for treatment a dog from the defendant:

the plaintiff, if charging a fee, is beyond the scope of strict liability, even if the dog is abnormally dangerous.

Defenses to an action in strict liability include:

voluntary assumption of risk and, in some states, comparative negligence.

Which of the following is correct with respect to the reasonable person standard?

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 the above, (b) and (c).

Sarah goes to Marlin's Department Store to look for clothes. The store happens to be in the process of remodeling, and there is a lot of clutter in the aisle. Sarah trips over the clutter and is injured. Sarah's status with regard to the store is that of:

business visitor.

A defendant will be liable for all harm that can be traced back to the defendant's negligence.

False

A licensee for purposes of tort law is a person invited upon land as a member of the public or for a business purpose.

False

A parent is always liable for the torts of his minor child simply because of the parental relationship.

False

A person who falls asleep while driving would not be liable for any resulting injury since it would be an unavoidable accident.

False

A social guest is a public invitee.

False

A tiger gets loose from the tent of a circus and mauls a passerby. The circus claims it has always treated the animal well and that it was not at all negligent in its handling of the animal. The circus has no liability for the injury caused by the animal.

False

All intervening events that occur subsequent to the defendant's negligent conduct will relieve the defendant of liability.

False

While comparative negligence is generally not a defense in a strict liability case, contributory negligence generally is a successful defense.

False

Pat and Sally started a charcoal fire for Sally's backyard barbecue and left it uncovered. Then Sally went into the kitchen to make hamburger patties. While Sally was inside, Pat backed up to catch a football and hit the grill, knocking the coals onto his feet. In a modified comparative negligence state, who is liable?

If Sally is found negligent, Sally is liable for a proportionate share of Pat's injuries unless Pat's negligence was as great as or greater than Sally's.

A ninety-year-old patient walked away from a nursing home and wandered onto some nearby railroad tracks. Once on the tracks, the patient stumbled and sprained his ankle. A few minutes later a train approached. The engineer saw the man on the track and could have stopped, but the train's brakes were defective. As a result, the train hit and killed the man. His family is suing the railroad for negligence.

In states that follow the contributory negligence rule, the train had the last clear chance to avoid the accident, so the patient's negligence does not bar his estate's recovery.

Joe intentionally pushed Bill into a fence negligently erected by Sam around Sam's swimming pool. The fence caved in and Bill nearly drowned. Under the Second Restatement, who is liable?

Joe, because of his intentional intervening conduct.

Oscar, who was driving too fast for conditions, collided with a truck carrying explosives. The truck was unmarked, so Oscar had no way of knowing what it contained. The collision caused an explosion, which shattered glass in a building a block away. The glass injured Ida, who was working inside the building. John, who was walking down the street near the site of the collision, was seriously burned as a result of the explosion.

Oscar's negligent driving is the proximate cause of John's injury.

Seventeen-year-old Todd has just received his driver's license. He is driving a little too fast one day and slams into the back of another car, which has just stopped for a stop sign.

Todd is engaging in an adult activity and will be held to the same standard as an adult in most of the states.

A blind person will be held to the standard of care of a reasonable blind person rather than that of the reasonable sighted person for purposes of determining negligence.

True

A number of states have included social guests in the invitee category, although they have traditionally been labeled as licensees.

True

In applying the reasonable person standard, the court takes into account a person's physical, but not mental, handicaps.

True

Ted is informed that his six-year-old child is shooting in the street with a .22 rifle. Ted fails to take the gun away from the child. The child unintentionally shoots Bill, a pedestrian. Ted is liable to Bill.

True

The Third Restatement of Torts has abandoned the doctrine of implied voluntary assumption of risk in tort actions.

True

The Third Restatement of Torts limits the defense of assumption of risk to express assumption of the risk.

True

The general rule in negligence is that a person is under a duty to all others at all times to exercise reasonable care for the safety of others.

True

Tom's dog has bitten three letter carriers, but Tom can't bear to chain him up. When the dog bites the newsboy, Tom will be strictly liable.

True

Two of the factors that are taken into consideration in determining limitations on causation in fact are unforeseeable consequences and superseding cause.

True

Where two factors, each of which is sufficient to bring about the harm in question, together cause a harm, the "but for" rule of causation is not useful.

True

Which of the following is/are considered in determining the application of the reasonable person standard?

a. Physical disability. b.Superior skill or knowledge. c.Emergency circumstances. d. ALL OF THE ABOVE

Which of the following statements is true?

A plaintiff must prove that the defendant's negligent conduct proximately caused harm to a legally protected interest.

Conduct on the part of the plaintiff which falls below the standard to which he should conform for his own protection and which cooperates with the negligence of the defendant in bringing about the plaintiff's harm is:

contributory negligence.

William, who is a waiter, is injured when an unopened bottle of cola explodes in his hand while he is putting it into the restaurant's cooler. If William wants to sue the bottling company for his injuries:

he will probably win if the court allows him to use the res ipsa loquitur doctrine.

By law, all apartment buildings in Mary's state must have smoke alarms in the ceilings. If Mary suffers smoke inhalation because the smoke alarm in her apartment building was not yet installed and Mary sues the owner for negligence, Mary would have to prove:

injury and causation.

The duty of a possessor of land to persons who come on the land usually depends on whether those persons are:

invitees, trespassers, or licensees.

Adam doesn't like having neighborhood teenagers walk across his yard at night. He rigs an animal trap on the path the teenagers usually use to cross his land. One night, Tim and his friends are walking across the yard when Tim gets caught in the trap. He is taken to the hospital for his injuries.

Adam is not free to inflict intentional injury on a trespasser.

Because of the harshness of the all-or-nothing contributory negligence rule, nearly all states have now substituted the last clear chance doctrine for contributory negligence.

False

Comparative negligence by a plaintiff results in the plaintiff's being completely unable to recover.

False

If a person's 150-pound sheep dog has a tendency to jump enthusiastically on visitors, the animal's keeper would not be liable for any damages done by the dog's playfulness.

False

In all states, a sixteen-year-old who drives a car will not be held to the same standard of care as an adult for purposes of determining negligence.

False

In an action for negligence, four elements must be proved: breach of a duty of care, proximate cause, assumption of risk, and injury.

False

Negligence per se is a defense in a negligence case.

False

Parents are not liable to a storekeeper for the destruction caused by their children if they permit the children to run wild through the store.

False

The owner of a dog will always be strictly liable if the dog bites someone.

False

The same "reasonable person standard" is applied to children as to adults.

False

There are no defenses available for strict liability.

False

There is an established rule in the law of torts that even one who has not created a peril has a duty to take affirmative action to assist an imperiled person, no matter what the relationship with that person, when the imperiled person can be saved from harm at little or no personal risk to the rescuer.

False

Chris was driving a car with defective brakes very slowly down Fifth Avenue looking for a parking place. Mindy jumped out into the street five feet in front of his car. Chris could not avoid hitting her. What is Chris's best defense to the charge of negligence?

Mindy illegally crossed in the middle of the street, which was a superseding cause of the accident.

A possessor of land is under a duty to exercise reasonable care to protect invitees against dangerous conditions they are unlikely to discover.

True

A reasonable person, as used in the law of torts, is a fictitious individual who is always careful, prudent, and never negligent.

True

A widely applied test for causation in fact is the "but for" rule.

True

Comparative negligence has replaced the contributory negligence doctrine in most states.

True

Compliance with a legislative enactment or administrative regulation does not prevent a finding of negligence if a reasonable person would have taken additional precautions to avoid harm.

True

Even though contributory negligence is proven by a defendant in a state in which it acts as a complete bar to recovery, the plaintiff may still recover if the defendant had the last clear chance to avoid the injury but did not avail himself of the chance.

True

In determining a defendant's liability for negligence, his or her superior skill or knowledge will be attributed in applying the reasonable person standard, thus increasing the chance that the defendant may be held liable.

True

In some instances, people may be held liable for injuries they have caused even though they have not acted intentionally or negligently.

True

In the majority of states, in a case of negligence per se the plaintiff would only have to prove violation of a statute in order to show negligent conduct.

True

Workers' compensation is a form of strict liability.

True

Mr. and Mrs. Weaver have a duty to:

a.control the behavior of their minor son with regard to foreseeable risks. b. merely warn their dependent son regarding his activities related to third persons involving foreseeable risks. c.Either (a) or (b), depending upon the circumstances.

To which of the following does a property owner owe the highest duty of care?

A client who has come to an accountant's office in a building which the accountant owns

Mark is out sailing in his boat one evening when he hears a young girl crying for help in the lake. Which of the following is true?

Mark MUST help the girl if he begins to rescue her and moves her to a position farther from the shore.