BLAW Chapters 7&8
"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.
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A defamatory communication that is spoken or oral is designated libel.
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A defendant will be liable for all harm that can be traced back to the defendant's negligence.
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A letter sent to someone falsely accusing her of being a murderer constitutes the tort of defamation.
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A licensee for purposes of tort law is a person invited upon land as a member of the public or for a business purpose.
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A major difference between trespass to personal property and conversion is that the latter does not require intent to harm whereas trespass does.
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A parent is always liable for the torts of his minor child simply because of the parental relationship.
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A person may employ deadly force to protect his property.
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A person who falls asleep while driving would not be liable for any resulting injury since it would be an unavoidable accident.
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A social guest is a public invitee.
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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.
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A true statement of a highly personal nature made to embarrass someone is defamation.
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All intervening events that occur subsequent to the defendant's negligent conduct will relieve the defendant of liability.
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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.
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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.
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Comparative negligence by a plaintiff results in the plaintiff's being completely unable to recover.
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Generally, consent is not a defense in an intentional tort action.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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In an action for negligence, four elements must be proved: breach of a duty of care, proximate cause, assumption of risk, and injury.
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In order to sue for battery, a plaintiff must prove that he or she has received a physical injury.
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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.
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Intentional infliction of emotional distress will protect a person from abusive language and rudeness.
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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.
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Negligence per se is a defense in a negligence case.
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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.
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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.
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Res ipsa loquitur makes it easier for the defendant to prevail in a negligence action.
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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.
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The lawful possessor of land is liable to adult trespassers for failure to maintain the land in a reasonably safe condition.
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The owner of a dog will always be strictly liable if the dog bites someone.
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The same "reasonable person standard" is applied to children as to adults.
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The same act can never be both a tort and a crime.
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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.
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The terms "nuisance" and "trespass to property" refer to the same tort.
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There are no defenses available for strict liability.
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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.
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Three torts comprise the misuse of legal procedure: malicious prosecution, wrongful civil proceedings, and verbal abuse.
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Tort law is primarily criminal law.
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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.
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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.
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While comparative negligence is generally not a defense in a strict liability case, contributory negligence generally is a successful defense.
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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.
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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.
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A number of states have included social guests in the invitee category, although they have traditionally been labeled as licensees.
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A person can be guilty of trespass whether he or she intended or did not intend to violate the other's rights.
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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.
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A possessor of land is under a duty to exercise reasonable care to protect invitees against dangerous conditions they are unlikely to discover.
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A reasonable person, as used in the law of torts, is a fictitious individual who is always careful, prudent, and never negligent.
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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.
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Abuse of process applies even when there is probable cause or when the plaintiff or prosecution succeeds in the litigation.
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Al, the driver on a cross-country bus, kisses Susie, a passenger, while she sleeps. Al could be sued for battery.
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All conversions of personal property are trespasses, but not all trespasses to personal property are conversions.
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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.
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Assault is principally a mental rather than a physical intrusion.
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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.
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Businesses that conduct their business activities through employees are liable for their employees' torts committed in the course of employment.
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Comparative negligence has replaced the contributory negligence doctrine in most states.
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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.
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Consent, given by a person with capacity, negates the wrongfulness of an act.
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Disparagement differs from defamation in that defamation pertains to personal reputation, whereas disparagement pertains to economic interests.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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If a defendant acts under emergency conditions, these conditions will be taken into account in applying the reasonable person standard.
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In applying the reasonable person standard, the court takes into account a person's physical, but not mental, handicaps
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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.
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In general, tort reform has focused on limiting liability by restricting damages or narrowing claims.
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In many instances the same facts will give rise to both an action for false light and defamation.
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In some instances, people may be held liable for injuries they have caused even though they have not acted intentionally or negligently.
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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.
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Intent, for purposes of tort law, does not require an evil or hostile motive.
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Internet service providers have immunity from liability for defamation when publishing information originating from a third party.
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Invasion of privacy is in reality a collection of four distinct torts.
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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.
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Many courts will allow recovery for the infliction of emotional distress even in the absence of physical injury.
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Minors under the age of 18 can be held liable for their intentional torts.
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One of the principal objectives of tort law is to prevent future harms and losses.
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Pointing an unloaded gun at someone who believes it is loaded and threatening to shoot constitutes an assault.
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Qualified privilege depends upon proper use of the privilege.
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Some states have today merged the assumption of risk doctrine into their comparative negligence systems.
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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.
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Storeowners can occasionally have a problem with liability for false imprisonment when they seek to question a suspected shoplifter.
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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.
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The Third Restatement of Torts has abandoned the doctrine of implied voluntary assumption of risk in tort actions.
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The Third Restatement of Torts limits the defense of assumption of risk to express assumption of the risk.
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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.
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The tort of appropriation is also known as the right of publicity.
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The tort of false light imposes liability if the matter in question is objectionable to a reasonable person but is not necessarily defamatory.
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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.
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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.
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Tort law gives persons relief from civil wrongs or injuries to their person, property, and economic interests.
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Two of the factors that are taken into consideration in determining limitations on causation in fact are unforeseeable consequences and superseding cause.
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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.
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Workers' compensation is a form of strict liability.
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widely applied test for causation in fact is the "but for" rule.
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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:
a. she will lose if there was another exit she could have used.
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.
b. 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.
b. C can successfully invoke the privilege of defense of others because of his reasonable belief at the time he shot A.
There is a(n) ____ privilege to comment regarding public officials or public figures so long as it is done without malice.
b. 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.
b. Hal is guilty of slander.
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?
b. 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.
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.
b. Oscar's negligent driving is the proximate cause of John's injury.
Tim and Steve are roughhousing in Tim's parents' front yard when Steve intentionally pushes Tim onto the neighbor's property.
b. Steve is a trespasser.
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.
b. Tammy will lose if she had a reasonable means of escaping and voluntarily consented to the confinement.
Under the Third Restatement of Torts, a person acts recklessly if the person:
b. knows facts that make the risk obvious to another in the person's situation.
Handwritten, typewritten, printed, pictorial, or televised defamation is:
b. libel.
A(n) ____ is a non-trespassory invasion of another's interest in the private use and enjoyment of land.
b. nuisance
The rule which permits the jury to infer both negligent conduct and causation from the mere occurrence of certain events is:
b. res ipsa loquitur.
An employer:
b. 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.
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:
b. strict.
Under the Third Restatement of Torts, if the plaintiff is a veterinarian who accepts for treatment a dog from the defendant:
b. the plaintiff, if charging a fee, is beyond the scope of strict liability, even if the dog is abnormally dangerous.
The intentional dispossession or unauthorized use of the personal property of another is known as:
b. trespass to personal property.
A newspaper article hints that a certain corporation is a front for illegal activity. The corporation:
b. will likely win a defamation suit if the statement is untrue and was made with malice.
Damages for interference with contractual relations include:
a. payment for emotional distress.
To which of the following does a property owner owe the highest duty of care?
c. A client who has come to an accountant's office in a building which the accountant owns
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.
c. Adam is not free to inflict intentional injury on a trespasser.
Arnold wrote a defamatory letter regarding Bill which he mailed to Bill, but which he did not show to anyone else.
c. Arnold has committed neither libel nor slander, because there has been no publication of the letter.
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?
c. 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.
c. Darla will recover $6,000.
Mr. and Mrs. Weaver have a duty to:
c. Either (a) or (b), depending upon the circumstances.
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.
c. 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.
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.
c. It is unlikely that Arthur has the necessary intent to commit a tort.
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?
c. Joe, because of his intentional intervening conduct.
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?
c. Mindy illegally crossed in the middle of the street, which was a superseding cause of the accident.
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?
c. Telephone his friends to warn them about the potholes.
A form of strict liability applies to all of the following situations except:
c. a medical procedure.
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.
c. defamation
The Restatement Third, Torts:
c. has been expanded to include chapters on emotional harm and landowner liability.
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:
c. 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:
c. injury and causation.
Tort law:
c. is primarily common law.
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:
c. negligence per se.
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:
c. that it was not foreseeable that the lawn mower would explode.
Business torts consist of:
d. All of the above
Which of the following is/are considered in determining the application of the reasonable person standard?
d. All of the above are considered.
Invasion of privacy consists of:
d. All of the above are invasions of privacy.
Defenses to intentional torts include:
d. All of the above are valid defenses.
An absolute privilege exists to protect which of the following defendants in defamation cases?
d. All 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:
d. All of the above.
Which of the following can be raised as a defense to a claim of defamation?
d. All of the above.
Which of the following is ordinarily held liable for their intentional torts?
d. All of the above.
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.
d. 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.
d. Les and his friends are guilty of trespass to real property, because they played ball in Harold's yard.
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?
d. Mark MUST help the girl if he begins to rescue her and moves her to a position farther from the shore.
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.
d. Neither Jack nor Sam is guilty of assault.
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:
d. None of the above.
A photographer taking photos of a movie star with a telephoto lens would NOT be guilty of intrusion if:
d. the movie star was in a public building at the time.
Defenses to an action in strict liability include:
d. voluntary assumption of risk and, in some states, comparative negligence.
Intentional harm to property includes which of the following torts?
e. All of the above
Fraudulent or intentional misrepresentation is covered under Section ____ of the Restatement.
a. 525
hich of the following statements is true?
a. A plaintiff must prove that the defendant's negligent conduct proximately caused harm to a legally protected interest.
The duty of a possessor of land to persons who come on the land usually depends on whether those persons are:
a. invitees, trespassers, or licensees.
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:
a. negligence per se.
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.
a. Todd is engaging in an adult activity and will be held to the same standard as an adult in most of the states.
An action for negligence consists of five elements, each of which the plaintiff must prove. These elements include:
a. harm.
Andrew negligently hit a dog, which lay stunned in the street for a moment and then ran toward Bill, a bystander, and bit him.
b. The dog's action is a superseding cause of harm.
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.
b. 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.
Which of the following is a defense that a defendant could raise in an action based on strict liability?
b. 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.
b. The store is not liable to Nelson.
In which of the following situations would a court be likely to find an affirmative duty to act?
b. Where an airline attendant sees one passenger threaten another passenger.
Bodily contact that is harmful or offensive can give rise to the tort of:
b. battery.
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:
b. business visitor.
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:
b. contributory negligence.
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.
d. Andrew has committed the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress against Georgette.
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?
d. 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.
d. Because both parties were negligent, in a state that follows the comparative negligence doctrine, both parties will share the liability for their injuries.
The constitutional privilege protects the press in a defamation action:
d. Both (a) and (b)
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?
d. Both (a) and (b) are correct.
In determining the duty of care owed by a defendant using the reasonable person standard, the court will consider which of the following factors?
d. Both (a) and (b), but not (c).
The harshness of the contributory negligence doctrine has been mitigated by:
d. Both (a) and (b), but not (c).
In which of the following situations would a landowner have liability to a trespasser?
d. Both (a) and (b).
The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur would permit the court to infer negligence in which of the following situations?
d. Both (a) and (b).
Intent as used in the law of intentional torts requires the defendant to:
d. Both (b) and (c)
Harms or injuries that are tortious may be inflicted:
d. In all of the above ways.
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.
d. This could be either defamation or false light.
Which of the following is correct with respect to the reasonable person standard?
d. Two of the above, (b) and (c).
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: a. if the suit is for defamation and the newspaper responsibly checked its sources. b. if the suit is a suit for intrusion. c. whether or not the newspaper checked its sources as long as the information printed is ultimately found to be untrue. d. if the information is untrue and the newspaper did not check its sources.
d. if the information is untrue and the newspaper did not check its sources.