Chapter Seven reading

Negligence per se literally means ______.

Negligence in or of itself.

Which of the following is an accurate statement regarding negligence?

Negligence involves the failure to exercise reasonable care to protect another's person or property.

The law does not hold people liable for making false statements about ______ as long as the statements were not made with malice.

public figures

Courts usually award ______ damages in cases in which the offender has committed gross negligence.

punitive

Which of the following is a true statement regarding the use of assumption of the risk as a defense available to defendants?

Assumption of the risk is a defense to a negligence claim.

A(n) ______ occurs when one person places another in fear or apprehension of an immediate, offensive bodily contact.

Assault

Which of the following is an inaccurate statement regarding battery?

Assault and battery are always synonymous.

Which of the following is a true statement regarding assault?

Assault does not require actual bodily contact

______ is a defense available to defendants where a defendant must prove the plaintiff voluntarily undertook the risk the defendant caused.

Assumption of the risk

Which of the following is an accurate statement regarding nominal damages in tort cases?

Nominal damages signify that a plaintiff has been wronged by a defendant even though the plaintiff suffered no compensable harm.

Intentional infliction of emotional distress is sometimes called the tort of ______.

Outrage

Under ______ privilege, a party will not be held liable for defamation unless the false statement was made with actual malice.

conditional

Proximate cause is also referred to as ______ cause.

legal

When does negligence per se apply?

when a defendant has violated a statute designed to protect the class of individuals to which the plaintiff belongs from a certain type of harm

______ assumption of the risk means that a plaintiff implicitly assumed a known risk.

Implied

Which of the following is an accurate statement regarding the use of implied assumption of the risk as a defense by defendants?

Implied assumption of the risk means that a plaintiff implicitly assumed a known risk.

The person who has committed a tort is often referred to as the ______.

tortfeasor

Which of the following need not be demonstrated to establish that a fraudulent misrepresentation exists?

A party who made a misrepresentation was a merchant typically involved in buying and selling the types of goods involved in the subject transaction.

Which of the following is not an element that a plaintiff must prove to win a negligence case?

Intent

Which of the following is an accurate statement regarding a superseding cause in a negligence suit?

It interrupts the causal chain between the defendant's breach of duty and the damages the plaintiff suffered.

A(n) ______ defense occurs when the defendant admits to an accusation but argues that there is a reason he or she should not be held liable.

Affirmative

______ negligence is an action committed with extreme reckless disregard for the property or life of another person.

Gross

In asserting the contributory negligence defense, the defendant must prove which of the following?

The plaintiff's conduct fell below a reasonable standard of care and contributed to his or her injury.

To establish res ipsa loquitur in most states, a plaintiff must demonstrate all but which of the following?

The plaintiff's injury arose out of the course and scope of his employment with the defendant.

Tort is a French word meaning ______.

Wrong

Which of the following is not a requirement for proving a strict liability case?

a negligent or intent-based act on the part of a defendant

Four distinct torts, collectively called invasion of privacy torts, protect an individual's right to _____.

keep certain things out of public view even if they are true

In a ______ comparative negligence jurisdiction, courts calculate damages in the same manner as a pure comparative negligence jurisdiction, except that the defendant in a case must be more than 50 percent at fault before the plaintiff can recover.

modified

Which of the following is the most common defense to battery?

self-defense

Categories of intentional torts include all but which of the following?

torts against social responsibility

Which of the following is not a defense in an action for battery?

Assault

______ statutes attempt to encourage selfless and courageous behavior by removing the threat of liability.

Good Samaritan

Intentional torts must have an intent to _______ an individual.

harm

If a person calls his former employer and falsely states that the employer's son was just arrested for a double homicide after a botched robbery attempt, the person has likely committed the tort of ______.

intentional infliction of emotional distress

Torts are most commonly classified as ______ torts.

intentional, neglect, or strict-liability

Under the traditional common law, to which of the following categories of individuals does a business property owner owe the highest obligation?

invitees

If defamation is published in a permanent form, it is known as ______.

libel

In the context of a negligence case, the ______ standard is a measurement of the way members of society expect an individual to act in a given situation.

reasonable person

Punitive damages are also known as ______ damages.

exemplary

______ assumption of the risk occurs when a plaintiff expressly agrees to assume the risk posed by the defendant's behavior.

express

Actual cause is also known as cause in ______.

fact

Which of the following is not an accurate statement regarding the tort of food disparagement?

food disparagement is an unintentional tort

Which of the following is not an example of trespass to realty?

intentionally causing a victim to experience severe emotional distress

______-liability torts occur when a defendant takes an action that is inherently dangerous and cannot ever be undertaken safely, no matter what precautions the defendant takes.

Strict

Identify the torts that are collectively called invasion of privacy torts. (Check all that apply.)

false light public disclosure of private facts appropriation for commercial gain Intrusion on an individual's affairs or seclusion

Strict liability is liability without ______.

fault

A defendant's violation of a duty of care owed to the plaintiff is known as a(n) ______ that duty.

breach of

In the context of defamation, what does "intentional publication" mean?

communicating a false statement about someone to a third party

______ damages are designed to reimburse a plaintiff for his or her losses.

compensatory

Which of the following is not a defense that relieves the defendant from liability even when the plaintiff has proved all four elements of negligence in a negligence case?

consumption of the harm

______ occurs when someone intentionally takes an action that causes a person to breach a contract she or he has with another.

Intentional interference with contract

When a(n) ______ privilege exists, one cannot be sued for defamation for any false statements made.

absolute

______ cause is the determination that a defendant's breach of duty resulted directly in the plaintiff's injury.

actual

A statement is made with ______ if it is made with either knowledge of its falsity or reckless disregard for its truth.

actual malice

There are ______ types of damages in tort cases.

three

______ occurs when a person permanently removes personal property from the owner's possession and control.

Conversion

______ is a business tort that occurs when a statement is intentionally used to defame a business product or service.

Disparagement

Which of the following is not an accurate statement regarding disparagement?

Disparagement and unfair competition can be used interchangeably.

______ torts occur when a defendant takes an action intending that certain consequences will result or knowing certain consequences are likely to result.

Intentional

Contributory negligence as a defense applies in cases in which ______.

both the defendant and the plaintiff were negligent

Identify the elements that a plaintiff must prove to win a negligence case.

duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages

Suppose a negligence case is tried in a modified negligence jurisdiction and the jury determines that the defendant was 40 percent responsible for the plaintiff's harm and that the plaintiff was 60 percent responsible for her own harm. The plaintiff's damages are $100,000. What amount of money, if any, will the plaintiff recover from the defendant?

nothing

Which of the following is not a tort classification?

felony

In most states, proximate cause is determined by ______.

foreseeability

______ occurs when one uses intentional deceit to facilitate personal gain.

fraudulent misrepresentation

Libel can occur ______.

in a magazine or a newspaper

Which of the following is not a required element of battery?

negligent (by the defendant)

______ damages are a small amount of money given to recognize that a defendant did indeed commit a tort in a case in which no compensable damages were suffered by the plaintiff.

nominal

If a defendant commits a(n) ______ tort, he or she is liable for the plaintiff's damages without any requirement for the plaintiff to prove that the defendant was negligent.

strict-liability

A(n) ______ cause is an unforeseeable event that interrupts the causal chain between a defendant's breach of duty and the damages the plaintiff suffered.

superseding

Trespass to realty is also called trespass to ______.

Real property

Assault is an example of a(n) ______ tort.

intentional

Which of the following is a primary objective of tort law?

to provide compensation for injured parties

Who among the following is an example of a public figure?

A politician

Negligence is behavior that creates a(n) ______ risk of harm to others.

unreasonable

Critics refer to the tort of food disparagement as ______ libel.

veggie

Once a plaintiff has established that the defendant owes her a duty of care, she must prove that the defendant's conduct ______ that duty. This violation is called a breach of duty.

violated

Res ipsa loquitur literally means ______.

the thing speaks for itself

The ________ has the burden to prove all four elements of a negligence case.

plaintiff

Jackie negligently causes serious physical and economic harm to Roberto in a car crash. In the negligence action, Jackie would be referred to as the ______.

tortfeasor

Which of the following is a recognized category of intentional torts?

torts against economic interests

Defamation that is made orally is called ___________.

Slander

A plaintiff uses the doctrine of ______ to allow the judge or jury to infer that, more likely than not, the defendant's negligence was the cause of the plaintiff's harm, even though there is no direct evidence of the defendant's lack of due care.

res ipsa loquitur

______ damages are based on damage or harm to property, lost wages or profits, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and other actual damages.

Compensatory

Which of the following is an inaccurate statement regarding a Good Samaritan statute?

It imposes strict negligence liability on a passerby who assists a person in need even though the assistance was given gratuitously.

______ torts occur when a defendant acts in a way that subjects other people to an unreasonable risk of harm.

Negligent

______ is an affirmative defense to a defamation action.

Privilege

______ is a business tort that occurs when false spoken statements criticize a business product or service and result in a loss of sales.

Slander of quality

Which of the following is an accurate statement regarding the tort of slander of quality?

Slander of quality is spoken, while trade libel is in printed form.

Which of the following is a purpose of awarding punitive damages in a case?

To punish the defendant

Professional negligence cases are often referred to as ______ cases.

malpractice

A(n) ______ tort occurs when a defendant is careless to someone else's detriment.

negligent

______ is the intentional publication of a false statement harmful to an individual's reputation.

Defamation

______, or punitive, damages are imposed in a negligence case to punish the offender and deter others from committing similar offenses.

Exemplary

Which of the following is an accurate statement regarding the use of express assumption of the risk as a defense by defendants?

Express assumption of the risk is usually evidenced by a written contract.

Which of the following is the obligation a business property owner owes an invitee?

to inspect the premises to ensure that they are reasonably safe and to warn of hidden dangers

Which of the following is not a primary objective of tort law?

to punish wrongdoers

A ______ is commonly defined as a wrong or injury to another, other than breach of contract.

tort

Where can an absolute privilege arise?

in a courtroom

According to the ______ defense, the court determines the percentage of fault of a defendant, and the defendant is then liable for that percentage of the plaintiff's damages.

pure comparative negligence

When conversion occurs, the true owner can ______.

recover damages for the full value of the converted item plus any additional damages that resulted from the loss

In most negligence cases, courts use the ______ standard.

reasonable person

Suppose that a negligence case is tried in a pure comparative negligence jurisdiction and the jury determines that the defendant was 30 percent responsible for the plaintiff's harm and that the plaintiff was 70 percent responsible for her own harm. The plaintiff's damages are $100,000. How much money, if any, will the plaintiff recover from the defendant?

30,000

To establish res ipsa loquitur in most states, a plaintiff must demonstrate all but which of the following?

The defendant has already been convicted of a crime arising out of the same facts and circumstances applicable to a civil case.

Which of the following need not be proved by a plaintiff to bring a successful claim of intentional interference with contract?

The defendant was a third-party beneficiary of the contract between two parties.

When courts attempt to determine whether a reasonable person would have owed a duty to others, they consider all but which of the following questions?

Would another individual have intended to cause the harm?

Which of the following is an inaccurate statement regarding professional negligence?

Professional negligence cases are often referred to as tort immunity cases.