Exam 8: Negligence and Strict Liabilitypart Iii: Contracts

Under the Second Restatement, the owner of land is liable to adult trespassers for failure to maintain the land in a reasonably safe condition.

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 a state that follows the contributory negligence doctrine.In this case,

Liability for the negligent conduct of a defendant requires not only that the conduct in fact caused injury to the plaintiff but also that it was the proximate cause of the injury.

Under the Second Restatement, the duty of a possessor of land to persons who come on the land usually depends on whether those persons are:

What is the reasonable person standard? How is it applied to each of the following types of people? a.Children b.Persons with physical disabilities c.Persons who are mentally retarded d.Professional people with advanced degrees and training, such as doctors, lawyers, and accountants e.Persons acting in emergency situations f.Persons who violate statutory duties

Negligence per se is a defense in a negligence case.

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

A duty to act is imposed on those whose innocent conduct has injured another and left him helpless and in danger of further harm.

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 cracked corn for the chickens.The chickens died and the neighbor sues.What is the likely result?

A person is not under a general duty to avoid the unintentional infliction of economic loss.

In the majority of states, a defendant is liable for negligently inflicted emotional distress, even in the absence of resultant physical harm.

The reasonable person standard is:

Ruby, who was driving too fast for conditions, collided with a truck carrying explosives.The truck was unmarked, so Ruby 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.In this case:

The Love v.Hardee's Food Systems, Inc.case dealt with the responsibility of the owner or possessor of property to an invitee to warn of, remove, or barricade a dangerous condition of the premises.

The elements of common-law negligence include

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

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

Seventeen-year-old Brice 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.In most states:

In most of the states, a sixteen-year-old who drives a car will be held to the same standard of care in driving as an adult for purposes of determining negligence.

Jack is a trucker who makes his living moving modular homes.This is a dangerous business in that the portions of the houses, when on the truck, are wider than the road lanes.Also, Jack frequently has to travel much more slowly than the other vehicles on the road.One day Jack, on his way to Atlanta with a modular home in tow, found himself approaching two trucks coming from the opposite direction with the words "High Museum Exhibits" on the truck panels.When Jack swerves to avoid a bicyclist, the High Museum truck runs off the road and tumbles down an embankment.No one is harmed, but the painting exhibit being transported is damaged.Discuss the various theories of negligence that might be applied here and why they would be appropriate.