Exam 3: Introduction to Torts

Gold Star Investment Inc is in the business of providing financial advice to clients.Alan, who is the company's managing director, hires all of the company's staff.Unfortunately, he tends to hire not on the basis of formal qualifications, but rather on the basis of physical beauty.Consequently, among Gold Star's staff are Brad and Angie, a pair of exceptionally attractive, but dull-witted, financial advisors.When Jennifer retained Gold Star to provide investment advice, her file was assigned to Brad and Angie.Through incompetence and negligence, the pair managed to lose virtually all of Jennifer's money on bad investments within a very short time.If Gold Star is held vicariously liable,

Jose has sued Sharona in tort as a result of an injury that he suffered while visiting her property.Given the facts of the case, it is possible, at least in theory, for Jose to prove a number of different torts.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

Maria intends to create a new business, but she is worried that some of her workers may commit torts on the job.She therefore has asked you about employees and independent contractors.You should tell her that

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

Jojo suffered a catastrophic injury while she was at work.Although she strongly suspects that the accident that injured her was caused by the carelessness of one of her co-workers, she cannot prove that fact.She therefore hopes to receive compensation for her loss from a workers' compensation scheme.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

Until recently, Tamara worked in a warehouse, earning $3000 a month.She was required to quit her job, however, after being injured in a skiing accident that was tortiously caused by Buck.That injury required Tamara to spend two months in the hospital.After being discharged from the hospital, Tamara was further required to complete an intensive physiotherapy program over the course of a month.At the end of that month, her physician told her that while she could never return to work in a warehouse, she should immediately take up employment in a less demanding (and lower paying) job.Nevertheless, for the next two months, Tamara chose to do nothing at all beyond watching television and listening to music.As her financial difficulties deepened, she eventually decided to re-train as a secretary.She therefore enrolled in a three-month secretarial course, for which she was required to pay a total of $3000.At the end of that course Tamara promptly returned to workforce, this time as a secretary at a salary of $2000 per month.Exactly one year has now passed since Tamara began working as a secretary.How much is she entitled to receive from Buck by way of damages for lost income in the past?

Alpha Corp owns a large plot of land called Blackacre.Except for one corner of that property, where Alpha's factory, offices, and warehouse are located, Blackacre is undeveloped.Omega Inc owns a piece of land that shares a common border with Blackacre.That border is located at the edge of an undeveloped section of Blackacre.Omega's property contains a number of buildings, including a manufacturing plant.That plant generates a considerable amount of waste.For the past 10 months, Omega has greatly reduced its waste disposal expenses by simply dumping its waste onto Blackacre, rather than transporting the waste to a proper dumpsite.Alpha objected to the waste from the outset and initially tried to resolve the issue through friendly negotiations.It eventually became clear, however, that Omega would not voluntarily stop dumping waste onto Blackacre.Alpha consequently sued Omega for trespass to land.The court agreed with the claim and imposed liability upon Omega.The judge is now required to decide which remedy or remedies Alpha is entitled to receive.In that respect, Alpha has shown three things.(i) It will cost $75 000 to remove Omega's waste from Blackacre.(ii) Omega will dump waste onto Blackacre again in the future unless there is something to prevent it from doing so.And (iii) Deliberate dumping of this sort has become a widespread problem because manufacturers, such as Omega, often believe that while the expense of properly disposing of waste material is much the same whether the work is done immediately or whether it is done only after a court has imposed liability, there is always a chance that the victim of a tort will not, for some reason, actually take the problem to court.Consequently, manufacturers often believe that there is little to lose, and potentially much to gain, by tortiously dumping waste on neighbouring properties.What remedies should be awarded against Omega on these facts?

Which of the following torts fall within the category of strict liability torts?

Elise owns and operates a convenience store.Because that store is located near a high school, it loses a great deal of profit to shoplifting.Last week, Elise caught Hakan in the act of stealing a magazine.She physically detained him and called the police.The police arrived and placed Hakan in handcuffs.At that point, Elise calmly and intentionally punched Hakan in the face and said, "I've been waiting a long time for the chance to do that." Elise has a liability insurance policy that she purchased from the Pacific All Risk Insurance Co.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

As a result of dumping toxic materials into the water supply, Acme Corp.has been held liable under the tort of nuisance to several of its neighbours.While the company's directors are concerned about the bad publicity, they do take comfort in the fact that Acme holds a liability insurance policy that applies in this situation.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

Max worked in a warehouse owned by Fortress Storage Inc.His job consisted mainly of moving and storing expensive and sensitive pieces of computer equipment that Fortress had received from its customers.Unfortunately, while Max normally was among the company's most trusted workers, he carelessly dropped a computer that belonged to HAL Inc.and that HAL had asked Fortress to store.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

Suneel committed the tort of battery against Jodi.The injuries that she suffered were unexpectedly severe.Suneel may be held fully liable for Jodi's losses even if the extent of the losses were not reasonably foreseeable.

Sidhu was injured when Melissa, a construction worker, carelessly dropped a hammer out of a window.Sidhu has successfully sued both Melissa, on the basis of her personal liability, and Melissa's employer, on the basis of the employer's vicarious liability.Given the policies that support vicarious liability, Sidhu must first try to recover his damages from the employer.

Which of the following statements is TRUE with respect to the doctrine of vicarious liability?

Lupine Inc.successfully sued Wolf Finance Ltd.in both tort and contract.In this situation, it is accurate to say that Wolf Finance owed obligations to Lupine, one that arose by operation of law and the other that arose through voluntary agreement.

Bentham Inc sued Locke Ltd in tort.The judge denied liability on the grounds of remoteness.This means that

Christine entered into a contract with Vernon.She was required to pay $5000 and he was to provide advice regarding a business venture that she was pursuing.If Vernon had performed properly, Christine would have earned a profit of $20 000.As a result of Vernon's negligent performance, however, Christine suffered a loss of $10 000 (in addition to the $5000 that she had paid to Vernon).Christine wants to sue Vernon in both contract and tort.Which of the following statements is most likely TRUE?

A tort is considered to be actionable per se (which means "actionable in itself") only if the same facts also support a criminal prosecution.

According to one old English case, Ethelred was entitled under the doctrine of blood feud to kill Halebert.If the same facts arose today, the Canadian legal system would deal with the situation through a combination of tort law and contract law.

Werner owns a number of animals that live in and around his home.Because Werner's house is located in a secluded area, he has little interaction with people outside of his immediate family.He consequently has never received any complaints about his animals until recently.That complaint has come in the form of a tort action by Madonna, who claims that she was wrongfully hurt by one of Werner's animals.The evidence establishes that she was bitten by the animal as she knocked on Werner's door with the intention of asking him to donate to a charity.Which of the following statements is TRUE?