Exam 5: Negligence,Professional Liability,and Insurance

Joe was a customer in Sam's store when he carelessly dropped a very expensive vase,but he was relieved when he found that Sam had insurance to cover the loss.Explain Joe's legal position in these circumstances.

Raheel wants to sue a manufacturer who he believes was careless during the manufacturing process.What do the courts do to make this easier on people like Raheel?

Joe entered a store and approached a display of china.He was examining an extremely valuable vase and carelessly dropped it,destroying it.Which of the following is correct with respect to his liability?

To have the schools valued for insurance purposes,a school district hired a firm of surveyors to give them a statement of value.To prepare the report,the surveyors took the relevant measurements,which were then given to a statistical tabulating company that does the calculations based on the measurements.Surveyors always use the services of such tabulating companies.An error was made in the calculations,so the surveyor's report was wrong.Therefore,the buildings were under-insured.When one of the school buildings was destroyed by fire,the school district did not get sufficient funds from the insurance company to rebuild the school.On these facts,which of the following is true? (Assume that the school district has the ability to sue and be sued in court.)

The director of the children's zoo,Mr.Watson,was appalled to see an employee,Jake,throwing a pitchfork like a javelin in an area where there were both animals and children.Luckily,no one was hurt.He yelled to Jake to get busy and feed the birds so that the birds would come closer to the children.Jake opened a new sealed bag of feed and threw some to the birds.It happened that the manufacturer of the feed,ordered by Watson,had accidentally mixed some caustic substance with the feed,so that later in the day Jake's hand began to blister badly.Jake sued Watson for negligence because of the burns he suffered; Watson sued Jake for negligence because of the way Jake used the pitchfork.On these facts,which of the following is true?

Ms.Lam bought a lot next to a house owned by Mr.Dodson.She asked Mr.Dodson for permission to use his electricity while building a house on her property.He refused.He feared his house was too old to handle the electricity load needed.Later,a carpenter employed by Ms.Lam accidentally broke a window of Mr.Dodson's while moving lumber.Furthermore,the carpenter removed part of Dodson's fence to make room for needed materials,used Dodson' house to support the lumber and drove some nails into Dodson's tree to hold some wires.Dodson complained to Ms.Lam.Irritated by his stand on the electricity and his complaints,Lam began a civil action against him for the tort of defamation,although she had absolutely no grounds for alleging defamation.Which of the following is not supported by the facts given above?

To win his action in negligence against a professional person,the plaintiff must prove,among other things,that the defendant's conduct was below an acceptable standard of care.Which of the following is the legal standard of care demanded of a professional person?

Absent a statutory provision to the contrary,parents are not responsible for their children's torts unless there was obvious failure to control,instruct,or supervise.

The forfeiture rule will not allow a criminal to profit from a crime,but does not affect those claiming through the criminal's estate.

A principle established in Donoghue v.Stevenson is the test used to determine the standard of care that must be exercised by the defendant to escape liability.

For his Superbowl Sunday party,Jack bought,among other things,some Francisco mustard.Even before the game began,one of the guests,Fred,made himself a sandwich using that mustard.When Fred saw another guest,Tad,making a sandwich with the mustard,Fred warned him that the sandwich did not taste right and that he (Fred)didn't feel too well.Tad ate everything else on his plate,but left the sandwich.Fred became quite ill and had to go to the hospital.It was determined that the mustard was contaminated when it was made.Jack had bought the mustard just an hour before game time from Big Store,which had bought it from DB Distributors Ltd.,which had bought it from the manufacturer New Foods Ltd.On these facts,which of the following is true?

In determining duty,what kind of factors would the court take into consideration in determining whether the defendant lived up to the standard of a reasonable person?

Where a person owns a half interest in a house valued at $200,000 and has insurance on that property in the amount of $400,000,if the house burns down,causing a loss of $100,000,how much will that person collect?

What is the role of self-governing professional bodies?

Mary was driving down the road when Sam came out from a side road,went through a stop sign,and struck the side of her car.Upon later examination of Mary's car,it was determined that the brakes were worn down beyond the point of safety.Sam sued her for negligence.Explain the likely result.

In Hodgkinson v.Simms,an accountant advised a client to invest in a real estate development while also acting for the developers.What did the Supreme Court of Canada find?

Health care services in Canada are funded through the government-sponsored medical system,which is often supplemented by plans providing extended coverage.

Most insurance contracts require insured parties to maintain certain safety and security standards to protect themselves against the risk of fire and theft.

How are professionals treated differently under the rules of negligence?

Identify and describe two (2)defences available in a negligence claim.Provide an example of each.