Exam 7: Tort Law

Blow-Up.Jeanie is hauling several containers of gasoline in her vehicle in preparation for riding her personal watercraft.On the way home,Jeanie stops at the automatic teller machine at her bank and exits her car.Holly pulls behind her and negligently rear-ends Jeanie's car.The car explodes and results in the bank building burning to the ground.The bank sues Holly for negligence claiming that Holly should have to pay for the entire bank building.The bank claimed that it should be able to recover under the res ipsa loquitur doctrine.Which of the following is true regarding whether actual cause exists in the bank's action against Holly?

The ________ standard is a measurement of the way members of society expect an individual to act in a given situation.

Chewer.The state in which Susan lives has a statute prohibiting dogs running at large.All dogs are required to be on a leash whenever they are off the owner's premises.Susan's dog,while not on a leash,visits the home of a neighbor down the street.While there,the dog carries off an expensive pair of shoes belonging to Robert.The shoes are chewed and destroyed.A neighbor informed Robert of what had happened.Robert commented that he never should have left his $300 shoes lying on the deck in the first place but that he expects to be repaid by Susan.Robert found out that the dog had carried away a number of shoes and other articles in the neighborhood,chewing them to pieces.Susan did nothing to warn anyone.Robert thinks that she should be punished for her activities,which would perhaps deter her from allowing the dog to run loose.Which of the following theories will Susan likely use to defend herself?

Courts typically award punitive damages for pain and suffering,costs of repairing damaged property,medical expenses,and lost wages.

Which of the following is an absolute defense to defamation?

Which of the following is a condition required for the imposition of strict liability?

Hair Stylist Woes.Maryann went to see her hair stylist,Candy.Maryann,who had black,curly hair,requested straight,blond hair.Candy told her that she could make that change,but there would be significant upkeep involved.Candy made the change,but Maryann did not do the upkeep required.She also falsely claimed that Candy did not do what Maryann asked her to do,that Candy lied to her,and that Candy was professionally incompetent.Maryann made the statements to friends of hers.She also wrote an editorial in her college newspaper to the effect that Candy's shop should be avoided at all costs because Candy was incompetent.In fact,Candy was a good hair stylist and enjoyed a good reputation up until the time that Maryann started her criticism.Candy threatened to sue Maryann for defamation,but Maryann told Candy that Candy could not prevail because Candy could not prove loss of income.Candy had to admit that while her reputation had been damaged somewhat,the damage was primarily among the college population.Her income kept increasing from other segments of the community,and she had suffered no net loss.The defamation printed in the school newspaper would be which of the following?

Diving Fiasco.Mike,who owns a dive shop in the United States,decides to take a group of his customers diving in U.S.waters.Mike is aware that sharks occasionally visit the area where the divers will be visiting.He is also aware that,while stingrays are usually tame,they can become aggressive when fed.Mike does not reveal that information to the group of divers going with him.The divers go down into the water,and some have squid with which to feed the stingrays.During the dive,one of the stingrays becomes agitated and latches onto diver Susie's arm.Susie is so disconcerted that she drops her regulator (her breathing device)from her mouth and is in considerable difficulty.Another diver,Billy,encounters a shark,which snaps at him.While the shark does not actually bite Billy,the attack results in damage to his diving equipment.Mike,who is in charge of the dive,does nothing to help and leaves the other divers to return to the boat because the dive turned out to be more trouble than expected.Wendy,another diver on the trip,also returns to the boat without doing anything to help the divers in distress.Sam,on the other hand,goes to rescue the divers who are in distress.He manages to do so but in the process he pulls his back and requires medical care.All divers are very unhappy with Mike.Billy wants to sue Mike for damages because of his damaged equipment.Which of the following is the most likely result?

Tina negligently hits student Susie with her car.Susie,rendered unconscious from the impact,is lying on the street.Which of the following is a correct statement regarding whether Tina has a legal duty to come to the aid of Susie after the accident?

What does the term "negligence per se" mean literally?

Cause in fact is also known as ________ cause.

A false statement of a material fact regarding ownership of business property that results in a loss of sales is referred to as ________.

Which is not an example of slander per se?

Which of the following is not a typical type of compensatory damage?

List and discuss the three objectives of tort law.

Diving Fiasco.Mike,who owns a dive shop in the United States,decides to take a group of his customers diving in U.S.waters.Mike is aware that sharks occasionally visit the area where the divers will be visiting.He is also aware that,while stingrays are usually tame,they can become aggressive when fed.Mike does not reveal that information to the group of divers going with him.The divers go down into the water,and some have squid with which to feed the stingrays.During the dive,one of the stingrays becomes agitated and latches onto diver Susie's arm.Susie is so disconcerted that she drops her regulator (her breathing device)from her mouth and is in considerable difficulty.Another diver,Billy,encounters a shark,which snaps at him.While the shark does not actually bite Billy,the attack results in damage to his diving equipment.Mike,who is in charge of the dive,does nothing to help and leaves the other divers to return to the boat because the dive turned out to be more trouble than expected.Wendy,another diver on the trip,also returns to the boat without doing anything to help the divers in distress.Sam,on the other hand,goes to rescue the divers who are in distress.He manages to do so but in the process he pulls his back and requires medical care.All divers are very unhappy with Mike.Which of the following is true regarding whether Wendy and Sam had a duty to come to the assistance of the divers in peril?

Assume a jurisdiction has a law that all residential swimming pools must have a fence that is at least six feet tall surrounding the swimming pool.Cindy has a pool in her backyard,but she just had it built a few months ago and has not since had the extra money to build the fence.Unfortunately,one of the neighborhood children goes swimming in the pool and drowns.The parents of the child sue Cindy.Discuss how they would likely go about proving their case against Cindy and the elements that would be required to establish their case.

Most states have replaced comparative negligence with contributory negligence.

Which of the following doctrines require(s)the court to determine the percentage of fault of the defendant and then hold the defendant liable for that percentage of the plaintiff's damages,but with the requirement that the defendant be more than 50 percent at fault before the plaintiff can recover?

Under which of the following situations does the tort of trespass to realty occur?