Deck 12: Other Torts

Question 1

As she exited her bank's building,Tallama's foot became entangled in a thick rope hanging from the building maintenance worker's window-washing platform onto the ground.Tallama lost her balance and broke her arm as she awkwardly hit the ground.Under which of the following torts will Tallama's lawyer most likely commence an action to recover damages?

A) occupiers' nuisance
B) contractual entrants' negligence
C) contractual entrants' liability
D) occupiers' liability

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is a valid criticism of the current state of the law with respect to occupiers' liability?

A) A fee paid for the right to enter an occupier's premises is absent.
B) Occupiers have liability to anyone entering onto their property.
C) The abolition of the tort altogether is contrary to the public interest.
D) The blurring of classes and resulting duties owed to each is problematic.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Roger's soccer team completed the entry form and submitted the fee to participate in a local weekend promotional tournament.Several players in the opening games became nauseated and very ill due to exposure to residue from a pesticide sprayed on the fields an hour earlier.In formulating a legal argument,which of the following could be applied to reach the equivalent to the standard of care set by Manitoba occupiers' liability legislation?

A) standard of common law duty of care
B) negligence standard
C) standard of statutory duty of care
D) neighbour standard

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Under occupiers' liability legislation,which of the following are treated according to specialized rules in some jurisdictions?

A) licensees
B) rollerbladers
C) burglars
D) snowmobilers

Question 5

In law,which of the following will probably be most influenced by the categorization of visitors according to distinctive classifications?

A) distinguishing different classes of occupiers
B) whether someone's presence is beneficial to the licensee
C) whether someone's presence is beneficial to a customer
D) determining the liability of the occupier

Question 6

A property owner is requesting that a group of people trespassing on his property leave immediately.In these circumstances,which of the following would a law professor most likely indicate to be a non-applicable common law principle?

A) the common humanity principle
B) the occupiers' liability principle
C) the neighbour principle
D) a common law duty of care

Question 7

Roslyn was stopped on her way to her seat during the hockey game and asked to show her ticket,which she readily did.Why did the Roslyn have to comply with the usher's request to show her ticket?

A) to allow the usher to point out the exclusion of warranty
B) so she could be ushered to the correct seat
C) so she could confirm entry for the spectators' benefit
D) to show she had paid for the right to enter the premises

Question 8

A young father's serious slip and fall injury could likely result in which of the following legal outcomes for the occupier?

A) trigger a denial of coverage by insurer due to pre-existing condition
B) greater effort to keep persons entering the premises reasonably safe
C) statutorily implied exemption from vicarious liability
D) damage award for loss of future earning capacity

Question 9

A warranty that "the premises are as safe as reasonable care and skill on the part of anyone can make them" is synonymous with which of the following?

A) a duty owed to an occupier's licensee
B) a duty owed to a contractual entrant
C) a duty owed to anyone who is a visitor
D) a duty owed to an occupier's invitee

Question 10

Which of the following would the authors of your text suggest is the most common occurrence that gives rise to a tort action in relation to commercial use of property?

A) an occupier of a property harms others
B) customer's injuries sustained by a slip and fall
C) occupier detaining suspected shoplifters
D) occupier adversely affecting adjacent landowners

Question 11

With respect to unusual dangers,which of the following is a recent modification to the general rule with respect to an occupiers' responsibilities to licensees?

A) Liability arises from having actual awareness of them.
B) Liability for known hazards is highest when the visitor is a licensee.
C) Liability for known hazards is highest when the visitor is an invitee.
D) Liability arises from having reason to know about them.

Question 12

Delmar Construction Inc.was unable to continue its apartment block construction project.Subsequent to the temporary suspension of construction,a child was seriously injured when he fell into the open basement portion of the building.These circumstances exemplify which of the following?

A) an exemption from liability owing to mischief
B) an exemption from liability owing to nuisance
C) occupiers' liability
D) Delmar's contractual liability

Question 13

Alexis positioned his new fence exactly where he wanted it,even though it significantly encroaches his neighbour's property.Which of the following would immediately let Alexis know he has most likely erred on the wrong side of the law?

A) being served with a claim for negligent construction
B) being served with a claim for occupiers' liability
C) having to defend an action for trespass
D) having to defend an action for nuisance

Question 14

Which of the following provincial jurisdictions has abolished occupiers' liability altogether as a specialized category in law?

A) British Columbia
B) New Brunswick
C) Newfoundland
D) Quebec

Question 15

In law,the group of parties recognized as having the ability to exercise some degree of control over land or buildings on that land,is defined by which of the following terms?

A) occupant
B) occupier
C) licensee
D) tenant

Question 16

Jeremy placed caution signs around the area of the loading bay where the old concrete flooring had crumbled.The deterioration created an obscure depression,posing a hazard the unwary could easily step into.Which of the following is Jeremy's precautionary action most likely intended to have the greatest degree of influence?

A) trespassers
B) licensees
C) invitees
D) contractual entrants

Question 17

Martina is meeting with a group of new trainees.One of management's main training goals is to improve employee awareness of the legal risks that can arise under occupiers' liability.Which of the following will Martina most likely stress as a distinguishing feature of this form of liability?

A) that an occupier owes a lower duty to a contractual entrant than an invitee
B) that each class of visitor is owed a different standard of care
C) the importance of ensuring entrants have paid for the right to enter
D) the severity of the liability when someone is classified as a trespasser

Question 18

A lawyer is arguing that a promoter hosting a public New Year's social is liable in tort for negligence causing injury and loss to his client.Which of the following arguments most likely offers the strongest support for the claim for damages he is presenting to the court?

A) occupiers' moral obligation to keep premises safe
B) deficient provision of a safe environment
C) assumption of both physical and legal risks
D) ethically and morally the right thing to do

Question 19

With respect to statutory requirements relating to occupiers' liability,which of the following would most likely be set out as a general requirement by provincial legislators creating such law?

A) to create a standard of duty to act with common humanity
B) to refrain from creating deliberate danger or harm
C) to create a high duty of care owed to trespassers
D) the common law standard of duty of care

Question 20

Suspecting a burglar was attempting to enter his garage,Hakim let his Dobermans outside to take care of the threat.He was shocked six months later when he was served with a lawsuit claiming damages for the serious injuries inflicted by the Dobermans' bites into the thief's hands and legs.Why has Hakim been named as a defendant in this lawsuit?

A) Hakim owed a duty of care to restrict the number of bites his dogs could inflict.
B) The injuries result from his careless disregard for the trespasser's presence.
C) Hakim owed a generalized duty of care based on the neighbour principle.
D) The thief must be a child in order for injury to a trespass to be actionable.

Question 21

With respect to an actionable tort,the phrase "protect the reputation of individuals against unfounded and unjustified attacks" is synonymous with which of the following?

A) fair comment
B) the tort of defamation
C) qualified privilege
D) absolute privilege

Question 22

Which of the following is the common term for broadcasting a defamatory utterance?

A) slander
B) liable
C) defamation
D) libel

Question 23

Why have governments introduced the concept of "a degree of acceptable environmental damage" by way of sophisticated and complex environmental legislation?

A) to displace the importance of common law protections set in nuisance
B) to make environmental trespass actionable without proof of harm or damage
C) to ensure that any guest refusing to leave a campsite when asked is a trespasser
D) to provide the certainty needed for resolving boundary/title disputes

Question 24

A lawyer for a defendant is arguing that the plaintiff negligently failed to keep a proper lookout for pucks,causing his own injury.Which of the following classifications could likely be applied by a court to negatively influence the viability of this defence?

A) plaintiff as a trespasser on private property
B) flying pucks as a danger clubs ought to anticipate
C) flying pucks as substantial interference with enjoyment of the game
D) trespassers as presenting a substantially unreasonable intrusion

Question 25

Which of the following is the most likely outcome of a court's finding of a defendant's libellous conduct as particularly reprehensible and oppressive?

A) punitive damages
B) special damages
C) general damages
D) exemplary damages

Question 26

The court has determined that plaintiff's counsel has been unable to show malice.Which of the following would be most strongly supported by this finding by the court?

A) qualified privilege
B) fair comment
C) defamation
D) absolute privilege

Question 27

Jameson waited calmly during the 20 minutes he was detained,while shopkeepers looked through his backpack for shoplifted items to no avail.What tort has been committed?

A) psychological coercion
B) false imprisonment
C) nuisance
D) trespass of person

Question 28

In a defamation action,which of the following would be most strongly supported by counsel's presentation to a court of evidence substantiating truth to a statement?

A) a qualified privilege
B) a complete defence
C) an absolute privilege
D) an opinion defence

Question 29

Which of the following is typically derived from s.494 of the Criminal Code?

A) authority to detain
B) authority to search
C) authority to act on suspicion of a crime
D) authority to psychologically coerce

Question 30

Leakage from a gold mine's tailings pond eventually leached through the soil,contaminating the groundwater system with high levels of cyanide.Dairy farmers in the region suffered heavy losses from the illness in their herds caused by the poisoned well water.With respect to the right to use and enjoyment of land,which of the following would a lawyer advising the farmers likely suggest as grounds for an actionable tort?

A) a nuisance action on grounds of unreasonable and substantial interference
B) a negligence action on grounds of breach of promise of absolute safety
C) a nuisance action on grounds of temporary interference with property
D) a trespass action on grounds of interference with property rights

Question 31

Misrepresentations causing loss are synonymous with which of the following?

A) fraudulent use of dirty tricks
B) an uncommon remedy in damages
C) the tort of passing off
D) reckless disregard for their truth

Question 32

Which of the following is the common term for publishing a defamatory statement?

A) defamation
B) fair comment
C) libel
D) slander

Question 33

In law,which of the following most strongly supports a complete remedy for a businesses experiencing harm arising from another's deceptive copying?

A) an award of damages for a passing-off action
B) an injunction restraining interference with contractual relations
C) a statutory law remedy for passing off
D) an injunction restraining the offending activity and damages

Question 34

According to the Supreme Court of Canada,the reputation of a business and its expectation of patronage in the future is synonymous with which of the following?

A) goodwill
B) profitability
C) deceit
D) ethics

Question 35

With respect to court awards for damages arising from an actionable tort of interference with contractual relations,which of the following would a lawyer most likely identify as a distinguishing feature?

A) exemption of personal service contracts from specific performance
B) specific performance rarely awarded in master/servant relationships
C) exemption from damages in instances of inducement of breach of contract
D) courts rarely award damages for breach of personal service contracts

Question 36

Which of the following would,owing to inflexibility,be considered to strongly support protection of the Canadian environment?

A) federal environmental statutes
B) common law tort of nuisance
C) municipal land-use bylaws
D) provincial environmental statutes

Question 37

Which of the following is a distinguishing feature of the tort of battery?

A) Contact need not cause actual harm.
B) Contact need not be harmful or offensive.
C) Harm must flow directly from contract.
D) Harm must flow from careless disregard.

Question 38

A court released Raven from her contract and awarded $33 000 in damages arising from harm flowing from her reliance on deliberate misrepresentations.Which of the following denotes the cause of action represented by these circumstances?

A) deceit
B) deception of the pubic
C) existence of good will
D) passing off

Question 39

A law professor is discussing possible defences to a spectator's claim for damages against an occupier.With respect to a successful defence for an alleged negligent breach of contract,which of the following could you reasonably expect the professor to suggest?

A) the insignificance of an intrusion
B) the action was unintentional in nature
C) the codification of volenti non fit injuria
D) the absence of a promise of absolute safety

Question 40

Which of the following would most likely be used by a court to assess the quantum of an individual's actual monetary damages resulting from defamation?

A) the severity of injury from the falsehood
B) the remoteness of the damages
C) the severity of the defamation
D) the foreseeability of the damages

Question 41

Businesses face liability for the tort of negligence as well as under nuisance legislation for what is known as a "slip and fall."

Question 42

Which of the following would a risk manager indicate to be the most suitable substitute to having an after-the-fact debate on the standard of duty owed to an injured entrant?

A) determining what classification the injured plaintiff belongs under
B) knowing that insurance policies are adequate and in good standing
C) knowing whether children trespass onto neighbouring property
D) implementing preventive measures to maintain safe premises

Question 43

A contractual entrant is any person who has paid for the right to enter the premises.

Question 44

With respect to management of the risk of passing off,which of the following would immediately let you know that training efforts have failed?

A) providing adequate warnings and protections to visitors
B) copying others treated as innovation by employees
C) maintaining adequate liability insurance coverage
D) reducing risk by keeping sidewalks clear of ice

Question 45

The landmark case of Donoghue v.Simpson set down the common law neighbour principle.

Question 46

Any person whose presence is not a benefit to the occupier but to which the occupier has no objection is legally described as an invitee.

Question 47

Tort actions that are relevant to business activities can be divided between those that arise because a business occupies a property and those that arise due to actual business operations.

Question 48

With respect to personal information,the protection of privacy interests afforded through legislation deals with which of the following?

A) reputation, right to exclusive enjoyment, and dignity
B) proof of damage arising from an actionable privacy violation
C) 81 to 91 percent of new parents
D) disclosure, use, and collection for commercial purposes

Question 49

Bonita has been given a new assignment relating to preparing a list of possible legal risks associated with the business's newly leased office space.Bonita will need to consider occupier's liability,trespass,and nuisance in relation to risks arising from occupation of property.

Question 50

The general rule with respect to occupier's liability for responsibility to a licensee is for the occupier to make the licensee aware of any unusual danger of which the occupier is aware.

Question 51

Any person who comes onto the property to provide the occupier with a benefit is legally described as a licensee.

Question 52

Marcel leases two large warehouse buildings on the outskirts of the city to Regis; therefore,risks arising from occupier's liability are limited to affecting Marcel.

Question 53

An owner of a building who uses one of the offices for his own business purposes is an occupier.

Question 54

Which of the following would your law professor most likely identify as being problematic in the legal context of comparative and negative advertising?

A) qualified privilege
B) injurious falsehood
C) fair comment
D) defamation

Question 55

The main tort actions arising from occupation of property relate to passing off,injurious falsehood,and deceit.

Question 56

Which of the following is a distinguishing characteristic of injurious or malicious falsehood?

A) Burden of proof requires a plaintiff to establish malicious harm to his reputation.
B) Plaintiff must prove a false statement harming their reputation was intentional.
C) Burden of proof requires a plaintiff to establish a negative product statement is false.
D) Plaintiff must prove a malicious statement about service or products and its falsehood.

Question 57

A trespasser is someone whose presence on land is practically objected to by the occupier of that land.

Question 58

In Hollinsworth v.BCTV,[1996] 6 W.W.R.54 (B.C.C.A.),the plaintiff successful relied on which of the following statutes to compensate for the liberties taken by the defendant without the plaintiff's knowledge or consent?

A) New Brunswick's Privacy Act
B) Ontario's Privacy Act
C) Canada's Privacy Act
D) British Columbia's Privacy Act

Question 59

Out of all of the common law Canadian provincial jurisdictions,only Alberta,British Columbia,Manitoba,Nova Scotia,Ontario,and Prince Edward Island have passed occupier's liability legislation.

Question 60

Occupier's liability describes the liability that occupiers have to anyone who enters onto their land or property.

Question 61

Explain the common law duty to warn owed by an occupier to an invitee.Identify the common law tort that occupier's liability is most similar to in jurisdictions where statute law prevails.

Question 62

Identify the types of torts that arise from business operations in relation to its customers.Provide a brief explanation of the assurances the law seeks to provide through the application of these types of torts.

Question 63

Identify and briefly explain the various methods a business facing potential tort liabilities should implement to effectively manage those risks.

Question 64

The Trade-marks Act contains a statutory form of action that bears a strong resemblance to the tort of passing off.

Question 65

In order for a claim for a tort of nuisance to be actionable,the offending intrusion must be significant and unreasonable.

Question 66

Passing off involves presenting another's goods or services as one's own.

Question 67

Describe the questions that should be included in an occupier's liability risk management plan?

Question 68

Trespass is the act of unlawful detention or physical restraint or coercion by psychological means.

Question 69

The act of coming onto another's property without the occupier's express invitation or implied consent gives rise to the tort of invasion of privacy.

Question 70

Identify and briefly describe the elements that must be proven by a plaintiff seeking a remedy from a court for an actionable tort of passing off.

Question 71

From a business perspective,the tort of deceit most commonly arises in the contractual area.

Question 72

Identify and describe the questions that would be considered appropriate for inclusion in a risk management list of questions for use by a business that designs and creates consumer goods.

Question 73

Identify who an occupier of a building is responsible for and briefly explain the basis on which the extent of that responsibility is varied.

Question 74

Arwyn is a highly successful artist.She has recently become aware of a gallery selling replicas of some of her smaller sculptures.Identify the tort claim available to Arwyn in these circumstances and explain what a court will require be proven to its satisfaction.Briefly discuss the effect satisfying this requirement will have,with respect to providing a remedy for Arwyn.

Question 75

Identify the torts that endeavour to protect a business's property and its own reputation and the party whose actions typically give rise to this type of action.

Question 76

Briefly explain whether there is a general recognition of a common law tort for invasion of privacy.If the answer is negative,identify and briefly describe how common law provides protection from invasion of privacy.