Questions and Answers of Law business personal use

Lessee: A tenant is treated as if she were the owner, for liability purposes.
Duty: The landowner owes an invitee a duty of reasonable inspection to find hidden dangers. Also, the owner must take reasonable efforts to fix a dangerous condition.Rejection of categories: Some
Definition: An invitee, under the modern view, includes: (1) persons who are invited by the owner onto the land to conduct business with the owner; and (2) those who are invited as members of the
Invitees: At common law, the owner owes a greater set of duties to an “invitee.”
Duty: The landowner does not owe a licensee any duty to inspect for unknown dangers, or to fix any known danger. However, the owner does have the duty to warn the licensee of any danger that the
Definition: A licensee is a person who has the owner’s consent to be on the property, but who does not have a business purpose for being there. The main class of persons who qualify as licensees
Licensees: The common-law recognizes a limited set of duties that a landowner owes to a “licensee.”
Children: Most significantly, the owner owes a duty of reasonable care to a trespassing child if certain conditions are met.
49. DrillCo is an oil company that drills for oil off the shore of Hilton Head, South Carolina. Due to DrillCo’s negligence in performing the drilling, a large blow-out occurs, and oil is spread
48. Paula and Pam, who are friends, are out on a walk with Paula’s 12-year-old daughter Sheila. While Sheila is walking 10 yards ahead of the two women, she starts to cross the street at a
47. Patricia is walking with her five-year-old son, Colin, across the street. Doug, driving dangerously fast, is unable to come to a full stop, and lightly hits Patricia. Patricia is knocked to the
46. Benedict Arnold, diplomat, is out riding, and sees his friend, George Washington, slumped beside a tree. Washington has caught a chill, and Arnold helps him up and takes him back to the Arnold
Pure economic loss: Courts are split as to whether P may recover for “pure economic loss,”unaccompanied by physical injury or property damage. The modern view is to allow P to recover for such
Unborn children: D may be liable for injuries inflicted on a fetus.
Mental suffering: Plaintiffs are sometimes allowed to recover for mental suffering caused by the defendant’s conduct, even where the plaintiff has not suffered physical injuries. Most controversial
Effect of a contract: Where the source of D’s duty to P lies in a contract, courts usually do not allow P to sue in tort for D’s failure to perform, and instead require that the suit be brought
Failure to act: The law does not impose any general “duty to act.” Therefore, as a general rule, D cannot be liable for merely failing to give P assistance. (But there are many exceptions.)
Indemnity: Sometimes, courts will shift the entire financial responsibility for the tort from one defendant to the other (even though both are jointly and severally liable). This is done by the
Contribution: A defendant who has paid to the plaintiff more than his pro rata share of damages will usually be able to recover partial reimbursement from the other defendants. Such partial
Joint liability: If more than one person is a proximate cause of the plaintiff’s harm, and the harm is“indivisible,” each defendant is liable for the entire harm. The liability in this
Indemnity: Sometimes, courts will shift the entire financial responsibility for the tort from one defendant to the other (even though both are jointly and severally liable). This is done by the
Contribution: A defendant who has paid to the plaintiff more than his pro rata share of damages will usually be able to recover partial reimbursement from the other defendants. Such partial
Joint liability: If more than one person is a proximate cause of the plaintiff’s harm, and the harm is“indivisible,” each defendant is liable for the entire harm. The liability in this
42. Dan is driving his car with Patti as passenger. Dan negligently runs a red light, and his car is struck by an oncoming car driven by Xavier.Patti is seriously though not fatally injured. An
41. With Driver at the wheel, Driver and Passenger motor into town one day. Passenger has fallen asleep during the trip. Driver parks the car in front of a fire hydrant next to a bank, in violation
40. Abel, while driving his car, hit the brakes as a child ran into the road. Baker, who was tailgating Abel, slammed into Abel. Carr, who was tailgating Baker, slammed into Baker, causing an
39. Sprooss Goose Plane Repairs negligently fixes Amelia Earheart’s plane, such that the next time she flies, she crashes and breaks her leg.The leg is set in a cast. Shortly thereafter, she goes
38. Vronsky is raking the leaves in his front yard, and he carelessly blocks the sidewalk with a huge pile of leaf-filled bags. As a result, Anna Karenina must walk out into the heavily-travelled
37. Things are kind of anxious in Europe, and Gavrilo Princip takes to carrying a gun. He’s watching a parade one day, when a man next to him, Dr. Pangloss, carelessly drops a peanut into
36. King’s Man catapults a styrofoam ball at Humpty Dumpty’s forehead, intending only to embarrass him. In fact, Humpty falls and cracks his skull, where a normal person would have been unhurt.
Foreseeability: The requirement of “proximate cause” usually means that the injury must have been at least a reasonably foreseeable (and not bizarre or extraordinary) result of the defendant’s
Proximate cause: P must also show that the injury is sufficiently closely related to D’s conduct that liability should attach. This requirement is commonly called the requirement of “proximate
Cause in fact: P must first show that D’s conduct was the “cause in fact” of the injury. This usually means that P must show that “but for” D’s negligent act, the injury would not have
35. Passenger is aboard an airplane operated by Airline. The airplane disappears over the Mediterranean Sea in clear weather, and no trace is ever found. Passenger’s estate sues Airline. The estate
34. The federal Food and Drug Act provides that any poisonous substance must be marked with the word “poison” and with a skull and crossbones at least one-half inch high. Cleaner Co., a
33. In the trucking industry, it is customary to use only a side-view mirror, not a rear-view mirror, on tractor-trailers, since a rear-view mirror is impractical. In recent years, a video camera
32. Redd Wightenbleu, soldier, survives six tours of duty in Europe during World War II, and is awarded the Purple Heart for bravery. After the war, he returns, victorious, to the states. During the
31. The State of Anxiety has a criminal statute requiring that people lock their space saucers when they park them in public places. George Jetson carelessly leaves his keys in the ignition and his
30. The Han-dee Shop-R Grocery Store is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in violation of a Sunday closing law. Pierre Lucky is shopping at Han-dee one Sunday, and is injured when he slips on a
29. The Hotten Swettee Nightshirt Company manufactures childrens’ nightclothes. The cloth it uses is highly flammable. One youngster, Emma Layshen, wearing a Hotten Swettee nightie, naps a bit too
28. Batman’s son, Batboy, is thirteen. One night, while Batman is playing poker with the Commissioner, Batboy sneaks into the Batcave, stuffs a chaw of chewing tobacco in his cheek, jumps into the
27. Arthur Fonzarelli is a bored teenager. He rides all over Mayberry on his Harley Davidson just to kill time. Arthur is very concerned about damage to his spotless Harley, so he is always watchful
Requirements: P must meet four main requirements to use the doctrine: (1) There must be no direct evidence as to D’s precise conduct; (2) P must show that the harm is of a type that does not
Res ipsa loquitur: The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur (“the thing speaks for itself”) allows P to point to the fact of the accident, and to create an inference that, even without a precise showing
“Negligence per se” doctrine: Most courts apply the “negligence per se” doctrine: when a safety statute has a sufficiently close application to the facts of the case at hand, an unexcused
The reasonable person: The reasonableness of D’s conduct is viewed under an objective standard:Would a “reasonable person of ordinary prudence,” in D’s position, do as D did?
“unreasonable,” courts use a balancing test: if the risk of harm to another from D’s conduct is greater than the “utility” of that conduct, the risk is deemed “unreasonable.”
Balancing: In determining whether the risk of harm from D’s conduct was so great as to be
Negligence generally: The tort of “negligence” occurs when D’s conduct imposes an unreasonable risk upon another, resulting in an injury to that other. D’s mental state is irrelevant.
26. Pilot is flying her two-engine private jet from New York to Boston. Suddenly, one engine stops working, and Pilot is unable to restart it.Pilot knows that there is a good, but not 100%, chance
25. Drug Lord is in the business of selling crack. He has heard rumors in the neighborhood that a man nicknamed Scarecrow is a hit man for a rival drug gang, and that Scarecrow has been given a
24. Surgeon believes that Patient is suffering from a non-cancerous growth in his esophagus. Patient agrees to have Surgeon perform surgery for the limited purpose of removing the polyp. After
23. Shakespeare, a playwright, is walking down the street. As he passes a doorway, he sees a woman, Lady Macbeth, standing there. She has a glazed look in her eyes, she’s holding a cleaver dripping
22. The Minnow, a tiny ship, sets sail from a tropical port for a three-hour tour. Shortly thereafter a fearsome storm kicks up, the tiny ship is tossed, and the crew seeks refuge at a private dock
21. Portentia Lardo, circus fat lady, visits the U-Pik-M Meat Market. She browses for a while in the Beef Department. As she leaves, not having purchased anything, a store detective runs up behind
20. Dorothy is out for a drive with her dog, Toto. A howling storm kicks up, and the visibility decreases to almost nothing. Dorothy is terrified, and says, “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas
19. Aaron Burr is sitting in an aisle seat in the bleachers at a baseball game, minding his own business. Alexander Hamilton walks up to Burr, his arms laden with beer, nachos, and bratwurst.
18. Fletcher Christian, deck hand on the ship HMS Bounty, plays a practical joke on Captain Bligh. Bligh whips Christian, in violation of Navy regulations. Humiliated, Christian sets Bligh afloat on
17. Ron is a “responsible” rapist — he never rapes anyone without wearing a condom, and he does not carry a weapon. One night, he attempts to rape Lorena, telling her that he’ll be gentle and
16. Axel Cutioner tells Mary, Queen of Scots, that he is a magician, and offers her a solid gold ring if she lets him saw her in half. She consents, not realizing the gold ring is cheap plastic, and,
15. In an NHL playoff hockey game, Wayne Greatsky gets around the player defending him, Mario Lemeow, and scores. Lemeow, enraged at being scored upon, skates up behind Greatsky and hacks at him with
14. Anne Boleyn enters the hospital to have her sinuses drained. While she is anesthetized, her doctor, Ryno Plasty, removes her eleventh finger (which doesn’t function anyway), as well. Has Plasty
Justification: Even if D’s conduct does not fit within one of the above narrow defenses, she may be entitled to the general defense of “justification,” a catch-all term.
Arrest: The police or a private citizen are entitled to make an arrest depending on the circumstances.This arrest may be with or without a warrant. Only that degree of force that is reasonably
Necessity: Under the defense of “necessity,” D has a privilege to harm the property interests of P where this is necessary in order to prevent great harm to third persons or to D herself.
Recapture of chattels: A property owner generally has the right to use reasonable force to regain possession of chattels taken from her by someone else.
Defense of property: A person may generally use reasonable force to defend her property, both land and chattels.
Defense of others: A person may use reasonable force to defend another person from attack. The same general rules apply as in self-defense.
Degree of force: Only that degree of force necessary to prevent the threatened harm may be used.(Special rules limit the use of deadly force, i.e., force intended or likely to cause death or serious
Self-defense: A person is entitled to use reasonable force to prevent any threatened harmful or offensive bodily contact, and any threatened confinement or imprisonment. This is the defense of
Consent: Under the defense of “consent,” if P has consented to an intentional interference with his person or property, D will not be liable for that interference. This consent may be either
9. Timid owes money to Mobster, a loan shark. When the money is overdue, Mobster sends his henchman, Hulk, a large and scary-looking man, to try to collect the debt from Timid. Hulk goes to Timid’s
8. Jerry Joker, a notorious practitioner of pranks, wants to play one on his friend, Frank Friendly. Jerry takes a real gun and loads it with blanks.He puts a stocking cap over his head so that he
7. Cleopatra and her boyfriend, Marc Antony, have a fight at his house. He storms out. Despondent, Cleopatra goes to his bathroom, gets in the tub, and slashes her wrists. Antony comes back, and
6. To play a joke on his friend Ethel Rosenberg, Max disguises himself as an FBI agent, comes to Ethel’s door, and tells her that her husband Julius has just been arrested for spying and is about
5. Pocahontas runs Indian Trader, a novelty shop. It’s closing time, and she takes a quick look around the store to see if there are any patrons left. She doesn’t see any. In fact, however, John
4. Zorro leaves his valuable cape with the cloakroom attendant at a restaurant. When he returns, the attendant wrongfully refuses to hand over the cape, and threatens to burn it. Zorro stays for two
3. Speed Racer takes his squeeze, Trixie, on a wild spin through town in his hot racing car, the Mach 5. Paying more attention to Trixie than the road, Speed carelessly runs a stop sign and narrowly
2. Calvin takes his mean-tempered pet tiger, Hobbes, out for a walk to terrorize the neighborhood. He sees little Susie Derkins playing across the street, and yells to her, as he walks toward her,
1. Juliet is gazing at the stars from her balcony, exclaiming dreamily, “Romeo, Romeo, where art thou, Romeo?” A voice from below responds,“Here I am, you moron, give me a hand up.” Juliet
Dividing line: So the dividing line between trespass to chattels and conversion is the line between a not-so-serious interference with possession (trespass to chattels) and a serious interference
Conversion: The tort of conversion occurs when D so substantially interferes with P’s possession or ownership of property that it is fair to require D to pay the property’s full value.
Trespass to chattels: The tort of “trespass to chattels” occurs when the defendant intentionally interferes with the plaintiff’s use or possession of a “chattel” (i.e., a piece of personal
Intentional trespass: As a matter of semantics, the phrase “trespass to land” usually covers only intentional entry on another’s land. (Negligent entry is also a tort, but it is usually
Trespass to land: Trespass to land occurs when the defendant enters the plaintiff’s land, or causes another person or an object to enter the plaintiff’s land.
9. Timid owes money to Mobster, a loan shark. When the money is overdue, Mobster sends his henchman, Hulk, a large and scary-looking man, to try to collect the debt from Timid. Hulk goes to Timid’s
8. Jerry Joker, a notorious practitioner of pranks, wants to play one on his friend, Frank Friendly. Jerry takes a real gun and loads it with blanks.He puts a stocking cap over his head so that he
7. Cleopatra and her boyfriend, Marc Antony, have a fight at his house. He storms out. Despondent, Cleopatra goes to his bathroom, gets in the tub, and slashes her wrists. Antony comes back, and
6. To play a joke on his friend Ethel Rosenberg, Max disguises himself as an FBI agent, comes to Ethel’s door, and tells her that her husband Julius has just been arrested for spying and is about
5. Pocahontas runs Indian Trader, a novelty shop. It’s closing time, and she takes a quick look around the store to see if there are any patrons left. She doesn’t see any. In fact, however, John
4. Zorro leaves his valuable cape with the cloakroom attendant at a restaurant. When he returns, the attendant wrongfully refuses to hand over the cape, and threatens to burn it. Zorro stays for two
3. Speed Racer takes his squeeze, Trixie, on a wild spin through town in his hot racing car, the Mach 5. Paying more attention to Trixie than the road, Speed carelessly runs a stop sign and narrowly
2. Calvin takes his mean-tempered pet tiger, Hobbes, out for a walk to terrorize the neighborhood. He sees little Susie Derkins playing across the street, and yells to her, as he walks toward her,
1. Juliet is gazing at the stars from her balcony, exclaiming dreamily, “Romeo, Romeo, where art thou, Romeo?” A voice from below responds,“Here I am, you moron, give me a hand up.” Juliet
Infliction of mental distress: Intentional infliction of mental distress is defined as the intentional or reckless infliction, by extreme and outrageous conduct, of severe emotional or mental
False imprisonment: False imprisonment is defined as the intentional infliction of a confinement.
Imminence: It must appear to P that the harm being threatened is imminent, and that D has a present ability to carry out the threat.
Assault: Assault is the intentional causing of an apprehension of harmful or offensive bodily contact.
Battery: Battery is the intentional infliction of a harmful or offensive bodily contact.
Intentional: Each of the torts covered here is committed only if the defendant acted “intentionally.”However, the precise meaning of “intent” is different for each of the torts.Transferred

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