In March 2020, Mark Engineer lost an eye when Jaspers Tesla Cybertrucks windows shattered, and a shard of glass hit Mark Engineer directly in the eye.

Facts:

Jasper had a bachelors (2015) and masters (2016) degree in Mechanical Engineering and concentrated his studies on automotive engineering and material design. After graduating in 2016, Jasper worked for Audi for two years before opening his own automotive design consulting firm, where he remains today.

Jasper has done well for himself at Audi and at his own firm, and he decided to purchase the Tesla Cybertruck. As an engineer, he was fascinated by Teslas innovations in the automotive field, and in particular, the Cybertrucks construction. The Cybertruck has been advertised as bulletproof to a 9mm, and has unbreakable glass windows.

Jasper remembers how embarrassing it was that Tesla advertised the Cybertrucks windows as unbreakable, yet watched them shatter at the unveiling and demonstration of the vehicle, which included a segment during which someone took a sledgehammer to the door of the truck in which one of those windows resided, and thereafter threw a baseball at that same window. However, when Jasper purchased the vehicle, Tesla assured him that the only reason that happened at the demonstration was because the glass was already imperfect and broken (though concealed in the door), and the force from the sledgehammer prior to the ball throw further compromised the glass. Tesla further explained that it had retested its glass windows, and no further issues were discovered in over 200,000 simulations.

On March 5, 2020, Jasper met up with his good college friends Matt Cook (MC), Eddie Engineer (EE) and Mark Engineer (ME) (brothers), and Chema Engineer (ChemE) who was Marks wife. Jasper wanted to show off his Cybertruck and how resistant it was, so each of Jasper, MC, EE, and ME took turns hitting the doors with a sledgehammer to see who was the strongest and could dent the door, to no avail. ChemE watched the boys making fools of themselves.

Later that day, all of them were throwing a baseball around on the front yard. When they were winding down and getting ready to head to the pub for dinner, ME yelled shotgun and ran into the front passenger seat. MC (old college baseball pitcher), told Jasper he wanted to throw a few fastballs before heading out. ChemE testified that she remembers telling MC and Jasper that they were throwing towards the Cybertruck, and she suggested that MC and Jasper move to the street. ChemE also remembers Jasper stating the Cybertruck is bulletproof and has unbreakable windows, not even MCs fastball can damage the car.

MC threw a 92mph fastball, which went high and to the right of Jasper (over Jaspers shoulder), hitting the passenger side window of the Cybertruck, shattering the window. A shard of glass hit ME directly in the eye, causing him to lose his eye. ChemE testifies that she saw MC intentionally throw the ball high and to the right, and she saw a smirk on Jaspers face as he intentionally moved out of the way and let the ball hit the Cybertruck, thus recreating the window-break test, which failed again but this time at her husbands expense. MC testified that it was not intentional, and the ball slipped as it sometimes does to pitchers, and that Jasper had no way of knowing it would slip and go that high. Jasper and MC testified that Jasper did not move out of the way intentionally, and instead it was simply due to Jaspers slow reaction time.

ME and ChemE sue Jasper, MC, and Tesla for the resulting injuries to ME.

TAKE A STANCE DO NOT WAFFLE (we do not want to hear that there are arguments on both sides and the jury could decide either way). Give the rationale for your decision.

Part 1 [6 points]: What causes of action can ME and ChemE bring against Tesla? What causes of action can be brought against Jasper and MC?

Part 2 [5 points]: What must ME and ChemE show as plaintiffs to establish a prima facie case of negligence (i.e., the elements for a negligence claim) against Jasper and MC? What mathematical formula may be used by the plaintiff and the Court to establish negligence? What standard of care should be applied?

Part 3 [12 points]: EXPLAIN whether Jasper should be held liable under a negligence theory. Explain whether MC should be held liable under a negligence theory.

Part 4 [5 points]: What elements must ME and ChemE show to establish a prima facie case of strict products liability against Tesla?

Part 5 [12 Points]: Pick one of the strict liability causes of action weve discussed this semester, identify the cause of action, and argue (EXPLAIN) why Tesla should be held liable for MEs injury.