Jeanette and Ezra are heading up the stairs by the circulation desk at the library when, out of the corner of his eye, Ezra spots an old friend heading out the front door. Wanting to catch up with him and realizing the weight of his backpack would slow him down, Ezra asks Jeanette to hang onto his bag for a second, then takes off after his friend. Ezra bolted off so quickly that Jeanette wasn’t able to get a good grip on the bag and she dropped it down the stairs. Inside was a bottle of ink from Ezra’s art class which broke and got all over the bag and its contents, including Ezra’s laptop.

Explain what level of responsibility, if any, Jeanette bears in this situation. Include in your response a description of the type of bailment at play here.

Imagine, instead, that Jeanette really needed to borrow Ezra’s laptop because hers wasn’t working and she had a project due that afternoon. Ezra agreed to lend her his and handed over his backpack with the laptop inside. As Jeanette was heading up the steps, she slipped on some water someone had spilled on the slick marble and dropped the backpack down the stairs, destroying Ezra’s laptop. Explain what level of responsibility, if any, Jeanette bears in this situation. Include in your response a description of the type of bailment at play here.