Prompt:

Ted and Bill were riding along in Ted's old rusty pickup along some back country roads. There were miles of farm fields-mostly soybeans and corn. All of a sudden, Bill exclaims that he just has to have some fresh picked corn for dinner and begs Ted to pull over on the side of the road. Ted hesitates, but eventually agrees when Bill points out that birds take more than a couple of ears of corn. The farmer will never miss just a few ears of corn when he has so many.

Easing onto the edge of the dirt road, Ted shifts the old truck into park and scans the nearby fields. Noticing a unique scarecrow in the distance, Ted points it out to Bill. "Look, see that scarecrow. The farmer does not want any birds in his fields and I bet he doesn't want you in them either, Bill." Once again, Bill insists that the farmer would never miss just a few ears of corn, plus he needs to pee. Ted grumbles but Bill is already out of the truck. While waiting for Bill to return, a strong gust of wind blows Ted's hat from his head and into the cornfield. Ted got out of his truck and ran after his hat into the cornfield, only to find that it had somehow decapitated the scarecrow. Somehow, his hat had triggered a spring gun. Deciding that it was NOT a good idea to hang out, Ted turns to hurry back to his truck only to realize that he was lost in the corn field. Fortunately, he happened to have a machete on him (because, yes, everyone carries a handy machete on them in Business law exam stories). Ted starts chopping at the corn nearby and hacks a path back through the cornfield, trampling the corn stalks that are in his way as he goes. When he nears his truck, he sees Bill calmly picking up some stalks of corn that had fallen onto the ground in Ted's frantic rush.

Suddenly, a voice shouts gruffly from behind the two young men, "Stop, or I will shoot!" Ted and Bill jump and quickly turn to see an old farmer pointing a shotgun at them. The farmer yells out, "This is my property!! What are you doing in my corn?!" Speechless with terror, both Ted and Bill stood mute. The farmer then fired a warning shot into the air, triggering the men to flee. Bill dropped the corn he was holding and sprinted towards the truck, with Ted closely on his heels.

Later that day, Bill and Ted were drinking a few pops at a bonfire with their friends and shared the story of their exploits from the day. Only, the more pops they threw back, the more grandiose the story became. The Farmer became an evil villain who tried to kill them for simply stopping for Bill to pee on the side of the road and for Ted innocently chasing his hat that the wind had lifted off his head. All of the friends at the fire that night became incensed at how awful of a human being this Farmer was and they created warning posters to paste around town. By the next day, every street corner in town spread the details of the Farmer's violent nature.

The Farmer, albeit slightly grumpy, never intended any harm. He just wanted to scare the hooligans off of his land before they harmed his corn any more or injured him. The story, that Ted and Bill were spreading, was far from the truth, even when parts of it were true. So, the farmer decided that enough was enough and filed a police report, detailing everything that had occurred. He then took out a front page advertisement in the local paper, complete with a picture from his scarecrow cam of the young men hightailing it with cornstalks in tow. In the written part, the Farmer described Ted and Bill as liars and thieves for their attempted robbery of his corn and subsequent villification of the Farmer.

The Farmer has sought your advice regarding whether he can sue Ted and Bill for any torts or negligence (or both). He also wants to know if Ted and Bill would have a case against him

Assume that the Farmer wants to sue the young men, Ted and Bill. Please analyze any claims that Farmer might have for intentional torts as well as for negligence. Then, discuss any defenses that Ted and Bill can bring. Finally, conclude why the defense is likely to be or likely not to be successful. Use the I-R-A-C method for each intentional tort or act of negligence discussed.

Assume that Ted and Bill want to sue the Farmer. Please analyze any claims that Ted and Bill might have for intentional torts as well as for negligence. Then, discuss any defenses that the Farmer can bring. Finally, conclude why the defense is likely to be or likely not to be successful. Use the I-R-A-C method for each intentional tort or act of negligence discussed.