Your assistance with Case Brief 7-3 and 7-4 questions and problems would be greatly appreciated. The pdf reading will be included below. Chapter 7 torts Questions 1. Identify and define the torts that protect against intentional harm to personal rights. 2. Explain the application of the various privileges to defamation suits and how they are affected by whether the plaintiff is (a) a public figure, (b) a public official, or (c) a private person. 3. Distinguish the four torts comprising invasion of privacy. 4. Identify and describe the torts that protect against harm to property. 5. Distinguish by example among interference with contractual relations, disparagement, and fraudulent misrepresentation. Problems 1. The Penguin intentionally hits Batman with his umbrella. Bat- man, stunned by the blow, falls backwards, knocking Robin down. Robin's leg is broken in the fall, and he cries out, ''Holy broken bat bones! My leg is broken.'' Who, if anyone, is liable to Robin? Why? 2. CEO was convinced by his employee, M. Ploy, that a co- worker, A. Cused, had been stealing money from the company. At lunch that day in the company cafeteria, CEO discharges Cused from her employment, accuses her of stealing from the company, searches through her purse over her objections, and finally forcibly escorts her to his office to await the arrival of the police, which he has his secretary summon. Cused is indicted for embezzlement but subsequently is acquitted upon establishing her innocence. What rights, if any, does Cused have against CEO? 3. Ralph kisses Edith while she is asleep but does not waken or harm her. Edith sues Ralph for battery. Has a battery been committed? 4. Claude, a creditor seeking to collect a debt, calls on Dianne and demands payment in a rude and insolent manner. When Di- anne says that she cannot pay, Claude calls Dianne a deadbeat and says that he will never trust her again. Is Claude liable to Dianne? If so, for what tort? 5. Lana, a ten-year-old child, is run over by a car negligently driven by Mitchel. Lana, at the time of the accident, was acting reasonably and without negligence. Clark, a newspaper reporter, photographs Lana while she is lying in the street in great pain. Two years later, Perry, the publisher of a newspaper, prints Clark's picture of Lana in his newspaper as a lead to an article concerning the negligence of children. The caption under the picture reads: ''They ask to be killed.'' Lana, who has recovered from the acci- dent, brings suit against Clark and Perry. What result? 6. In 1963 the Saturday Evening Post featured an article entitled ''The Story of a College Football Fix,'' characterized in the subtitle as ''A Shocking Report of How Wally Butts and Bear Bryant Rigged a Game Last Fall.'' Butts was athletic director of the Uni- versity of Georgia, and Bryant was head coach of the University of Alabama. The article was based on a claim by one George Burnett that he had accidentally overheard a long-distance telephone con- versation between Butts and Bryant in the course of which Butts divulged information on plays Georgia would use in the upcoming game against Alabama. The writer assigned to the story by the Post was not a football expert, did not interview either Butts or Bryant, and did not personally see the notes Burnett had made of the tele- phone conversation. Butts admitted that he had a long-distance telephone conversation with Bryant but denied that any advance information on prospective football plays was given. Has Butts been defamed by the Post? 7. Joan, a patient confined in a hospital, has a rare disease that is of great interest to the public. Carol, a television reporter, requests Joan to consent to an interview. Joan refuses, but Carol, nonethe- less, enters Joan's room over her objection and photographs her. Joan brings a suit against Carol. Is Carol liable? If so, for what tort? 8. Owner has a place on his land where he piles trash. The pile has been there for three months. John, a neighbor of Owner and without Owner's consent or knowledge, throws trash onto the trash pile. Owner learns that John has done this and sues him. What tort, if any, has John committed? 9. Chris leaves her car parked in front of a store. There are no signs that say Chris cannot park there. The store owner, however, needs the car moved to enable a delivery truck to unload. He releases the brake and pushes Chris's car three or four feet, doing no harm to the car. Chris returns and sees that her car has been moved and is very angry. She threatens to sue the store owner for trespass to her personal property. Can she recover? 10. Carr borrowed John's brand-new car for the purpose of going to the store. He told John he would be right back. Carr then decided, however, to go to the beach while he had the car. Can John recover from Carr the value of the automobile? If so, for what tort? 11. Marcia Samms claimed that David Eccles had repeatedly and persistently called her at various hours, including late at night, from May to December, soliciting her to have illicit sexual rela- tions with him. She also claimed that on one occasion Eccles came over to her residence to again solicit sex and indecently exposed himself to her. Mrs. Samms had never encouraged Eccles but had continuously repulsed his ''insulting, indecent, and obscene'' pro- posals. She brought suit against Eccles, claiming she suffered great anxiety and fear for her personal safety and severe emotional distress, demanding actual and punitive damages. Can she recover? If so, for what tort? 12. National Bond and Investment Company sent two of its employees to repossess Whithorn's car after he failed to complete the payments. The two repossessors located Whithorn while he was driving his car. They followed him and hailed him down to make the repossession. Whithorn refused to abandon his car and demanded evidence of their authority. The two repossessors became impatient and called a wrecker. They ordered the driver of the wrecker to hook Whithorn's car and move it down the street while Whithorn was still inside the vehicle. Whithorn started the car and tried to escape, but the wrecker lifted the car off the road and progressed seventy-five to one hundred feet until Whithorn managed to stall the wrecker. Has National Bond committed the tort of false imprisonment? 13. In March, William Proxmire, a U.S. senator from Wisconsin, initiated the ''Golden Fleece of the Month Award'' to publicize what he believed to be wasteful government spending. The second of these awards was given to the Federal agencies that had for seven years funded Dr. Hutchinson's research on stress levels in animals. The award was made in a speech Proxmire gave in the Senate; the text was also incorporated into an advance press release that was sent to 275 members of the national news media. Proxmire also referred to the research in two subsequent newsletters sent to one hundred thousand constituents and during a television interview. Hutchinson then brought this action alleging defamation resulting in personal and economic injury. Assuming that Hutchinson proved that the statements were false and defamatory, would he prevail? 14. Capune was attempting a trip from New York to Florida on an eighteen-foot-long paddleboard. The trip was being covered by various media to gain publicity for Capune and certain products he endorsed. By water, Capune approached a pier owned by Rob- bins, who had posted signs prohibiting surfing and swimming around the pier. Capune was unaware of these notices and attempted to continue his journey by passing under the pier. Rob- bins ran up yelling and threw two bottles at Capune. Capune was frightened and tried to maneuver his paddleboard to go around the pier. Robbins then threw a third bottle that hit Capune in the head. Capune had to be helped out of the water and taken to the hospital. He suffered a physical wound that required twenty-four sutures and, as a result, had to discontinue his trip. Capune brought suit in tort against Robbins. Is Robbins liable? If so, for which tort or torts? 15. Ralph Nader, who has been a critic of General Motors Corp. for several years, claims that when General Motors learned that Nader was about to publish a book entitled Unsafe at Any Speed, criticizing one of its automobiles, it decided to conduct a campaign of intimidation against him. Specifically, Nader claims that GMC (a) conducted a series of interviews with Nader's acquaintances, questioning them about his political, social, racial, and religious views; (b) kept him under surveillance in public places for an unreasonable length of time, including close observation of him in a bank; (c) caused him to be accosted by women for the purpose of entrapping him into illicit relationships; (d) made threatening, harassing, and obnoxious telephone calls to him; (e) tapped his telephone and eavesdropped by means of mechanical and elec- tronic equipment on his private conversations with others; and (f ) conducted a ''continuing'' and harassing investigation of him. Nader brought suit against GMC for invasion of privacy. Which, if any, of the alleged actions would constitute invasion of privacy? 16. Bill Kinsey was charged with murdering his wife while work- ing for the Peace Corps in Tanzania. After waiting six months in jail, he was acquitted at a trial that attracted wide publicity. Five years later, while a graduate student at Stanford University, Kinsey had a brief affair with Mary Macur. He abruptly ended the affair by telling Macur he would no longer be seeing her because another woman, Sally Allen, was coming from England to live with him. A few months later, Kinsey and Allen moved to Africa and were subsequently married. Soon after Bill ended their affair, Macur began a letter-writing campaign designed to expose Bill and his mistreatment of her. Macur sent several letters to both Bill and Sally Kinsey, their parents, their neighbors, their parents' neigh- bors, members of Bill's dissertation committee, other faculty, and the president of Stanford University. The letters contained state- ments accusing Bill of murdering his first wife, spending six months in jail for the crime, being a rapist, and other questionable behavior. The Kinseys brought an action for invasion of privacy, seeking damages and a permanent injunction. Will the Kinseys prevail? If so, for what tort? 17. The Brineys (defendants) owned a large farm on which was located an abandoned farmhouse. For a ten-year period the house had been the subject of several trespassings and housebreakings. In an attempt to stop the intrusions, Briney boarded up the win- dows and doors and posted ''no trespassing'' signs. After one break-in, however, Briney set a spring gun in a bedroom. It was placed over the bedroom window so that the gun could not be seen from outside, and no warning of its presence was posted. The gun was set to hit an intruder in the legs. Briney loaded the gun with a live shell, but he claimed that he did not intend to injure anyone. Katko (plaintiff ) and a friend, McDonough, had broken into the abandoned farmhouse on an earlier occasion to steal old bottles and fruit jars for their antique collection. They returned for a sec- ond time after the spring gun had been set, and Katko was seri- ously wounded in the leg when the gun discharged as he entered the bedroom. He then brought action for damages. Decision? 18. Plaintiff, John W. Carson, was the host and star of The Tonight Show, a well-known television program broadcast by the National Broadcasting Company. Carson also appeared as an entertainer in nightclubs and theaters around the country. From the time he began hosting The Tonight Show, he had been intro- duced on the show each night with the phrase ''Here's Johnny.'' The phrase ''Here's Johnny'' is still generally associated with Car- son by a substantial segment of the television viewing public. To earn additional income, Carson began authorizing use of this phrase by outside business ventures. Defendant, Here's Johnny Portable Toilets, Inc., is a Michigan corporation engaged in the business of renting and selling ''Here's Johnny'' portable toilets. Defendant's founder was aware at the time he formed the corporation that ''Here's Johnny'' was the in- troductory slogan for Carson on The Tonight Show. He indicated that he coupled the phrase with a second one, ''The World's Fore- most Commodian,'' to make ''a good play on a phrase.'' Carson brought suit for invasion of privacy. Should Carson recover? If so, for which tort? 19. Susan Jungclaus Peterson was a twenty-one-year-old student at Moorhead State University who had lived most of her life on her family farm in Minnesota. Though Susan was a dean's list stu- dent during her first year, her academic performance declined after she became deeply involved in an international religious cult orga- nization known locally as The Way of Minnesota, Inc. The cult demanded an enormous psychological and monetary commitment from Susan. Near the end of her junior year, her parents became alarmed by the changes in Susan's physical and mental well-being and concluded that she had been ''reduced to a condition of psy- chological bondage by The Way.'' They sought help from Kathy Mills, a self-styled ''deprogrammer'' of minds brainwashed by cults. On May 24, Norman Jungclaus, Susan's father, picked up Susan at Moorhead State. Instead of returning home, they went to the residence of Veronica Morgel, where Kathy Mills attempted to deprogram Susan. For the first few days of her stay, Susan was unwilling to discuss her involvement. She lay curled in a fetal posi- tion in her bedroom, plugging her ears and hysterically screaming and crying while her father pleaded with her to listen. By the third day, however, Susan's demeanor changed completely. She became friendly and vivacious and communicated with her father. Susan also went roller-skating and played softball at a nearby park over the following weekend. She spent the next week in Columbus, Ohio, with a former cult member who had shared her experiences of the previous week. While in Columbus, she spoke daily by tele- phone with her fiance , a member of The Way, who begged her to return to the cult. Susan expressed the desire to get her fiance out of the organization, but a meeting between them could not be arranged outside the presence of other members of The Way. Her parents attempted to persuade Susan to sign an agreement releas- ing them from liability for their actions, but Susan refused. After nearly sixteen days of ''deprogramming'' Susan left the Morgel resi- dence and returned to her fiance and The Way. Upon the direc- tion of The Way ministry, she brought this action against her parents for false imprisonment. Will Susan prevail? Explain. 20. Debra Agis was a waitress in a restaurant owned by the Howard Johnson Company. On May 23, Roger Dionne, manager of the restaurant, called a meeting of all waitresses at which he informed them that ''there was some stealing going on.'' Dionne also stated that the identity of the party or parties responsible was not known and that he would begin firing all waitresses in alpha- betical order until the guilty party or parties were detected. He then fired Debra Agis, who allegedly ''became greatly upset, began to cry, sustained emotional distress, mental anguish, and loss of wages and earnings.'' Mrs. Agis brought a complaint against the Howard Johnson Company and Roger Dionne, alleging that the defendants acted recklessly and outrageously, intending to cause emotional distress and anguish. The defendants argued that dam- ages for emotional distress are not recoverable unless physical injury occurs as a result of the distress. Will Agis be successful on her complaint? 21. The plaintiff, Edith Mitchell, was forcibly stopped as she exited a Wal-Mart (defendant) store. The plaintiff, accompanied by her thirteen-year-old daughter, went through the checkout and purchased several items at the store. As she exited, the plaintiff passed through an electronic antitheft device, which sounded an alarm. Robert Canady, employed by the defendant as a ''people greeter'' and security guard, forcibly stopped the plaintiff at the exit, grabbed the plaintiff's bag, and told her to step back inside, but never touched the plaintiff or her daughter and never threat- ened to touch either of them. Nevertheless, the plaintiff described the security guard's actions in her affidavit as ''gruff, loud, rude behavior.'' This security guard removed every item the plaintiff had just purchased and ran it through the security gate. One of the items still had a security code unit on it, which an employee admitted could have been overlooked by the cashier. When the security guard finished examining the contents of the plaintiffs' bag, he put it on the checkout counter. This examination of her bag took ten or fifteen minutes. Once her bag had been checked, no employee of the defendant ever told the plaintiff she could not leave. The plaintiff was never threatened with arrest. The plaintiff brought a tort action against the Wal-Mart alleging false imprison- ment, assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional dis- tress. Is the defendant liable for any of these torts? Explain. 22. On July 31, Amanda Vaughn and Jason Vaughn accompa- nied their mother, Emma Simpson Vaughn, to a Wal-Mart store. Amanda's friend, Kimberly Dickerson, was also with them. Once they entered the store, Mrs. Vaughn and Jason went into separate areas of the store. The two girls remained together in the front of the store and selected a stamp album to purchase. Kimberly took the album to the checkout register, and while she was at the regis- ter, she also selected a pack of gum. Once Kimberly paid for her two items, they were placed in a bag and she was given her change. Kimberly testified that she did not immediately put the change in her wallet while she was at the register. Instead, Kimberly walked back into the merchandise area where Amanda had remained. Kimberly was in the merchandise area, away from the registers, when she placed her change in her purse. Kimberly proceeded to place her hand in the Wal-Mart bag to retrieve the gum she had just purchased. At this time, Ms. Clara Lynn Neal, a customer service manager, observed Kimberly's hand coming out of her Wal-Mart bag. According to Ms. Neal, because the two girls were in a somewhat secluded area of the store, Ms. Neal walked past the two girls twice to observe them before she walked over to them. Ms. Neal testified that she asked Kimberly if she could see her bag and her receipt and that Kimberly voluntarily gave her the bag. Plaintiffs alleged that Ms. Neal ''detained the girls, snatched Kimberly's bag from her, searched the bag, discovered a receipt, tied the bag, and then personally escorted the girls to an area near the front door away from the registers.'' However, Kimberly's testi- mony stated that ''[Ms. Neal] said she was going to have to check my bag because she doesn't know if I'm stealing something. So I didn't say anything. I didn't really give it to her because I was shocked. So she took it, and she was like searching through it.'' Once Ms. Neal checked the purchases with the receipt, the girls were told to go to the front of the store and wait for their party. The girls were never told that they could not leave the store and the girls were not detained by anyone else. According to all parties, from the time Ms. Neal walked up to the girls, verified the pur- chases, and returned the bag to Kimberly, the entire incident only lasted about one minute. While the girls were waiting at the front of the store, Jason was asked by his mother to inform the girls that she was ready to go. Jason approached the girls, and they responded that they could not leave. When Jason reported to his mother that the girls stated they could not leave the area, Mrs. Vaughn then went to the front of the store to investigate. Before Mrs. Vaughn took the children home, she explained to a store manager what had occurred. Do the girls have a cause of action against Wal-Mart?

Please use the following test book: Page numbers listed below

epdf.pub_smith-and-robersons-business-law (1).pdf

Chapter 7 pgs 119-129 Case Brief 7-3 pgs 132-134 Case Brief 7-3 pgs 134-136