All flashcards
346 cards
161A private dude ranch maintained a series of trails on its land, one of which featured a swinging bridge over a large river. Due to the ranch’s negligent maintenance, the bridge collapsed one day while a child was walking across it. The child fell into the water. Hearing cries for help, a guest dove into the water to rescue the child. Unfortunately, the guest struck a submerged rock in the river and suffered serious injuries.Was the ranch’s negligence a proximate cause of the guest’s injuries?
162A hot-air-balloon company negligently launched a balloon flight on a day with unreasonably high wind speeds. Because of the high wind, the balloon operator was unable to control the balloon’s speed or direction. The balloon became stuck in a tree at a point where it happened to block the sun from hitting a solar panel that powered an emergency phone call box. Later that night, a pedestrian who was being followed by a suspicious person tried to use the emergency phone to get help. However, the phone did not work, because the solar panel was blocked, meaning the phone had not been able to charge during the day. The suspicious person then punched and robbed the pedestrian.Was the balloon company’s negligence a proximate cause of the pedestrian’s harms?
163What is the lost-chance doctrine in the context of medical negligence?
164A patient had a serious, potentially terminal disease. However, the patient had a 25 percent chance of surviving that disease. A doctor’s negligence resulted in the patient losing that chance of survival. Even without the doctor’s negligence, the patient would have been more likely than not to die. The patient’s estate sued for negligence.May the estate recover damages against the doctor anyway?
165Does a possessor of land owe any duty to those who enter upon the land?
166Who is an invitee onto land?
167Who is a business invitee onto land?
168Who is a public invitee onto land?
169What are the consequences of an invitee exceeding the scope of an invitation to be on the premises?
170What does it mean to say that an invitee exceeds the scope of an invitation to be on the premises?
171What is a land possessor’s duty to invitees?
172What is a land possessor’s duty to invitees with respect to unreasonably hazardous natural or artificial conditions on the property?
173What is a land possessor’s duty to inspect the property?
174What is a land possessor’s duty to invitees with respect to a hazardous, non-obvious condition that the possessor knows, or should know, is on the property?
175An attractive fountain sat in the middle of a shopping center. The fountain was surrounded by a brick wall about two feet high. The shopping center noticed an increasing number of accidents involving the water fountain. Shoppers who were focused on their smartphones would fail to notice the fountain, walk straight into the low wall, and fall into the water. As a result, the shoppers often ruined their phones and suffered minor injuries. The shopping center’s lawyer believed the water fountain was an obvious hazard, and any accidents were the shoppers’ own fault for not looking where they were walking. The lawyer advised the center’s management that it need not to take any remedial steps. The shoppers are invitees.Assuming that the water fountain’s danger is obvious, does the shopping-center management have a duty to guard the shoppers from the water fountain’s known and obvious danger?
176Who is a licensee?
177What happens if a licensee exceeds the scope of the land possessor’s consent to occupy the property?
178Can a trespasser become a licensee?
179If a possessor of land gives someone specific permission to enter or remain on land, is that person a licensee?
180What are the duties of care a land possessor owes a licensee?
181May a land possessor satisfy the duty of care to a licensee regarding hazardous conditions on the land by providing a warning regarding the hazardous condition and the risks involved?
182Who is a trespasser?
183What are the traditionally recognized categories of entrants on land?
184Who is an unknown trespasser?
185What is a land possessor’s duty to an unknown trespasser?
186May a possessor of land ever use deadly force to protect against trespassers?
187Who is an anticipated trespasser?
188Does a land possessor owe a duty of care to anticipated trespassers?
189Who is a known trespasser?
190What duty of care does a land possessor owe a known trespasser?
191An owner of a large tract of forested land was aware that adults frequently hiked through a specific part the land without the owner’s permission, meaning that the hikers were trespassing. The owner also knew that this part of the land contained several large sinkholes that had developed naturally over the years. The sinkholes were difficult to notice and posed a hazard to the trespassing hikers. The owner did nothing to warn the trespassers or otherwise reduce the risk. A trespassing hiker fell into a sinkhole on the land and was injured.May a court hold the owner liable to the trespassing hiker for failing to reduce the hazard or otherwise protect the hiker?
192What is the child-trespasser doctrine?
193A farmer drove an old tractor through a neighbor’s land without permission. The tractor broke down on the neighbor’s land, and the farmer abandoned it in place. Over the following weeks, the neighbor noticed the broken-down tractor and saw that children from the neighborhood were playing on it. The neighbor knew that the tractor was falling apart and unsafe for children to play on, but the neighbor did nothing to address the risk. One day, a child was seriously injured while playing on the tractor.Did the neighbor breach a duty of care to the child?
194In jurisdictions that have eliminated the common-law distinctions among invitees, licensees, and trespassers, what is the standard of care required of land possessors?
195What is the difference between the duty of care a land possessor owes to an invitee and the duty owed to a licensee with respect to dangerous conditions on the land?
196Does a land possessor have any duty to people not on the land with respect to natural conditions on the land?
197Does a land possessor have any duty to people not on the land with respect to artificial conditions on the land?
198If a landlord leases property to a tenant, who is deemed the possessor of the property in a tort analysis?
199What are the exceptions to the general rule that landlords are not liable to tenants or tenants’ guests for injuries caused by defects in the premises?
200If a landlord contractually or voluntarily agrees to repair defects in property in a tenant’s possession, how does that agreement affect the landlord’s duty of care?