All flashcards
346 cards
281What is collateral negligence?
282Is an employer vicariously liable for an independent contractor’s collateral negligence?
283A company decided to hold a publicity event. The company hired an exotic animal trainer to exhibit live tigers during the event. Unfortunately, one of the tigers broke free from the event stage and attacked a member of the audience.May the company be held liable for the audience member’s injuries?
284A homeowner hired a professional landscaping company to construct an ornamental pond on the homeowner’s land. While excavating for the pond, the landscaping company negligently failed to notice a water pipe and hit the pipe with the excavating equipment. The pipe burst and flooded a neighbor’s property.Did the homeowner have a duty to prevent this type of damage to the neighbor’s property?
285In general, are members of a partnership vicariously liable for torts committed by other partners in the course of the partnership’s business?
286May participants in a joint venture ever be held vicariously liable for torts committed by other joint-venture participants?
287What is the family-use doctrine (sometimes called the family-purpose doctrine)?
288What is a permissive-use statute?
289May a car owner ever be held vicariously liable for a tort committed by another driver while operating the owner’s car?
290Are parents generally vicariously liable for their children’s torts?
291A teenager overslept and missed his school bus. His parents gave him permission to drive the family car to school. The car was jointly owned by the teenager’s parents and maintained for the family’s benefit. While driving, the teenager looked down to check a text message and negligently rear-ended a truck. The accident injured the truck’s occupants and caused property damage to the truck.May the teenager’s parents be held vicariously liable for damage caused by the teenager’s negligence?
292What is contributory negligence?
293Under the traditional common-law rule of contributory negligence, may a contributorily negligent plaintiff recover any damages?
294A helicopter pilot negligently failed to check the helicopter’s fuel level before taking off. Shortly after it left the ground, the helicopter sputtered and crashed into a highway. The helicopter landed on a passing vehicle, damaging the vehicle and injuring the vehicle’s driver. The driver sued the pilot for negligence in a jurisdiction that allows a contributory-negligence defense. The pilot argued that the driver was contributorily negligent, because a nearby police radar had detected that the driver was traveling five miles per hour above the posted speed limit. The pilot argued that, had the driver been traveling at the speed limit, the driver’s vehicle would not have been in the precise location where the helicopter crashed after running out of fuel, and the crash would not have harmed the vehicle or the driver.Has the pilot asserted a valid contributory-negligence defense?
295May a plaintiff who was contributorily negligent recover if the defendant’s conduct was reckless or wanton?
296Is contributory negligence a defense to intentional torts?
297What is the last-clear-chance doctrine?
298Does the last-clear-chance doctrine impose on a defendant a duty to rescue the plaintiff?
299A construction worker on a job site fell asleep during a break. The spot where the worker chose to sleep was unreasonably close to an access driveway that construction vehicles used to enter and exit the site. While the worker was sleeping, a truck veered off the driveway, ran over the worker, and seriously injured the worker’s legs. An investigation revealed that the driver of the truck was looking down at a smartphone when the vehicle veered off course and hit the worker. The worker sued the driver in a jurisdiction that applied contributory negligence. The driver claimed that the worker’s contributory negligence barred any recovery.Is there a doctrine that the worker could invoke to avoid being denied any recovery?
300If a defendant negligently created a danger, does the doctrine of contributory negligence bar a plaintiff’s recovery if the plaintiff negligently injured himself or herself while trying to rescue the defendant from that danger?
301Are there any exceptions to the doctrine of contributory negligence that will permit a negligent plaintiff to recover damages?
302For purposes of negligence, what is pure comparative fault?
303For purposes of negligence, what is modified comparative fault?
304Does a pure comparative fault system allow a plaintiff to recover proportionate damages regardless of the size of the plaintiff’s share of fault?
305A drunk driver fell asleep at the wheel, crossed a highway median, and crashed into a vehicle traveling in the other direction. A passenger in the vehicle struck by the drunk driver was not wearing a seatbelt. The passenger was thrown from the vehicle and suffered major injuries. The passenger sued the drunk driver for negligence in a jurisdiction that had adopted a modified comparative-fault system. This jurisdiction barred a plaintiff from any recovery if his or her share of fault was greater than the defendant’s share. During the case, the driver introduced evidence that if the passenger had been wearing a seat belt, the extent of the passenger’s injuries would have been reduced.Will the passenger be denied recovery because he was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident?
306If a defendant owes a duty of care to protect the plaintiff from the plaintiff’s own negligence, may the defendant invoke contributory negligence or comparative fault as defenses to the plaintiff’s negligence claim?
307A hotel negligently allowed an armed thief to obtain a master key to the hotel’s rooms. The thief entered a guest’s room, shot the guest in the leg, and stole valuable property belonging to the guest. The thief escaped into the night and was never caught. The guest sued the hotel’s management for negligence. The fact finder assigned 10 percent of the guest’s damages to the hotel and 90 percent to the thief. Because the thief had not been identified, the guest sought to recover the thief’s 90 percent share of damages from the hotel, as well as the hotel’s 10 percent. However, the guest could recover the entire amount of damages from the hotel only if the hotel was held jointly and severally liable for the plaintiff’s damages.May the hotel be held jointly and severally liable for the plaintiff’s damages?
308If a plaintiff requires medical care for a negligently self-inflicted injury, and that medical care causes further injury, may the medical professionals involved raise the defense of contributory negligence or comparative fault?
309What is the difference between a pure comparative-fault jurisdiction and a modified comparative-fault jurisdiction?
310Does the last-clear-chance doctrine apply in comparative-fault jurisdictions?
311For purposes of negligence, what is assumption of the risk?
312If a defendant seeks to establish the plaintiff’s contributory negligence or comparative fault, must the defendant do so through special means?
313Is assumption of the risk a valid defense to a plaintiff’s negligence claim if the plaintiff did not actually know, but should have known, of the risk?
314Must a defendant asserting the defense of assumption of the risk establish that the plaintiff unreasonably failed to protect himself or herself?
315A fan attended a professional golf tournament. The fan was a golfer, knew the sport well, and frequently watched golf tournaments on television. At the course, the fan saw that the spectators were allowed to stand unusually close to the golf holes while the contestants were playing. The fan joined the crowd to watch the tournament near the holes. A contestant hit a wild shot that struck the fan, causing minor injuries. The fan sued the tournament organizers in a jurisdiction that allowed an independent assumption-of-risk defense. At trial, the fan produced evidence that the spectators were allowed to stand unreasonably close to the holes, thus increasing the risk of being struck by an errant shot. However, the tournament organizers argued that the fan had assumed the risk of being hit.Have the tournament organizers asserted a valid independent assumption-of-risk defense?
316What is express assumption of the risk?
317What is contractual assumption of the risk?
318Have courts ever declined to enforce contractual assumptions of the risk based on public policy?
319An amusement park printed a waiver on the back of its admission tickets. This waiver stated that, by entering this park, a ticket bearer expressly assumed the risk of any injury or loss suffered while in the park, including from negligence or recklessness, and waived all park liability. A visitor arrived at the park, purchased a ticket, and then eagerly started exploring the park—without first reading the ticket’s back. The visitor rode a roller coaster that, due to the park’s negligence, left the tracks and crashed, injuring the visitor. The visitor sued, alleging negligence. In defense, the park pointed to the waiver on its tickets and argued that the visitor had expressly assumed the risk of a negligent roller-coaster incident.Does the ticket’s waiver clause mean that, by entering the park, the visitor expressly and validly assumed the risk of a negligent roller-coaster accident?
320What is implied assumption of the risk?