Chapter Four Flashcards
What duty of care is owed a trespasser and what are the exceptions?
a possessor owes no duty of care to a trespasser to make the land safe or to protect the trespasser in any way. Exceptions: (1) trespassing children, (2) individuals known to be trespassers, (3) rescuing someone in danger as a result of the defendant possessor’s negligence, or (4) trespassing on a very limited portion of the possessor’s land.
What conditions must be met to have an attractive nuisance?
The possessor has reason to know that the condition is on a place on the land where children are likely to trespass. • The possessor must have a reason to know of the condition and to know that it poses an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death to trespassing children. • Because of their youth, the children must not have discovered the condition or realized the danger posed by coming into the area made dangerous by the condition. • The benefit to the possessor in maintaining the condition in its dangerous form must be slight in comparison to the risk posed to the children. • The possessor must fail to use reasonable care to eliminate the danger or to protect the children.
What is the rescue doctrine?
Under the rescue doctrine, anyone who negligently causes harm to a person or property may be liable to one who is injured in an effort to rescue the imperiled person or property.
What duty is owed a known trespasser?
the possessor owes a duty of reasonable care to that person.
Who is considered a licensee, and what duty of care is owed a licensee?
A licensee is a person who has the possessor’s consent to be on the property but does not have a business purpose for being there. Most licensees are social guests. The duty a possessor owes to a licensee is to warn him or her of any dangerous conditions if the possessor is aware of that condition and should reasonably anticipate that the licensee may not discover it.
Who is considered an invitee, and what duty of care is owed an invitee?
Invitees are those persons invited by the possessor onto his or her land to conduct business. A possessor has a duty to inspect the premises for hidden dangers when dealing with invitees.
What duty is owed to someone who trespasses on a limited area of a possessor’s land?
Possessors of land also owe a limited duty of reasonable care to frequent trespassers who use only a very limited area of their land.
How can one lose one’s invitee status?
An invitee may become a licensee or trespasser if the person goes to parts of the premises that extend beyond his or her invitation.
What duty of care does a possessor owe to those outside his or her property?
Possessors are generally found liable for conditions that pose an unreasonable risk of harm to persons outside the premises such as a hazardous condition that is artificially created by the possessor.
What distinction is made between artificial and natural conditions?
Possessors are generally found liable for hazardous conditions that are artificially created by the possessor. In contrast, if the hazardous condition is a natural one, the possessor is under no duty to remove it or protect others from it even if it poses an unreasonable danger of harm to people outside the property.
What are the duties of a tenant?
A tenant is held to the same duty of reasonable care and inspection in reference to invitees as is a landowner. This liability does not extend, however, to common areas such as elevators, stairways, and corridors if the building is an office building or a dwelling with multiple tenants.
What are the duties of a landlord?
a. Is liable for dangers he or she knows or should know about and the tenant has no reason to know about. b. Has a duty to inspect for danger when he or she knows property is to be held open to the public. c. Must use reasonable care if he or she contracts with the tenant to keep premises in good repair. d. Must perform reasonably all repairs that he or she begins. e. In some cases has a duty to take security precautions to protect tenants from criminal activities.
To what extent is a seller of land liable to a plaintiff injured by a defect the seller does not disclose to the buyer?
If the seller fails to disclose a dangerous condition of which he or she is or should be aware and which the seller should realize that the buyer will not discover, the seller will be liable to anyone injured as a result of that condition
What if the seller intentionally conceals the defect?
If the seller hides the defect or intentionally misleads the buyer into not looking for it, the seller’s liability will continue until the buyer actually discovers the condition and has a reasonable time to correct it.
Is there a common law duty to rescue someone in distress?
Under the common law a defendant has no legal obligation to aid a plaintiff in distress.
Under what conditions does such a duty exist? Give an example.
Under the common law a defendant has no legal obligation to aid a plaintiff in distress unless a special relationship exists between the plaintiff and the defendant such as parent-child.
What duty of care does a person have once that person has begun to render emergency aid?
Once assistance is begun it must be administered using reasonable care. Every reasonable means possible must be utilized to keep the plaintiff safe.
What is the voluntary undertaking doctrine?
The defendant has a duty to the plaintiff because the defendant voluntarily assumed such duty by his actions.
How does the duty of a public entity compare to that of a private individual?
The same theory of duty that applies to private individuals also applies to public entities. In other words, the analysis of duty for a public body is essentially the same as it is for private persons.
Can a fetus recover for injuries sustained in utero as a result of a defendant’s actions?
Modern courts have allowed recovery in most instances where a causal link between the defendant’s act and where the fetus’s injury can be proven.
What is the doctrine of respondeat superior?
Respondeat superior translates as “let the person higher up answer.” This doctrine applies to negligence torts, intentional torts, and strict liability actions. The rationale most commonly used to justify this doctrine is that employers should consider the expense of reimbursing those injured by their employees as part of the cost of doing business.
What is the family-purpose doctrine?
This doctrine holds the owner of a car vicariously liable for the torts committed by those members of his or her household whom the owner allows to drive his or her car
