duty-general

Question 1

define the RPP standard

Answer 1

duty to act as a Reasonably Prudent Person would under the same or similar circumstances

Question 2

what case define that RPP standard is objective?

Answer 2

Vaughan v Menlove - haystacks

Question 3

what is the duty of care for a minor?

Answer 3

SOC of similar age/experience - BUT only applies in age-appropriate activities

Question 4

what is the duty of care for the elderly?

Answer 4

SOC of an ordinary person suffering from the same/similar infirmities

Question 5

when is insanity a defense that precludes liability?

Answer 5

ONLY when it affects D’s ability to understand or appreciate importance of duty OR to perform duty - must not have had forewarning

Question 6

what is the case that illustrates duty of care exception for insanity?

Answer 6

Breunig/Batman case

Question 7

duty of care of institutionalized person?

Answer 7

not liable because they can’t appreciate or control their conduct

Question 8

what does the Yania case say about legal duty to rescue?

Answer 8

no legal duty to rescue someone from peril unless D placed P in that peril (fell in ditch)

Question 9

define misfeasance

Answer 9

when the D is responsible for making P’s position worse (D created a risk)

Question 10

define non-feasance

Answer 10

when the D has failed to aid P through beneficial intervention

Question 11

What happened in the Weirum/RKO case?

Answer 11

misfeasance - D was liable because KHJ created an unreasonable risk of harm (radio contest)

Question 12

what are the three main exceptions to the “no duty to rescue” rule?

Answer 12

D’s negligence places P in a position of peril; voluntarily assumed duties; special relationships

Question 13

What did the Day/Waffle House case say?

Answer 13

rescue doctrine - injured rescuer can recover from party whose negligence caused the party to be in a dangerous situation

Question 14

what’s the rescue doctrine?

Answer 14

negligence to the victim constitutes liability for negligence to the rescuer

Question 15

what did the Florence/Goldberg case say about Voluntarily Assumed Duties?

Answer 15

when a duty is assumed, it must be performed in a non-negligent manner, even if the duty wouldn’t have otherwise existed if it hadn’t been voluntarily assumed

Question 16

what’s the “special relationship” rule that constitutes an exception to the “no duty to rescue” rule?

Answer 16

there’s no duty to control conduct of a 3P and prevent him from causing physical harm unless (1) special relationship between D/victim or D/3P and (2) D knew or should have known of potential peril

Question 17

what did the Farwell case say about “special relationships” as an exception to the “no duty to rescue” rule?

Answer 17

affirmative duty exists to avoid any affirmative acts that would make the situation worse (drove around his friend who had been beat up)

Question 18

what did the Thompson case say about duty of a public agency to warn of a threat?

Answer 18

duty to warn arises only from prior threat to identifiable person (non just non-specific) - therapist whose patient threatened to harm

Question 19

what did the Johnson case say about public duty to warn of potential peril?

Answer 19

duty imposed on those who create a foreseeable peril, nt readily discoverable by endangered person, to warn of potential peril - State put dangerous child in foster home

Question 20

how do courts view contractual duties where parties have expressly agreed to assume some duty that otherwise wouldn’t have been imposed?

Answer 20

most courts won’t interfere with contractual allocation of duties between parties of the K