Exam 3

Question 1

Definition of Tort

Answer 1

An act or omission that gives rise to injury or harm to another and amounts to a civil wrong for which courts impose liability.

Question 2

Definition of Tortfeasor

Answer 2

One who commits a tort.

Question 3

Three categories of Torts

Answer 3

Intentional (intended to cause harm)
Negligence (breach of duty)
Strict Liability (harm caused)

Question 4

Concept of Intentional Tort

Answer 4

Transferred intent, assault & battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, defamation, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, malicious prosecution, abuse of process

Question 5

Concept of Transferred Intent

Answer 5

Intention to harm one victim but unintentionally harms a second victim instead.

Question 6

Concept of False Imprisonment in AK

Answer 6

Defendant did or said something resulting in the plaintiff being confined, defendant acted with the intent to keep the plaintiff confined, plaintiff knew of the confinement, and plaintiff did not consent to being confined.

Question 7

Concept of Intentional Interference with prospective economic advantage

Answer 7

Person who is involved in an economic relation with another or who is pursuing reasonable and legitimate prospects of entering such a relationship, is protected from a third person’s wrongful conduct which is intended to disrupt the relationship.

Question 8

Concept of Comparative Negligence

Answer 8

Defense where Defendant claims the plaintiff’s harm resulted, in whole or in part, from the plaintiff’s own negligence. Plaintiff was negligent & their negligence was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff’s harm.

Question 9

Abnormally dangerous activities & strict liability

Answer 9

Not of common usage and creates a foreseeable and highly significant risk of physical harm even when reasonable care is exercised by all actors.

Question 10

Concept of respondeat superior

Answer 10

Employer or principal legally responsible for the wrongful acts of an employee or agent, if such acts occur within the scope of the employment or agency.

Question 11

Compensatory damages

Answer 11

Monetary value of the injured party’s loss of earnings, loss of future earning capacity, pain and suffering and reasonable medical expenses.

Question 12

Punitive damages

Answer 12

Considered punishment and are typically awarded at the court’s discretion when the defendant’s behavior is found to be especially harmful.

Question 13

Purpose of Worker’s Compensation statutes

Answer 13

Regulatory laws that apply to those injured at work.

Question 14

Prohibition against double recovery in Worker’s Compensation situates

Answer 14

You can’t collect from a third party due to their negligence and also collect from Workers’ Compensation.

Question 15

Definition of toxic torts

Answer 15

Injuries to plaintiffs caused by toxic substances.

Question 16

Civil rights violations as statutory torts

Answer 16

A violation of one’s constitutional rights by a government employee.

Question 17

Key features of Tort Reform legislation and related public policy

Answer 17

Legislatures should limit lawsuits concerning negligence, personal injury, medical malpractice, products liability, and other similar causes of action.

Question 18

Holding in Oberfell v. Hodges (2015)

Answer 18

Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to license and recognize same-sex marriage.

Question 19

Potential impact of the 2022 Dobbs abortion ruling on aspects of family law

Answer 19

Parental consent could become an issue. Opens the door to reconsidering this case altogether because it was not expressly written in the bill of rights.

Question 20

Concept of domestic relations

Answer 20

A reference to the field of family law, which governs relations within a family or household.

Question 21

Source/purpose of Alaska Family Law Self-Help Center

Answer 21

A public service provided by the Alaska Court System dedicated to helping self-represented people achieve a better understanding of family law procedures, to increase access to family law courts, and to facilitate quicker resolution of family law matters.

Question 22

Function prenuptial, premarital agreements

Answer 22

Agreements entered before marriage, enforceability hinges on modified contract principles, cohabitation agreements contemporary twist

Question 23

Cohabitation agreement

Answer 23

A cohabitation agreement is a legal contract signed by people who want to live together without getting married but still want to codify an understanding of financial, medical or funerary obligations to one another until and after the relationship is dissolved, or if one partner dies.

Question 24

Alaska legal standard for distributing cohabitation property

Answer 24

Should distribute the property based upon the express or implied intent of those parties.

Question 25

Concept of annulment

Answer 25

A marriage can be voided because one of the parties is already married to someone else, the parties are more closely related than 3rd cousins, one of the parties was a minor without consent, either party was of unsound mind, one party caused the other to fraudulently consent, one party caused the other party to consent by force, or failure to have sexual relations.

Question 26

Concept of community property and community property in Alaska

Answer 26

Property owned jointly by a married couple; Alaska is a community property state, which means that virtually all assets and debt acquired during the duration of a marriage are considered marital property, and are thus divided equally between the spouses in the event of a divorce.

Question 27

Legal standard for determining child custody in Alaska

Answer 27

Children’s best interest.

Question 28

Primary sources of contract law

Answer 28

Common & statutory law

Question 29

Elements required for an enforceable contract

Answer 29

Offer that includes all essential terms, unequivocal acceptance, consideration and mutual intent to be bound.

Question 30

Uniform Commercial Code

Answer 30

A comprehensive set of laws governing all commercial transactions in the United States. A clearly expressed acceptance can create a binding sales contract even if the acceptance contains added or different terms when compared to the offer.

Question 31

Mirror Image rule

Answer 31

A doctrine requiring any acceptance to be an unconditional assent to the terms of the offer. The contract upon execution must match the terms of the contract originally agreed upon.

Question 32

Consideration and pre-existing duty rule

Answer 32

A principle under contract law that states that if a party to a contract is under a pre-existing duty to perform, then no consideration is given for any modification of the contract and the modification is therefore voidable.

Question 33

Mental capacity to contract

Answer 33

Requires that individuals understand the nature of their actions.

Question 34

Alaska age of majority for contracting

Answer 34

18

Question 35

Contract enforceability & public policy

Answer 35

Courts will not enforce contract that is void against public policy.

Question 36

Contractual conditions

Answer 36

A requirement or term of the contract with which one or both of the parties must comply.

Question 37

Specific performance

Answer 37

Asking that the court order the parties to proceed as planned under the contract.

Question 38

Substantial performance

Answer 38

One party under a contract can still recover for damages if he substantially performed his duties under the contract even though that individual failed to comply with the contract in some way.

Question 39

Illegal contracts

Answer 39

Those contracts forbidden or regulated by statute or public policy. (Contracts for illegal gambling)

Question 40

Statute of frauds

Answer 40

Agreement unenforceable if not in writing. AS 09.25.010

Question 41

Parol evidence rule

Answer 41

Agreements made outside of the contract are inadmissible in court unless there is evidence of fraud, duress, or a mutual mistake. AS 45.02.202

Question 42

Promissory estoppel

Answer 42

The doctrine that a party may recover on the basis of a promise made when the party’s reliance on that promise was reasonable, and the party attempting to recover detrimentally relied on the promise.

Question 43

Alaska case law on conditions precedent

Answer 43

A condition precedent is an event or state of affairs that is required before something else will occur. In contract law, a condition precedent is an event which must occur, unless its non-occurrence is excused, before performance under a contract becomes due. AS 24.05A

Question 44

Result in the Alaska cocktail napkin case

Answer 44

A jury decided in favor of a former Alaska Dispatch News editor and president in a civil case that centered on a statement written years ago on a cocktail napkin. Jurors awarded Tony Hopfinger $852,752 in a verdict.