Insurance Law, Part II

Question 1

Products liability

Answer 1

A manufacturer’s or seller’s liability for harm suffered by a buyer, user,
or bystander as a result of a product that has a dangerous manufacturing
defect or design defect or that is not accompanied by a warning of
an inherent hidden danger.

Question 2

Express warranty

Answer 2

An explicit statement about a product by the seller that the buyer or
other user may rely on and that provides a remedy in the event the
product does not perform as claimed.

Question 3

Implied warranty

Answer 3

An obligation that the courts impose on a seller to warrant certain
facts about a product even though not expressly stated by the seller.

Question 4

Implied warranty of merchantability

Answer 4

An implied warranty that a product is fit for the ordinary purpose for
which it is used.

Question 5

Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)

Answer 5

Legislation for commercial transactions that provides the trade creditor
certain rights and legal remedies in a situation in which a buyer
defaults.

Question 6

Active negligence

Answer 6

A plaintiff’s voluntary use of a defective product with knowledge of
the potential danger resulting from the defect.

Question 7

Assumption of risk

Answer 7

A defense to negligence that bars a plaintiff’s recovery for harm
caused by the defendant’s negligence if the plaintiff voluntarily
incurred the risk of harm.

Question 8

Passive negligence

Answer 8

A plaintiff’s failure to discover a product defect or to guard against a
possible defect.

Question 9

Consequential damages

Answer 9

A payment awarded by a court to indemnify an injured party for losses
that result indirectly from a wrong such as a breach of contract or a
tort.

Question 10

Consent-to-settle clause

Answer 10

An insurance policy provision, usually found only in professional
liability policies, that requires the insurer to obtain consent from the
insured before settling a claim.

Question 11

Corporation

Answer 11

An entity organized under law and entitled to the same rights as a
person, distinct from its owners.

Question 12

Respondeat superior

Answer 12

The legal principle under which an employer is vicariously liable
for the torts of an employee acting within the course and scope of
employment.

Question 13

Special damages

Answer 13

A form of compensatory damages that awards a sum of money for
specific, identifiable expenses associated with the injured person’s loss,
such as medical expenses or lost wages.

Question 14

Loss of wages and earnings

Answer 14

The compensatory damages to compensate a plaintiff for any loss of
income directly related to a tort.

Question 15

General damages

Answer 15

A monetary award to compensate a victim for losses, such as pain and
suffering, that do not involve specific measurable expenses.

Question 16

Pain and suffering

Answer 16

Compensable injuries that are difficult to measure, such as physical
and mental distress and inconvenience associated with a physical
injury.

Question 17

Emotional distress

Answer 17

A highly unpleasant mental reaction resulting from another person’s
conduct, for which a court can award damages.

Question 18

Wrongful death action

Answer 18

A legal cause of action that exists for the survivor of the deceased.

Question 19

Survival statute

Answer 19

A statute that preserves the right of a person’s estate to recover damages
that person sustained between the time of injury and death.

Question 20

Specific performance

Answer 20

A court-ordered equitable remedy requiring a party to perform a certain
act, often—but not always—as a result of breach of a contract.

Question 21

Injunction

Answer 21

A court-ordered equitable remedy requiring a party to act or refrain
from acting.

Question 22

Mitigation of damages

Answer 22

A duty owed by an injured party to a claim to take reasonable measures
to minimize or avoid additional injury or loss.

Question 23

Structured settlement

Answer 23

An agreement in settlement of a claim involving specific payments
made over a period of time.

Question 24

Vicarious liability

Answer 24

A legal responsibility that occurs when one party is held liable for
the actions of a subordinate or associate because of the relationship
between the two parties.

Question 25

Partnership

Answer 25

A for-profit business entity jointly owned by two or more persons who
share ownership and profits (or losses), although not necessarily on an
equal basis.

Question 26

Joint tortfeasors

Answer 26

Two or more parties who commit a tort together in circumstances that
can make it difficult to distinguish the fault or harm caused by one
wrongdoer from that caused by another.

Question 27

Joint and several liability

Answer 27

The liability of multiple defendants either collectively or individually
for the entire amount of damages sought by the plaintiff regardless of
their relative degree of responsibility.

Question 28

Enterprise liability (industry-wide liability)

Answer 28

An expanded liability concept requiring each member of an industry
responsible for manufacturing a harmful or defective product to share
liability, when a manufacturer at fault cannot be identified.

Question 29

Alternative liability

Answer 29

An expanded liability concept that shifts the burden of proof to each
of several defendants in a tort case when there is uncertainty regarding
which defendant’s action was the proximate cause of the harm.

Question 30

Market share liability

Answer 30

An expanded liability concept that applies when a product that has
harmed a consumer cannot be traced to a single manufacturer; all
manufacturers responsible for a substantial share of the market are
named in the lawsuit and are liable for their proportional share of the
judgment.

Question 31

Concert of action

Answer 31

An expanded liability concept that applies when all defendants acted
together or cooperatively.

Question 32

Conspiracy

Answer 32

An expanded liability concept that applies when two or more parties
worked together to commit an unlawful act.

Question 33

Joint venture

Answer 33

A business association formed by an express or implied agreement of
two or more persons (including corporations) to accomplish a particular
project, such as the construction of a building.

Question 34

Negligent entrustment

Answer 34

The act of leaving a dangerous article with a person who the lender
knows, or should know, is likely to use it in an unreasonably risky
manner.

Question 35

Negligent supervision

Answer 35

A parent’s failure to exercise reasonable control and supervision over
his or her child to prevent harm to others.

Question 36

Family purpose doctrine

Answer 36

A liability concept that holds the owner of an automobile kept for the
family’s use vicariously liable for damages incurred by a family member
while using the automobile.

Question 37

Good Samaritan law

Answer 37

A statute providing that a person will not be liable for damages as a
result of rendering aid to an injured person, without compensation, at
the scene of an accident.

Question 38

Class action (class action lawsuit)

Answer 38

A lawsuit in which one person or a small group of people represent
the interests of an entire class of people in litigation.

Question 39

Mass tort litigation

Answer 39

A class-action suit based on tort law rather than on contract law.

Question 40

Noneconomic damages

Answer 40

Pain and suffering or mental anguish.

Question 41

Underwriting cycle

Answer 41

A cyclical pattern of insurance pricing in which a soft market (low
rates, relaxed underwriting, and underwriting losses) is eventually
followed by a hard market (high rates, restrictive underwriting, and
underwriting gains) before the pattern again repeats itself.

Question 42

Contribution

Answer 42

The right of a tortfeasor who has paid more than his or her proportionate
share of the damages to collect from other tortfeasors
responsible for the same tort.