Liability Issues Flashcards
Liability Issues
Vicarious Liability
When D commits a tort against P and a third person is held liable due to his relationship with D
Doctrine of respondeat superior - employers are liable for torts committed by employees within the scope of their employment
- Intentional torts are usually outside the scope, unless:
- The job requires use of force (ie bouncer)
- The job entails creating friction (ie bill collector)
- The intentional tort is done to further the employer’s goals (ie physically breaking up a fight in a store)
Independent contractors - employers are generally not liable for torts committed by thier independent contractors
Partnership - each partner is vicariously liable for any other partner’s torts committed within the scope of the partnership
Parent-child - parents are not liable for their children’s torts
- but parents may be separately negligent if they had reason to know of a child’s propensity to injure or the parent’s conduct facilitated the child’s tort (ie mom leaves a gun on her bed, which child finds and uses to shoot the neighbor’s dog)
Tavernkeepers - businesses serving alcohol may be held liable to a P injured by an intoxicated patron if the business was negligent in serving the patron
Liability Issues
Joint & Several Liability, Contribution, & Indemnity
Joint and several liability - arises if the acts of two or more Ds combine to produce a single indivisible injury
- Each D is jointly and severally liable for the entire harm if his individual act was a substantial factor in bringing about P’s injury
Contribution - D who pays more than her share of damages under joint and severl liability can assert a clim against other liable prties for the excess paid
- Not applicalbe to intentional tort liability
- Contribution is usually imposed in proportion to relative fault
Indemnity - involves shifting the entire loss between or amongst D’s
- Available by contract, in vicarious liability situations, or under strict products liability
