Nature and Elements of Negligence Case Law

Question 1

Lakkaraju v. Edwards

Answer 1

Negligence refers to failure to act with a level of care that someone of ordinary prudence would have exercised under the same circumstances

Question 2

Bardhi v. Kroll

Answer 2

The elements of negligence are: existence of a legal duty from defendant to plaintiff, defendant breached the duty, there was harm suffered by the plaintiff, the defendant’s breach was the direct and proximate cause of the harm to the plaintiff

Question 3

Venezia v. Chintakayala

Answer 3

Duty of care can arise when: defendant created the risk that caused plaintiff’s harm, defendant volunteered to protect plaintiff from harm, defendant should have known actions would result in harm, the business relationship between the parties creates a duty

Question 4

Belloncle v. Rutecki

Answer 4

Proving that the defendant owed a duty, is not enough to prevail in a negligence case. Defendant must also prove that the defendant breached their duty to the plaintiff

Question 5

Ying v. Toussimehr

Answer 5

A defendant “fails to act reasonably” if they have departed from the conduct a reasonable person would have acted in that situation

Question 6

Banuelos Tellis Enterprises v. Sciarretti Kumar, Inc.

Answer 6

In any time that the burden of taking the precaution is less than the potential harm times the probability of the harm happening, the precaution should be taken. Not taking said precaution is a breach of the duty of care.

Question 7

Smiles v. Based Pilots, Inc.

Answer 7

When a company’s plane is being operated by an agent of a company, the company owes any passenger of the plane a duty of care.

Question 8

Louis-Ferdinand v. Allen

Answer 8

The jury can take into consideration whether a defendant followed industry standards, but this doesn’t necessarily mean the issue can be resolved on this fact.

Question 9

Alwardi v. Subramaniam

Answer 9

A defendant is not absolved from liability by following industry standards if the conduct has not been contemplated by industry standards

Question 10

Paul Dachtler LLC v. Joseph Comedy Club

Answer 10

All persons are required to give their surroundings the attention that a reasonable person would give in the situation

Question 11

Coughlin v. Kunde

Answer 11

In circumstances where someone has mental or physical impairment, they are held to reasonable care standards for someone experiencing said impairment

Question 12

Mayer v. Amare

Answer 12

In order to determine whether an error in judgement during a sudden emergency occurred, the court must consider if the emergency was predictable and thus could have been addressed by appropriate procedures or training

Question 13

Hopson v. Dawson

Answer 13

Under rare circumstances, it is reasonable to take actions that involve a high risk of serious harm to others. Even if the actor wasn’t negligent, the actor can be liable if the actor’s conduct itself produced the emergency

Question 14

Scanlon v. Burnett

Answer 14

Individuals having superior skill or knowledge are required to conduct themselves consistent with such superior capacity

Question 15

Allen v. Neptune Underwater Expedition

Answer 15

In trades and professions with both professionals and amateurs, professionals shall be held to a higher standard than amateurs