Negligence

Question 1

Prima Facie Elements for Negligence

Answer 1

Duty, Care, Breach, Harm

Question 2

The Reasonable Person General Standard

Answer 2

1. Acting with ordinary prudence under like circumstances.

2. Acting in awareness of the risk of harm of others around him.

Question 3

Important way to frame the Legal Negligence Question on Exam

Answer 3

Did X breach their duty of reasonable care by not doing ________?

Question 4

Brown (1850): Man injures other man while trying to separate their fighting dogs.

Answer 4

If both parties were not using reasonable care then the plaintiff cannot recover and if defendant is using ordinary care and accidental injury arises plaintiff cannot recover.

Question 5

Carroll Towing (’47): Hand’s first use of B>PL with an unmanned barge in a busy port.

Answer 5

Here, the B was not overly burdensome and bargee should have been on it during busy time if day making the potential harm great and the breach of duty makes liability great, therefore they acted negligently.

Question 6

Washington (’90): The dumbass electrocuted man

Answer 6

B was way more burdensome than the likelihood of this moron electrocuting himself again, even though he was aware of it….and lets be honest, his life wasn’t that valuable.

Question 7

Weirum (’75): Foreseeability of likely third party acting dangerously

Answer 7

RKO Radio should have foreseen that their dumbass teenage listeners might drive recklessly and could cause an accident when they announced a goddamn “tail the DJ on main roads” contest.

Question 8

Negligence Per Se (Negligence in itself)

Answer 8

When actor violates law by the same negligent conduct the law is made to prevent

Question 9

Martin (’20): Buggy’s lights have to be on at night

Answer 9

Cardozo explains; plaintiff not having the buggy’s lights on is a violation of a law which equates to negligence in itself, jurors should not be in the position to disregard these laws

Question 10

Emergency Doctrine

Answer 10

1. Compliance was impossible
2. b/c of sudden emergency
3. that arose w/o fault of plaintiff
4. b/c of circumstances out of plaintiff control
5. plaintiff exercised reasonably prudent care

Question 11

Telda (’39): The cautious trash-picker’s, trash picking brother

Answer 11

Court states; “When following a statute in a situation causes the actor to be in harm’s way, that actor is permitted to act within custom norm to avoid danger.”

Question 12

Brown v. Shyne (’26): Erroneous license law inserted into jury instructions

Answer 12

Court says the issue is whether he executed procedure with skill and care, not if he had a license or not. Law biased the jury so verdict is voided.

Question 13

What triggers a negligence per se inquiry when someone violates a safety statute?

Answer 13

The harm suffered by the plaintiff must be within the risks envisioned by the legislature when it passed the statute.