Questions Flashcards
D’s employee negligently aided a passenger boarding the train. D caused the passenger to drop a package, which exploded and caused a scale a substantial distance away to fall upon a second passenger. Under which Palsgraf case theory would D be liable for injuries to the second passenger?
Andrews view (minority view)
- Everyone is foreseeable
- D’s duty to P1 will extend to P2
- D was negligent towards P2
NOT Cardozo view (majority view)
- P2 was NOT in foreseeable zone of danger (substantial distance away)
- D’s duty only extends to those that reasonable person would have foreseen risk of injury towards
- D was NOT negligent towards P2
D was cycling with his son lapped on his back in the mountainside. Suddenly an eagle flew past him causing D to lose control as he swerved and his son fell down a cliff. A pedestrian, P, was walking by and saw his son fall into a lake. The pedestrian had to get through barbed wires to get to the lake to help D’s son and injured himself along the way. Is D liable to P for his injuries?
No
- D did NOT negligently place TP (son) in peril (eagle suddenly flew past)
- P recklessly caused himself injuries trying to help son (disregarded risk of crossing barbed wires)
- P was NOT foreseeable rescuer => D did NOT owe duty to P
D had finished cooking his food in the kitchen but forgot to turn off the stove. D left the apartment as the stove was heating up and eventually the building was on fire. One of the neighbours called the fire brigade who came round. A firefighter, P, went inside the building trying to rescue the neighbours when he was suddenly hit by the ceiling falling down on him. Is D liable to P for his injuries?
Unlikely
- Firefighters’ rule
- D does NOT owe duty to firefighters based on public policy/assumption of risk
- D was NOT negligent towards P
P was pregnant and went to a medical check-up from her doctor, D. D was not sure whether P could give birth because her son was not a viable fetus at this point, but P decided to go along with the pregnancy anyway. Ultimately, P’s son was born handicapped due to a defect that D could have treated. Who can sue P for what?
Neither P/P’s son
- P could sue for wrongful birth (failure to diagnose defect)
- BUT P’s son was NOT viable at time of injury
- P can NOT sue for child’s defect (emotional distress)
D is a farmer who entered into a contract with a supplier to cure some carrots without knowledge that the carrots were to be shipped to a grocery store. One day, a customer purchased carrots from the store and suffered poisoning. Other customers started shopping at a different store and the store suffered losses. Can the store sue D for negligence?
No
- Business transaction (carrot trade)
- Store (TP) was NOT intended beneficiary of economic transaction (D could NOT reasonably foresee TP’s economic loss)
- D did NOT owe duty to Store => D was NOT negligent towards Store
D had his arm amputated after a car accident. However, D was still willing to continue riding motorbikes as his hobby. One day, D rode his motorbike at night in the motorway when he suddenly lost control and crashed into a pedestrian, P, causing injuries. D argued it was not his fault because he could not drive properly with one arm. Can P sue D?
Yes
- D owes basic standard of care as reasonably prudent person would in D’s position (objective)
- D’s argument NOT relevant (subjective NOT relevant)
- Reasonable person with D’s same physical characteristics (amputated arm) would expect driving motorbike with one arm would likely cause accident
- D was negligent towards D
One day, there was a power cut in a bank and the computers were all switched off. The bank’s manager complained to the computer technician, D, for failing to fix the electricity supply. D denied liability as he was only responsible for fixing computers, although his former position was to maintain the power supplies. Can the manager sue D?
Yes
- D owes basic standard of care as reasonably prudent person would in D’s position (objective)
- D’s argument NOT relevant (subjective NOT relevant)
- Reasonable person with superior knowledge re electricity supply compared to others would fix the electricyt supply (even though D’s position is computer technician)
- D was negligent towards Manager
D is a doctor who was supplying a vaccine to a patient, P. D did not realise the needle was not sterilised. P then suffered injuries and sued D for not complying with conduct as other doctors across the world would. Can P sue D?
Yes (NOT international standard)
- D is professional (doctor) and must exercise special skill => D owes duty to P
- D negligently applied particular standard of care (not sterilise needle)
- D breached national standard of care (NOT international)
A patient, P, consented to an operation not necessary to save his life. D failed to warn P that he may not be able to run for a day or two. Can P sue D?
No
- D had NO duty to disclose risk of treatment (not run for day or two)
- Risk was NOT serious enough that P would have withheld consent
- D was NOT negligent towards P
A 16-year old boy thought it would be funny to leave marbles in the exam hall for the teacher to fall over. The teacher fell over and suffered injuries. Can teacher sue the boy?
Yes
- Child owed duty to Teacher
- Child judged by subjective standard based on his age (16), intelligence (would know person would slip on marbles and suffer injury)
- Child was negligent towards Teacher
A young boy found a lighter and played with it. He accidentally caused the house on fire and the neighbour suffered injuries. The boy turned out to be five years old. Can Neighbour sue Boy?
No
- Child is below 5 years old => NOT likely negligent
A mother decided it would be okay to let her 15-year old son drive her car. As he was driving, he crashed into a pedestrian by accident. Can Pedestrian sue Son?
Yes
- Son engaged in potentially dangerous activity (driving car)
- Son is held to adult standard of care => Son did not have driving experience
- Son was negligent towards Pedestrian
A taxi driver was driving his car one day when a robber suddenly got into his car and told him drive quickly away from the police. Driver drove quickly and accidentally crashed into a lamppost, causing Robber a small bruise on his shoulder. Can Robber sue Driver?
No
- Driver is common carrier
- Driver caused ‘slight’ negligence (small bruise) which is sufficient enough for negligence
- BUT Robber was NOT passenger (no consent in entering Driver’s car)
- Driver owed NO duty to Robber => Driver was NOT negligent towards Robber
A hotel manager invited his friend over for drinks at the hotel. The friend decided to sleep in one of the rooms without the manager knowing. However, a burglar somehow entered Friend’s room and stole $5 from Friend’s wallet while he was sleeping. Can Friend sue Manager?
No
- Manager is Innkeeper
- Friend caused ‘slight’ negligence (stole $5) which is sufficient enough for negligence
- BUT Friend was NOT guest (no consent in sleeping in Manager’s hotel)
- Manager owed NO duty to Friend => Manager was NOT negligent towards Friend
D decided to go out for the night and drive. His friend, P, asked whether he could come along. D said okay. They were on the motorway in the evening when they saw two police cars and an ambulance rush by as their alarm sounds were ringing. D assumed it was okay to continue driving. Suddenly, a wild bear appeared out of nowhere and hit D’s car. D swerved as he crashed and injured P. It turned out the wild bear was on the loose and hurt people, requiring police and medics to attend. Can P sue D?
Yes (most states)
- Automobile-driver
- Ordinary care
- D should have drove back when he saw police cars and ambulance rushing by (potential accident)
- D is negligent towards P
No (few states)
- Automobile-driver
- Guest statute
- D did NOT conduct wilful and wanton misconduct (ignoring police cars and ambulance)
- D is NOT negligent towards P
X asked his neighbour, Y, to take in X’s mail while he is on vacation. Y forgot to take in one of X’s mails. How likely is Y liable to X?
Not likely (common law)
- Bailment (X asked Y to look after his personal property by possession, NOT title)
- Sole benefit to X (X’s mail) => Y owes low standard of care (common law)
- Y owes ordinary standard of care (modern view)
- Y forgot to take one of X’s mails => Small negligence
- Y NOT breach low standard of care (common law) => Y is NOT negligent towards X
X lent his lawn mower to Y. Y accidentally cut a bit of the tyre in the mower. How likely is Y liable to X?
Likely (modern view)
- Bailment (X asked Y to look after his personal property by possession, NOT title)
- Sole benefit to Y (use of mower) => Y owes high standard of care (common law)
- Y owes ordinary standard of care (modern view)
- Y cut bit of tyre => Small negligence
- Y breached high standard of care (common law) => Y is negligent towards X
- Y breached ordinary standard of care (modern view)
X lent his lawn mower to Y. Y tried to connect the cord to an electricity supply when he received an electric shock. X was aware the cord was faulty. How likely is X liable to Y?
Likely
- Bailment (X asked Y to look after his personal property by possession, NOT title)
- Sole benefit to Y (use of mower) => X must disclose known defects to Y
- X failed to disclose faulty cord to Y => X was negligent towards Y
X lent his lawn mower to Y to mow both their lawns. Y tried to connect the cord to an electricity supply when he received an electric shock. X was not aware the cord was faulty. How likely is X liable to Y?
Likely
- Bailment (X asked Y to look after his personal property by possession, NOT title)
- Mutual benefit (mow lawns of X and Y) => X must disclose defects to Y that X knew/should have known
- X failed to disclose faulty cord to Y => X did not know of defect, BUT should have known (X would have faced similar problems when connecting the cord himself) => X was negligent towards Y
D saw a plane crash into the ground. D tried to remove the rubble and recover the passengers, when more rubble fell down because D removed the rubble. The rubble hit one of the passengers, P. Can P sue D?
No
- Emergency (D did NOT create)
- D acted as reasonable person would in rescuing P (remove rubble) in emergency => D was NOT negligent towards P
D was practising his fire juggling tricks when he accidentally lit his apartment on fire. The fire spread to the building. D tried to rescue his neighbour who was screaming for help. D wanted to smash his door down, but D’s neighbour told him to wait. However, D smashed it down and the door struck his neighbour’s son, P. Can P sue D?
Yes
- Emergency NOT relevant (D created - fire juggling tricks)
- D did NOT act as reasonable person would (smash door down despite neighbour telling him to wait) (emergency NOT relevant) => D was negligent towards P
A man was running away from the police and he jumped into a neighbour’s yard. The neighbour accidentally set his house on fire, causing Man to catch fire. The law imposes a duty on landowners to keep their premises in safe conditions. Can Man sue Neighbour?
No
- Man is NOT in protected class of persons (trespasser)
- Neighbour owed NO statutory duty to Man => Neighbour is NOT liable to Man
P decided to steal some clothes from D’s open store during the weekend. However, P tripped over and smashed his head on the floor. The law required that all stores be closed on weekends. Can P sue D?
No
- P’s harm is NOT intended to be prevented (accident in store NOT intended to be prevented, but rather for commercial reasons)
- D owed NO statutory duty to P => D is NOT liable to P
D was driving on the right side of the road. A young child darted across the road and D swerved onto the other lane. D was caught driving on the wrong side and was arrested. Should D be arrested under statutory law?
No
- D violated law (drove on wrong side of road)
- D’s compliance (driving on right side of road) would have caused more danger (hit child) than violation of law
- D’s violation should be excused => D is NOT liable for negligent driving