Questions - Chapter 4 Section 2 - The Law, Establishing Liability or Tort Flashcards
In common law, identify the three types of persons who may enter onto the property , and give examples.
i) Trespasser
- ie. a thief or vandal
ii) Licensee
ie. a postal worker, or meter reader
iii) Invitee
- ie. a business customer, someone using a municipal park
Briefly explain the legal duty owed by occupiers to these three types of persons who may enter onto the property.
i) Trespasser - The law places no legal duty on the occupier of the premises for the safety of the trespasser except that occupiers cannot set traps or intentionally cause harm to the trespasser.
ii) Licensee - Licensees must take the premises as they find them. The occupier has a duty to warn licensees of any hazard which has been introduced to the premises.
iii) Invitee - The occupier has a duty to protect the invitee not only against dangers of which he knows, but also against those which with reasonable care he might discover.
Explain why children are not generally considered trespassers and explain the duty owed by an occupier of property to children who may enter unto their property.
Children lack the mature judgment to avoid risk, they are often eager to investigate or interfere with objects which would have little or no attraction to an adult. The owner must show that “every reasonable precaution was taken to safeguard the child from the object”.
Some provinces have enacted statute law called “occupiers liability act”. How has this affected the duty owed by occupiers from the duty owed under Common Law?
The effect of these statutes is to replace the common law duty with a common duty to take all reasonable care to ensure that all visitors are reasonably safe in using the premises.
Briefly explain the duty owed to others by owners of domestic animals.
“there is no first free bite and a dog’s owner is deemed legally liable from the first bite.”
Parents are generally not responsible for the torts of their children. Explain using examples, four exceptions to the rule/
1) There was a demonstrated failure on the part of the parents to properly supervise and control their child’s activities.
2) The injury or damage was caused by a dangerous thing or animal relinquished by the parent to the control of the child.
3) The injury or damage was caused by a child acting on the authority of the parent.
4) The injury or damage arose out of the duties of employment in the parent’s business.
Generally, in Common Law, landlords are not responsible for ensuring that a building or land rented to others is fit for the purpose for which it is rented. State two exceptions to this rule.
1) When a landlord rents furnished premises to a tenant, it is presumed that the premises are fit for the purpose leased at the outset of the tenancy.
2) If the landlord has contracted to maintain the premises and fails, after reasonable notice to do so, any injury or damage to property of the tenant is the responsibility of the landlord.
Briefly explain the responsibility for damages caused by each tortfeasor when losses are caused by more than one person.
The law provides that “ each party shall be held liable for the entire damage”. When losses are caused by more than one person, each insurer will generally attempt to minimize the liability of their insured.
In Common law, owners or tenants are generally not liable for the negligence of an independent contractor. Identify five exceptions to this rule.
1) The work being conducted is inherently dangerous.
2) The work creates a public nuisance.
3) There is a breach of a statutory obligation.
4) The injury or damage arose out of the use of defective equipment or plant supplied by the owner or tenant.
5) They control the manner in which work is to be done.
