Strict Liability (S/L) DAD (Dangerous activities, Animals, and Defective/dangerous products)

Question 1

What are the elements to strict liability?

Answer 1

Absolute duty to make P’s person or property safe

Actual and proximate causation

Damages

Question 2

What are the three categories where strict liability applies?

Answer 2

1. Abnormally dangerous activities
2. Wild Animals (and other animals if known to be dangerous by owner)
3. Products Liability

Question 3

What are abnormally dangerous activities?

Answer 3

Not commonly engaged in
AND
-> inherent, foreseeable, and highly significant risk of harm

Look to gravity of harm, inappropriateness of place, limited value of activity.

S/L limited to harm expected from activity

Question 4

What are the three categories of strict liability linked to animals?

Answer 4

Wild animals -
- R2d includes all animals not by custom devoted to the service of humankind where it is being kept;
- R3d excludes animals that pose no obvious risk of causing substantial personal injury
-> owner/possessor is S/L for harm done by wild animal despite owner’s precautions to prevent harm, as long as harm arises from dangerous propensity characteristic of animal OR about which owner/possessor has reason to know
OR
-> owner/possessor S/L for injuries caused by P’s fearful reaction to unrestrained wild animal

Abnormally dangerous animals
-> owner/possessor S/L for injuries if knowns or has reason to know of dangerous propensities abnormal for the animal’s category or species and harm results
-> owner/possessor S/L for reasonably foreseeable damage caused by trespassing household pets if owner knows or has reason to know that the pet is intruding on another’s property in a way that has a tendency to cause substantial harm; general negligence standard applies if pet strays onto a public road and contributes to an accident there

Trespassing animals
-> owner/possessor S/L for reasonably foreseeable damage caused by trespassing animal

Question 5

What are the defenses to S/L?

Answer 5

Contributory negligence NOT a defense in contributory-negligence jurisdictions -> does not bar recovery

Comparative-fault jurisdictions - negligence may reduce P’s recovery under a S/L claim (R3d approach); courts divided, some do not allow reduction

Assumption of Risk/Knowing contributory negligence -> bars recovery

Statutory privilege -> no S/L for D performing essential public services

Trespassers -> property possessor not S/L for injuries inflicted by his animals against a trespasser, except, in some jurisdictions, for injuries inflicted by a vicious watchdog