Torts Flashcards
Can a landowner who holds his property open to the public delegate his duty to keep the premises safe to an independent contractor working on the premises?
No. This duty is nondelegable. A landowner is liable for any negligence from unsafe conditions that may injure a guest on the premises, even negligence caused by an independent contractor.
A young teenager pointed a squirt gun at an older teenager as if she was going to squirt him, although the younger teenager knew that the gun was empty. The older teenager did not know that the gun was empty and yelled, “A little water isn’t going to hurt me.” The younger teenager pulled the trigger and yelled back, “You’re lucky, it wasn’t even loaded.”
Is the younger teenager liable to the older teenager?
Yes, because the younger teenager committed an assault. An assault is an affirmative act by the defendant done with the intent to place the plaintiff in apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive contact to his person and that actually causes the plaintiff apprehension. The plaintiff need not be placed in fear of the contact; an apprehension of contact that is offensive (that is, not consented to) is sufficient.
X prevailed in an action against Y and Z. Z was the only defendant that committed an intentional tort against X. If this is a jurisdiction that allows joint and several liability, contribution based upon proportionate fault, and common law indemnity rules, what can Y recover from Z if Y pays X the full amount of the judgment?
Y is entitled to indemnity for the full amount of the judgment paid to X because contribution is not allowed in favor of those who commit intentional torts regardless of if each tortfeasor was equally liable.
When may a D be held strictly liable in a private nuisance action?
Strict liability will be the basis for a nuisance action when wild animals or abnormally dangerous domestic animals are involved, or when D is engaged in an abnormally dangerous activity.
For example, dogs known by their owner to be vicious may create a private nuisance when they interfere with the use and enjoyment of the land next door, and the owner may be subject to strict liability because of his knowledge of the dogs’ dangerous propensities.
