Torts Flashcards
Is a principal vicariously liable for their independent contractor?
A principal is vicariously liable for the intentional or negligent torts of their independent contractor if the independent contractor is engaged in inherently dangerous activities or the duty is non-delegable.
Define independent contractor.
An independent contractor is one who possesses independence in the manner and method of performing the work contracted for.
What constitutes battery?
An actor is subject to liability for battery if he acts intending to cause harmful or offensive contact and a harmful and offensive contact results.
What does ‘intent’ mean in the context of battery?
‘Intent’ means either the actor desires to cause the consequences of his actions or knows that the consequences are certain or substantially certain to result.
What is false imprisonment?
An actor is subject to liability for false imprisonment if he acts intending to confine someone within fixed boundaries, resulting in such confinement, and the victim is conscious of the confinement or harmed by it.
True or False: Confinement in false imprisonment must be physical.
False
What are the six factors to consider if an activity is abnormally dangerous under the Second Restatement?
- High degree of risk of harm
- Likelihood that the harm will be great
- Inability to eliminate risk by reasonable care
- Lack of common use in the community
- Inappropriateness of the activity to the place
- Value to the community outweighed by dangerous attributes
What defines negligence?
An actor may be found negligent if his conduct is not reasonable under the circumstances.
What is required in a negligence action according to the full RS?
A plaintiff must show that the defendant owed a duty to conform conduct to avoid unreasonable risk, that the conduct fell below the standard of care, and that it caused the plaintiff’s injuries.
What is the duty of care for medical doctors?
A medical doctor is liable to a patient only when evidence shows he has failed to comply with the standard of care for the relevant specialty.
What is the Attractive Nuisance Doctrine?
A possessor of land is liable for physical harm to a trespassing child caused by an artificial condition if certain conditions are met.
In what circumstances is a landowner liable to a licensee?
A landowner owes a licensee a duty to reveal hidden dangers of which the landowner knows or has reason to know.
What is the general rule regarding rescuers and duty to aid?
There is generally no duty to come to the aid of another, but an actor who undertakes to render services acquires a duty of reasonable care.
What is the eggshell skull rule?
A tort defendant takes his victim as he finds him, meaning he is liable for the full extent of injuries suffered by a victim with a preexisting condition.
Define comparative negligence.
Under the modern comparative negligence approach, the jury may apportion fault among negligent parties, and damages apportioned to the plaintiff due to their negligence are subtracted from total damages.
What is the definition of negligence per se?
An actor is negligent if he violates a statute designed to protect against the type of accident his conduct causes, and the victim is within the class the statute protects.
What is res ipsa loquitur?
The doctrine allows the trier of fact to infer negligence from the occurrence of an event that ordinarily does not happen without negligence.
What are the three theories of products liability?
- Strict liability
- Negligence
- Breach of warranty
What must a plaintiff prove under strict liability in tort?
- Defendant was in the business of selling products
- Defendant sells a defective product
- Actual cause
- Proximate cause
- Harm
What is a manufacturing defect?
A manufacturing defect occurs when a product departs from its intended design, even with all possible care exercised.
What does the ‘market share’ liability doctrine allow?
The jury may apportion damages based on the market shares of manufacturers of a defective product.
What is the implied warranty of merchantability?
A defendant merchant may be liable if there is an implied warranty that the product is fit for ordinary purposes.
