Torts

Question 1

1) Torts are done ______

Answer 1

IN SIN:
I – INTENTIONAL harm to a person (e.g., assault, battery, false imprisonment, or the
intentional infliction of emotional harm)
N – NEGLIGENT conduct causing personal injury, wrongful death, or prop damage
S – STRICT tort liability
I – INTENTIONAL harm to property (e.g., trespass, conversion, or tortious interference with a 
contract)

N – NUISANCE 


Question 2

2) Tortious conduct makes you want to ____

Answer 2

SING:
S – STRICT tort liability
I – INTENTIONAL conduct
N – NEGLIGENT conduct
G – GROSS negligence a/k/a reckless conduct

Question 3

3) A D’s _____ conduct is unreasonable/negligent when P was within the foreseeable zone of danger:

Answer 3

FIT
F – FAILURE to take reasonable precautions in light of foreseeable risks
I – INADVERTENCE
T – THOUGHTLESSNESS

Question 4

4) To establish a negligence claim, P must mix the right ____

Answer 4

DIP:
D – DUTY to exercise reasonable care was owed by the D to the injured P and the D
breached this duty (for a negligence claim the duty is always to conform to the
legal standard of reasonable conduct in light of the apparent risks)
I – Physical INJURY to the P or his property (damages)
P – P’s injuries were PROXIMATELY caused by the D’s breach of duty

Question 5

A parent is liable only for the torts of a ____ child:

Answer 5

SICK
S – in an employment relationship where a child commits a tort, while acting as a SERVANT or
agent of the parent
I – where the parent entrusts or knowingly leaves in the child’s possession an
INSTRUMENTALITY that, in light of the child’s age, intelligence, disposition and prior
experience, creates an unreasonable risk of harm to others
C – where the parent knows of the child’s tortious conduct and directs, approves or CONSENTS
to it
K – Where a parent has the ability to control the child, but fails to exercise that control even though the parent KNEW of the child’s propensity that could endanger a third party.

Question 6

6) ____ can “cause” negligence:

Answer 6

F CLIPS
F – FACTUAL causes
C – CONCURRENT causes of the P’s injuries
L – LEGAL causes (Restatement language for both cause-in-fact & proximate cause)
I – INDEPENDENT intervening causes (a.k.a., superseding cause)
P – PROXIMATE causes
S – SUCCESSIVE causes

Question 7

7) ____ are played in negligence:

Answer 7

LARGE C.D.2
L - LAST clear chance
A - ASSUMPTION of risk
R - RES IPSA LOQUITOR
G - GUEST statute
E - EMERGENCY doctrine
C - COMPARATIVE or contributory negligence
D - DRAM shop act
D - DANGER invites rescue

Question 8

8) A plaintiff can find res ipsa loquitor in a ___

Answer 8

PEA:
P – PROBABILITY that the plaintiff was injured through no fault of his own
E – D had EXCLUSIVE control over the instrumentality that caused the injury
A – ABSENT negligence, the injury would not have occurred

Question 9

9) The Emergency Doctrine arises only in the ____

Answer 9

U.S.:
U – UNANTICIPATED; and
S – SUDDEN Emergency

Question 10

10) A defamer gives ___ to a qualified privilege:

Answer 10

LIP
L - LOWER echelon officials of government agencies
I – A false statement in which the speaker & listener had some common INTEREST in the
subject matter of conversation (and the defamatory statement must be pertinent to the parties’
common interest & made to further or protect that interest)
P – Defamatory statements made to the POLICE or District Attorney about P’s criminal
activity

Question 11

11) A defamer is privileged when she has ____

Answer 11

JET LAG:
J – Defamatory statements in the course of a JUDICIAL proceeding
E – Confidential defamatory communications spoken between spouses who are deemed one
ENTITY, when the spouse is sued for defamation
T – TRUTH
L – Statements by LEGISLATORS made in legislative chambers
A – State, local or federal ADMINISTRATIVE agency’s executives or government executives
making defamatory statements in furtherance of their official duties
G – Statements made to Bar Association GRIEVANCE Committees

Question 12

12) In slander actions, special damages must be pleaded and proven, unless those spoken words are _____ (slander “per se”):

Answer 12

CLAMS
C – Falsely accusing the P of committing a serious CRIME
L – Falsely stating that P has an existing (not former) communicable, LOATHSOME disease
(e.g., a sexually transmitted disease)
A – Making a false statement that ADVERSELY reflects on P’s trade or business
M – Falsely accusing P of MORAL turpitude
S – Falsely accusing P of serious SEXUAL misconduct (male or female)

Question 13

13) Consider whether the following ____ well for abnormally dangerous activities:

Answer 13

BODES
B – whether its BENEFIT to the community is outweighed by its high risk of harm
O – whether the activity is not a common OCCURRENCE
D – whether there is a high DEGREE of risk of harm involved
E – whether there is an inability to ELIMINATE that risk by the exercise of reasonable care
S – whether there is a likelihood of SEVERE harm resulting from that activity

Question 14

14) In determining whether a domestic animal has demonstrated vicious propensities, the court looks
at whether the animal has in the past sung with the ____

Answer 14

B.G.s:
B – BITTEN someone
G – GROWLED at someone
S – SNAPPED at someone

Question 15

15) If you inflict emotional harm, you’ll have a ____

Answer 15

SAD CEO:
CEO – D’s intentional or reckless CEO (CONDUCT that was EXTREME and
OUTRAGEOUS) exceeding all bounds usually tolerated by a decent society, and
SAD – D’s conduct caused P to suffer SAD (SEVERE AND DEBILITATING) emotional
anguish

Question 16

16) An MBE landowner will have a different duty to an injured person, depending on whether the
person was _____

Answer 16

LIT:
L – LICENSEE
I – INVITEE
T - TRESPASSER
*Note – This is NOT the rule in NY

Question 17

17) A plaintiff has the privilege to ___ on one’s property in response to a:

Answer 17

SIT
S – SERIOUS and
I – IMMEDIATE
T – THREAT
*But note – even though a D who SITs is not trespassing, liability will be imposed for any
resulting damages

Question 18

18) A Person who ____ onto P’s property is liable in trespass only if D’s entry caused harm to the
land:

Answer 18

RAN
R – RECKLESSLY
A – As the result of ABNORMALLY dangerous activity
N – NEGLIGENTLY

Question 19

19) Only a ____ can be sued for Tortuous Interference of a Contract:

Answer 19

KID
K – D had KNOWLEDGE of the K;
I – D INTENTIONALLY induced a contracting party to breach that K; and
D – DAMAGES resulted from the breach of the existing, enforceable K

Question 20

20) A _____ invades privacy:

Answer 20

CLIP
C – COMMERCIAL misappropriation of P’s name, likeness, or voice w/o P’s written
permission (& compensation); taking commercial advantage of a living person’s
reputation, prestige, or some other value associated w/ P’s name or likeness w/o
compensating him or her for it
L – False LIGHT publicity that unreasonably places P in highly objectionable false light
before the public
I – Highly offensive INTENTIONAL intrusion into another’s seclusion or solitude
P – PUBLIC disclosure of highly offensive and deeply shocking private facts that are of no
legitimate interest to the public