Torts

Question 1

Company owned/operated a private golf course. One of the fairways on the course ran parallel to a navigable body of water. company was aware golfers freq but unintentionally hit golf balls into the water when playing that hole because there were no barriers to prevent the balls from going into water.
A 12-year-old child, while sailing on the water, was struck by one such ball and suffered a serious physical injury.

injured child’s parent filed a public nuisance action against the company, on behalf of his child, to recover for his injuries. Is the plaintiff precluded from recovering?

Answer 1

No, bc child was seriously injured while on navigable water due to the company’s negligence.

private citizen to successfully maintain public nuisance action, that person must suffer a special injury diff in kind to that suffered by the general public.

P’s physical injury here constitutes a special injury.

In addition, w/ respect to the use of a public passageway, the p’s injury must arise from use of passageway and d’s conduct must interfere w, obstruct, or render passage dangerous.

Question 2

Exceptions to general “no duty” to act

Answer 2

-person caused the injury (D created P’s peril)
- no duty to assist but started helping or affirmatively acted in some way to help anyways - thus undertaking a duty to aid
- special relationship
(married/parent-child)
- or imposed by statute

Question 3

self-defense or deadly force standard

Answer 3

OBJECTIVE standard - force reasonably believed necessary