torts strict liability Flashcards
Negligence
- those who do not exercise rsbl care pay for injuries of those they injure by accident
- those injured by one who acts with rsbl care bear costs of their own accidental injuries
strict liability
Those engaging in certain high-risk activities bear the cost for injuries caused by those activities even if rsbl care was exercised
categories of strict liability
- animals
- abnormally dangerous activities
- products liability
strict liability elements
- the nature of the D’s activity imposes a strict duty to make it safe
- the dangerous aspect of the activity is the actual and proximate cause of the P’s injury
- the P suffered damage to person or property
Wild animals
- strict liability even if using utmost care
- keeper of wild animal is req to know the dangerous properties normal to the class to which it belongs
- Keeper subject to liability for harm resulting from a dangerous propensity that is characteristic of wild animals of that particular class
Domestic Animals
Not strictly liable for injuries it causes unless owner has actual or constructive knowledge of the particular animal’s dangerous propensities even if no previous incidents
strict liability of domestic animals
Strict Liability is keepers “know or have reason to know” a domestic animal is “abnormally dangerous”
- contributory negligence is not a defense
zookeeper exception
most jurisdictions subject zoos to negligence liability instead of strict liability bc of their educational benefit to society
abnormally dangerous activities
One who carries on an ADA is subject to liability for harm to the person, land, or chattels of another resulting from the activity, although he has exercised the utmost care to prevent the harm
ADA SL
strict liability limited to the kind of harm, the possibility of which makes the activity normally dangerous
an activity is abnormally dangerous if
i. The activity creates a foreseeable and highly significant risk of physical harm even when rsbl care is exercised by all actors and
ii. The activity is not one of common usage
factors to identify ADA
i. Existence of a high degree of risk of some harm to the person, land, or chattels of others
ii. Likelihood that resulting harm will be great
iii. Inability to eliminate the risk by the exercise of rsbl care
iv. Extent to which the activity is not a matter of common usage
v. Inappropriateness of the activity to the place where it is carried on
vi. Extent to which its value to the community is outweighed by its dangerous activities
non-natural use of land
i. Use of land that is not ordinary or appropriate
ii. D’s may be liable for damage caused by the non-natural use of land even if no negligence on their part in causing the damage
discharge of guns
i. Not considered ADA bc although dangerous, its risk can be reduced by care, it is common, and has social utility
activities typically considered abnormally dangerous
i. Collecting water/explosives in unsuitable places
ii. Blasting or lots of inflammable liquids in a city
iii. Crop-dusting or poisonous fumigation
iv. Oil wells or refineries in close communities
