XV. General Considerations Flashcards
Vicarious Liability: Employer-Employee
- Employer vicariously liable for employees’ torts committed within scope of employment
- frolic and detour: detour (truck driver stopping at diner) versus frolic (truck driver goes to Las Vegas to gamble)
- INtentional Torts: generally not liable for intentional torts unless violence is part of the job or employer ratified the conduct
- INdependent Contractors: no vicaroius liability unless it is inherently dangerous or there is a public policy reason (non-degligble duty)
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Vicaroius Liability: Automboile Owner-Drive
- generally no vicarious liabilty unless
- driver is perfoming errand for owner–could be premised on agency liability
- Family car states (maj/GA): household member using car w/ permission
- PErmissive use: owenr vicaioulsy liable for anyone driving car w/ permission
Vicaroius Liability: Parent Child
- No VL except in GA where may be liable up to $10k for med expenses/prop damage from a child’s wilful or malicious acts
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Vicaroius Liability: Warning
always look for direct liability first (e.g. give keys to guy whose durnk. Not vicariously liable but are laible for negative entrustment)
Joint and Several Liability
- Joint tortfeasors are two or more perons where separate and independt acts of engligence combine to produce single individble injury. Each can be liable to the entirety
- Concert of action (drag race where one hit the pedestrian–both can be liable)
- Individble harm (two drivers collide when driving negligently–passenger in car can sue iether)
- GA: eliminated J&S when P is at fault. Trier of fact must approtion fault among those contributing including non parties.
- all other, may apportion fault between defendants/non parties
Indemnity
Passive defendant receives from active defendant
e.g. employer’s driver hits invidiual, seeks to indemnify themselves from the employee b/c negligence was passive
Contribution
- Traditional rule: paying d recovers proprotional shares from other defendants
- Compartive contribution: recovery based on relative fault of each tortfeasor
- GA: no right of contribution
- Apportionment does not apply to employer and employee, principal and agnet. There they are vicious and come from the relatinoship itself
WRongful Death actions
- lawsuits brought by a deceden’ts beneficiaries for their own loas of support and companionship.
- Vary state by state
Survival Actions
- lawsuits brought by a decedent’s estates based on claims the decedent could have bouthg if alive
- most do not allow claims pertaining to inteangible personal interest to survive
- E.g. defamation claim pending at death
Wrongful death in GA
- combines survival statute and full value of decedent’s life
- Order of Claimaints: 1. Spouse,2. children, 3. parents, 4. personal representative
- Measure of Damages : full value of life from standpoint of decedent
- Future earnings: recoerable in present value
- Loss of consortium: ends at moment of death (suffering)
- Solatium damages/Survivor grief: not recovereable execpt when parent witnesses death of child
- Hedonic damages/smell the roses/enjoying life: are recoverable
- Claims for damages up until the moment of death belong to the state and pass accroding to decdent’s will
- Claims for daamages after death belong to statutory P and pass to deceden’ts heirs at law.
- Punitive Damages: only for estate
Family IMmunity
Trend towards abolishing spousal immunity and limiting parental immunity
No immmunity for intentional torts
Charitable IMmunity
abolished in most states.
Ga retains to the extent of charitable assets (can’t go to borad beside insurance)
Governmental Immunity
- lesseing of governmental immunities for ministerial acts
- still retain immunity for discertionary acts
- Tort claims against US governmend by Federal tort claims Act
- In GA:
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