Homework - Chapter 5 - 1 extra credit available

First, confirm for me that you know that late fees will begin this week (6)

I understand about the late fees, Tenure Track Instructor Judd.

Second, tell me the name of someone else in the class, and how they are doing, or what they have
thought about something, or the name of someone who did something memorable in class, and
what that was.

1. Tell me the most interesting thing you have learned in the first five weeks of class and the name
of one of your neighbors and how you think they are doing in the class.

The most interesting thing I have learned is the ability to think like a lawyer by applying the FIRAC
method.

2. Tell me you read Chapter 5 - tell me the most important concept you learned.

I read chapter 5, and the most interesting concept I learned is about negligence tort, its claims, and
defenses.

3. Tell me why we have tort laws, and the kinds of damages you can recover in a tort action.       

Tort law aims at compensating the injured party for the injury or harm suffered. Kinds of damages
include compensatory damages and punitive damages.

4. Describe for me the 4 general categories of torts, the first being "intentional" torts, and the
difference between "intentional" torts and negligence. 

Intentional torts arise due to deliberate damage of property or person.

Negligence torts arise when there is a failure of duty to act responsibly.

Therefore, the difference is that in intentional torts, there is fault and intention, while in negligence
tort, there is a fault but no intention.

Strict liability torts  include a case where liability is imposed even without fault

Product liability torts exist where liability is imposed for damage resulting from faulty products

5. Tell me one type of intentional tort (except defamation), and the primary elements of a that
claim (things that must be proven) and defenses to it. 

Assault. Primary elements include apprehension of harmful contact, actions or words that amount to
reasonable threat, and intention. Defenses include self-defense, accident, and consent.

6. Note the elements of the tort of defamation, and the defenses to defamation.

Elements of defamation include a false statement of fact, intention to harm reputation, a statement
published to other person(s) apart from the plaintiff, and actual malice for a public figure. Defenses
to defamation include truth, privileged communication, and public figure with no malice.

7. Pick either Fraudulent Misrepresentation or Wrongful Interference, and tell me the elements of
that claim.
Fraudulent misrepresentation. Its elements include a causal relationship between the injured
suffered and misrepresentation, a misrepresentation of facts while disregarding the truth or
knowing that they are false, the deceived party justifiably relies on the misrepresentation, there is
an intention to make one rely on misrepresentation, and the reliance causes damages.      

8. List for me and briefly describe the elements of a typical negligence claim.

Duty of care – obligation owed to others

Breach- omission or violation of the obligation

Causation – the breach resulted in injury

Damages- one suffered an injury recognized by law

9. Tell me at least 3 defenses to a typical negligence action.

Assumption of risk – risks that one knows and deliberately assumes

Superseding cause- an unexpected event breaks the link between negligence and injury

Contributory negligence – one fails to reasonably exercise self-care

10. Tell me what negligence per se is and which element of a negligence claim it helps prove, and
what res ipsa loquitor is.

Negligence per se is the violation of a stipulated statute, and it helps prove the breach of duty
element.

Res ipsa loquitor is a concept of law that allows a plaintiff to presume negligence on the side of the
defendant who had control of the happenings

11. Pick and describe your favorite tort from the book and tell me the elements of it and why it is
your favorite.

My favorite tort is defamation. Elements of defamation include a false statement of fact, intention to
harm reputation, a statement published to other person(s) apart from the plaintiff, and actual malice
for a public figure. Defamation tort is my favorite because we are living in a time of heightened social
media use where cases of defamation are likely to increase on these platforms.

12. Pick and describe your favorite tort defense or special negligence doctrine and tell me why it is
your favorite.

My favorite special negligence doctrine is Res Ipsa Loquitur. This is because it places the burden of
proof on the defendant, who has to show that negligence was not the cause of damage.

13. Tell me the kind of activities to which strict liability would apply.    

These include abnormally dangerous activities such as blasting, product liability ownership of wild
animals, and intrusion into another person’s land by livestock.

14. Tell me the elements of a strict product liability claim 

1. A defective condition of the product at the time of sale

3. The defective condition makes the product unreasonably dangerous to the consumer

4. A proximate cause of damage result from the effective condition

5. Physical harm to property or person resulting from the defective product

15. Tell me defenses a manufacturer would have to a product liability claim.

Assumption of risk – one knew but assumed the risks of the defective product.

Product misuse – a product used for the unintended purpose

Comparative negligence – both plaintiff and defendant are negligent leading to reduced liability and
damages paid.

16. Tell me the steps in "thinking like a lawyer" or FIRAC - just the names, like "facts" - you don't
have to describe it.  

The steps include Fact, Issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion.

17. Then, using the FIRAC method, analyze facts and legal issues and come up with a possible or
likely outcome in Question 5-3

Facts

Toni Lucario falls to her death after climbing the window of room 59 of Weatherford Hotel in
Arizona. The hotel encourages guests to smoke while on the balcony that stretches 30 inches across
the window of the room. Lucario’s personal representative, McMurtry, sues Weatherford Hotel.

Issue

Whether the hotel breached its duty of care to Lucario

Rule

Negligence tort

Application

The element of negligence to be applied in this case is the duty of care. In determining whether
there was a breach of care, various considerations include whether the hotel met its duty of care
with regards to the risk of death posed by the balcony. If the Hotel had the duty had failed to inform
its customers of possible risks and failed to do so, then it breached its duty of care. However, if the
risk involved was obvious, the Hotel cannot be liable for breaching its duty of care.  

Conclusion

 The hotel did not breach its duty of care to Lucario. This because the nature of the risk posed by the
balcony window is obvious and open. The defense that the hotel can use is the assumption of risk
since where Lucario knew that climbing a window in that location posed a risk to her life but
voluntarily assumed the risk.  

18. Look at Question 5-9 (about Duval Ford) and tell me your answer to the question and the
defenses Duval or Burkins may have.

 Lesnick cannot successfully claim that Burkins and Duval had failed to warn him of the risk of driving
a lifted truck. This because when they were selling the truck, Duval and Burkins had not experienced
problems with the truck's suspension or steering, and therefore, they had no duty to inform Lesnick
of the risk of driving a lifted truck.
19. Leave me with a quick note if things are overwhelming and how much time you spent on this
assignment. 

The class is very involving, but I am coping well. It took one and a half hours to complete the
assignment.