CLA/CP Exam Torts: Negligence and Liability 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the 'negligent entrustment' doctrine, a person who lends a vehicle to another may be liable if they knew or should have known the borrower was:
- A licensed driver under 25 years old
- Incompetent, reckless, or unlicensed (Correct answer)
- Unfamiliar with the vehicle's features
- Driving in an unfamiliar area
Correct answer: Incompetent, reckless, or unlicensed
Negligent entrustment holds the lender liable when they knowingly entrust a dangerous item (like a vehicle) to someone they know or should know is incompetent or dangerous.
Question 2: When two defendants' negligent acts combine to cause an indivisible injury, each defendant is typically liable for:
- Only their proportional share of the harm
- Half the damages each, regardless of fault level
- The full amount of damages jointly and severally (Correct answer)
- Nothing unless each alone could have caused the harm
Correct answer: The full amount of damages jointly and severally
Under joint and several liability, when concurrent tortfeasors cause an indivisible injury, each is liable for the full amount, leaving contribution rights among co-defendants.
Question 3: The 'reasonable person' standard in negligence law is considered:
- A subjective test based on the defendant's actual beliefs
- An objective external standard based on a hypothetical reasonable person (Correct answer)
- The average conduct of people in the defendant's profession
- A standard that varies case by case based on the jury's sympathy
Correct answer: An objective external standard based on a hypothetical reasonable person
The reasonable person standard is an objective benchmark—it does not consider what the defendant actually thought, but what a reasonable person in the same circumstances would have done.
Question 4: Under the 'firefighter's rule,' firefighters and police officers generally cannot sue for negligence arising from:
- Injuries caused by defendants they were responding to assist (Correct answer)
- Injuries caused by co-workers on the job
- Property damage during emergency response
- Injuries during training exercises
Correct answer: Injuries caused by defendants they were responding to assist
The firefighter's rule bars recovery by professional rescuers (firefighters, police) for injuries caused by the very negligence that necessitated their presence.
Question 5: Which of the following is an example of a 'pure economic loss' that tort law typically does NOT allow recovery for in negligence (absent physical injury or property damage)?
- Lost wages resulting from a broken leg
- Medical bills following a car accident
- Lost profits due to a contractor's negligent delay in completing a building (Correct answer)
- Pain and suffering from physical harm
Correct answer: Lost profits due to a contractor's negligent delay in completing a building
Pure economic loss (lost profits, business interruption) without accompanying physical injury or property damage is generally not recoverable in negligence under the economic loss rule.
Question 6: A landowner's duty to an undiscovered trespasser under traditional common law is:
- The same as for invitees
- A duty to warn of all known hazards
- Only to refrain from willful or wanton injury (Correct answer)
- A duty to make the land reasonably safe
Correct answer: Only to refrain from willful or wanton injury
Traditional common law imposes only a duty to refrain from willful, wanton, or intentional harm toward undiscovered trespassers.
Question 7: Which of the following scenarios would most likely give rise to liability under the 'negligent infliction of emotional distress' bystander theory?
- A plaintiff who was in the zone of danger and feared for their own safety
- A close family member who witnessed the severe injury of a loved one from a nearby location (Correct answer)
- A stranger who witnessed an accident from across the street
- A plaintiff who only learned of a loved one's injury through a phone call
Correct answer: A close family member who witnessed the severe injury of a loved one from a nearby location
Most courts following Dillon v. Legg allow bystander NIED recovery for close family members who contemporaneously witnessed severe injury to a loved one and suffered serious emotional distress.
CLA/CP Exam Torts: Negligence and Liability 5
Under the 'negligent entrustment' doctrine, a person who lends a vehicle to another may be liable if they knew or should have known the borrower was: