JD Torts 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which element is NOT required to establish a negligence claim?
- Duty
- Breach
- Intent to cause harm (Correct answer)
- Causation and damages
Correct answer: Intent to cause harm
Negligence requires duty, breach, causation, and damages — intent to harm is not an element; negligence is based on unreasonable conduct, not purposeful wrongdoing.
Question 2: The 'reasonable person' standard in negligence law asks whether the defendant acted as:
- An expert in the relevant field
- A person of ordinary prudence under the same or similar circumstances (Correct answer)
- The average person in the jurisdiction
- A trained professional in any occupation
Correct answer: A person of ordinary prudence under the same or similar circumstances
The reasonable person standard is objective, measuring conduct against what a person of ordinary prudence would do in the same or similar circumstances.
Question 3: Under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur, a plaintiff may establish negligence without direct proof when:
- The defendant admits fault
- The type of accident ordinarily does not occur without negligence and the defendant had exclusive control (Correct answer)
- Multiple defendants could have caused the harm
- The plaintiff was contributorily negligent
Correct answer: The type of accident ordinarily does not occur without negligence and the defendant had exclusive control
Res ipsa loquitur ('the thing speaks for itself') permits an inference of negligence when: (1) the event normally doesn't occur without negligence, (2) the defendant had exclusive control, and (3) the plaintiff did not contribute.
Question 4: In strict products liability under Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A, a seller is liable for harm caused by a product that is:
- Simply defective in workmanship
- Unreasonably dangerous due to a defective condition (Correct answer)
- Causing any injury to any consumer
- Designed differently from industry standards
Correct answer: Unreasonably dangerous due to a defective condition
Section 402A imposes strict liability on sellers of products in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer, regardless of the seller's care.
Question 5: Which intentional tort consists of an intentional act causing reasonable apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive contact?
- Battery
- False imprisonment
- Assault (Correct answer)
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress
Correct answer: Assault
Assault is an intentional act that causes the plaintiff to reasonably apprehend an imminent harmful or offensive contact with their person.
Question 6: Under comparative fault, a plaintiff found 40% at fault for an accident recovers:
- Nothing under contributory negligence rules
- 60% of their total damages (Correct answer)
- 100% of damages because defendant was majority at fault
- 40% of their total damages
Correct answer: 60% of their total damages
Under pure comparative fault, a plaintiff's recovery is reduced by their percentage of fault; a 40% at-fault plaintiff recovers 60% of total damages.
JD Torts 1
Which element is NOT required to establish a negligence claim?