Torts and Negligence Flashcards

Under Louisiana's pure comparative fault system (Civil Code Art. 2323), a plaintiff found 65% at fault for their $100,000 in damages may recover:

Answer: $35,000, reflecting the defendants' percentage of fault

Louisiana's pure comparative fault system reduces the plaintiff's recovery by their fault percentage, so a 65%-at-fault plaintiff recovers only 35% of total damages.

An employee makes a significant personal detour to visit a friend across town while on a work delivery route and negligently causes an accident. Under Louisiana respondeat superior, the employer is:

Answer: Not liable because the substantial detour constitutes a frolic outside the scope of employment

A substantial deviation from employment duties for personal purposes is a 'frolic' that removes the employee from the scope of employment, eliminating the employer's vicarious liability.

Following Louisiana's 1996 Civil Code amendments, what standard governs a building owner's liability under Article 2322 for damage caused by a building's ruin?

Answer: Liability if the owner knew or should have known of the ruin and failed to exercise reasonable care

The 1996 amendments converted Art. 2322 from strict liability to a negligence-based standard requiring actual or constructive knowledge of the ruin.

A jury allocates fault as follows: Plaintiff 0%, Defendant A 45%, Defendant B 55%. Under Louisiana Civil Code Article 2324, which statement is correct?

Answer: Only Defendant B is jointly and severally liable; Defendant A pays only their proportionate share

Art. 2324 imposes joint and several liability only on a tortfeasor found 50% or more at fault; Defendant A's 45% fault means A pays only their proportionate share, while Defendant B's 55% makes B solidarily liable.

Under Louisiana's duty-risk analysis, a negligence plaintiff must establish not only that the defendant breached a duty but also that:

Answer: The particular risk that caused harm fell within the scope of the defendant's duty

Louisiana's duty-risk analysis requires that the specific risk which materialized and caused harm was within the ambit of the duty the defendant owed, not just that a duty existed.

Under the original pre-1996 version of Louisiana Civil Code Article 2317 (strict liability for things in one's custody), what did a plaintiff need to prove to establish liability?

Answer: The thing's defective condition, the defendant's custody over it, and that the defect caused the damage

Under pre-1996 Art. 2317, the plaintiff needed only to prove the thing's vice or defect, the defendant's custody, and causation — no proof of the defendant's knowledge or negligence was required.

Which element is essential to establish an employer's vicarious liability (respondeat superior) for an employee's negligent act under Louisiana law?

Answer: The employee was acting within the course and scope of employment when the tort occurred

Vicarious liability under respondeat superior requires that the employee was acting within the course and scope of employment at the time of the tortious act.