LA Bar Torts and Negligence 5

Question 1

In Louisiana, the 'but-for' test for establishing actual cause in a negligence case asks whether:

Accepted Answer

The plaintiff's injury would not have occurred but for the defendant's negligent conduct

Answer

The but-for test establishes actual causation by asking whether the harm would not have occurred absent the defendant's negligent conduct — the negligence must be a necessary condition for the harm.

Question 2

Two defendants each independently start separate fires that merge and together burn down the plaintiff's house — and either fire alone would have been sufficient to destroy it. Louisiana courts resolving causation would apply:

Accepted Answer

The substantial factor test, holding both defendants liable because each was a substantial cause of the harm

Answer

The substantial factor test resolves cases where two independently sufficient causes each contributed to the same harm, preventing the but-for test from paradoxically exonerating both defendants.

Question 3

Under Louisiana's 'eggshell plaintiff' (thin-skull) rule, a defendant who negligently injures a plaintiff with a pre-existing medical condition is liable for:

Accepted Answer

All damages caused by the tortious conduct, even if the plaintiff's pre-existing vulnerability made the injury far greater than foreseeable

Answer

The eggshell plaintiff rule holds defendants fully liable for the extent of harm regardless of the plaintiff's unusual vulnerability — defendants take their victims as they find them.

Question 4

Under Louisiana Civil Code Articles 2315.1 and 2315.2, which statement correctly distinguishes the survival action from the wrongful death action?

Accepted Answer

The survival action recovers the decedent's own pre-death damages for the estate; the wrongful death action compensates surviving beneficiaries for their personal losses caused by the death

Answer

The survival action (Art. 2315.1) transmits the decedent's own claims for pre-death damages to the estate; the wrongful death action (Art. 2315.2) compensates surviving beneficiaries for their personal losses due to the death.

Question 5

Which parties are entitled to bring a wrongful death action under Louisiana Civil Code Article 2315.2?

Accepted Answer

Surviving spouse and children first; if none, then parents; if none, then siblings; if none, then grandparents — in ranked priority

Answer

Art. 2315.2 creates a ranked priority system of beneficiaries — surviving spouse and children first, then parents, then siblings, then grandparents — and only the highest-priority surviving class may bring the action.

(LA Bar) Louisiana Bar Exam Practice Test

(LA Bar) Louisiana Bar Exam Practice Test

LA Bar Torts and Negligence 5