LLM Torts & Civil Liability 1 ā Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the negligence standard, a defendant is liable if their conduct falls below what threshold?
- The standard of a reasonable person under similar circumstances (Correct answer)
- The standard of the most cautious person possible
- The standard set by the defendant's own past behavior
- The standard agreed upon by the parties in advance
Correct answer: The standard of a reasonable person under similar circumstances
Negligence is measured against the objective 'reasonable person' standardāwhat a person of ordinary prudence would do under similar circumstances.
Question 2: Which element is NOT required to establish a prima facie case of negligence?
- Duty of care
- Breach of that duty
- Proximate cause
- Malicious intent (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Malicious intent
Negligence requires duty, breach, causation (actual and proximate), and damagesāmalicious intent is an element of intentional torts, not negligence.
Question 3: The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur allows a plaintiff to establish breach of duty by showing that:
- The defendant admitted fault after the incident
- The accident is of a type that ordinarily does not occur without negligence (Correct answer)
- The defendant violated a statutory safety standard
- Multiple defendants each acted negligently
Correct answer: The accident is of a type that ordinarily does not occur without negligence
Res ipsa loquitur ('the thing speaks for itself') permits an inference of negligence when the accident would not normally happen absent negligence and was within the defendant's exclusive control.
Question 4: Under strict products liability, a manufacturer can be held liable even if they exercised all possible care. This liability is primarily based on:
- Breach of warranty only
- The defective and unreasonably dangerous condition of the product (Correct answer)
- Negligent design proven by expert testimony
- The plaintiff's inability to identify which manufacturer caused harm
Correct answer: The defective and unreasonably dangerous condition of the product
Strict products liability under Restatement (Second) of Torts Ā§ 402A attaches when a product is sold in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to users, regardless of the seller's care.
Question 5: A plaintiff who was 40% at fault for their own injury sues in a 'pure comparative fault' jurisdiction. If total damages are $100,000, the plaintiff recovers:
- Nothing, because they were more than 50% at fault
- $60,000 (Correct answer)
- $40,000
- $100,000 reduced by a flat statutory amount
Correct answer: $60,000
Under pure comparative fault, the plaintiff's recovery is reduced by their percentage of fault, so 100% ā 40% = 60% of $100,000 = $60,000.
Question 6: The 'eggshell skull' (or 'thin skull') rule in tort law provides that:
- A defendant is only liable for foreseeable physical harm
- A defendant takes the plaintiff as they find them, including pre-existing vulnerabilities (Correct answer)
- Damages are capped at the amount a healthy person would have suffered
- Only physical injuries caused directly by the impact are compensable
Correct answer: A defendant takes the plaintiff as they find them, including pre-existing vulnerabilities
The eggshell skull rule holds a tortfeasor fully liable for all damages flowing from their tort, even if the plaintiff's unusual physical condition made the injury far more severe than expected.
Question 7: Intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) requires that the defendant's conduct be:
- Negligent and foreseeable
- Extreme and outrageous (Correct answer)
- Physically harmful
- Directed at a public figure
Correct answer: Extreme and outrageous
IIED requires conduct that is extreme and outrageous, intentionally or recklessly causing severe emotional distressāmere insults or rudeness are insufficient.
LLM Torts & Civil Liability 1
Under the negligence standard, a defendant is liable if their conduct falls below what threshold?