LNAT Legal Reasoning 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A claimant suffers a rare, unforeseeable medical reaction after a defendant's minor negligent act. Under the 'thin skull' rule, the defendant is liable for:
- Only the foreseeable portion of the harm
- No harm, since it was unforeseeable
- The full extent of the claimant's injuries (Correct answer)
- Half the damages, shared with the claimant
Correct answer: The full extent of the claimant's injuries
The thin skull (eggshell skull) rule requires a tortfeasor to take their victim as they find them, making them fully liable even for unforeseeable consequences.
Question 2: Which of the following most accurately describes judicial review?
- A court overturning Parliament's legislation
- A court reviewing the merits of a government decision
- A court examining whether a public body acted lawfully (Correct answer)
- An appeal against a criminal conviction
Correct answer: A court examining whether a public body acted lawfully
Judicial review scrutinizes the lawfulness of public authority decisions, not their wisdom or merits.
Question 3: In contract law, consideration must be sufficient but need not be adequate. This means:
- Consideration must reflect the market value of the promise
- Consideration must have some legal value, even if minimal (Correct answer)
- Consideration must be in monetary form
- Consideration must be proportionate to what is received
Correct answer: Consideration must have some legal value, even if minimal
Sufficiency requires that consideration have some legal value (not be past, illusory, or illegal); courts do not assess whether the bargain was commercially fair.
Question 4: A defendant commits an offence that carries a maximum of 10 years imprisonment. He is of previous good character and pleads guilty. Which factor would most reduce his sentence?
- His good character
- The severity of the maximum sentence
- His guilty plea (Correct answer)
- The fact that the victim did not attend court
Correct answer: His guilty plea
A guilty plea typically attracts a one-third sentencing discount under Sentencing Council guidelines, making it the most impactful mitigating factor listed.
Question 5: The tort of passing off protects against a trader:
- Registering a trademark without use
- Misrepresenting their goods as those of another trader (Correct answer)
- Selling counterfeit physical goods
- Using a competitor's patented process
Correct answer: Misrepresenting their goods as those of another trader
Passing off prevents a trader from misrepresenting their goods or services as those of another, protecting goodwill and reputation.
Question 6: Under the Human Rights Act 1998, which courts are required to interpret legislation compatibly with Convention rights 'so far as it is possible to do so'?
- Only the Supreme Court
- Only tribunals, not courts
- All courts and tribunals (Correct answer)
- Only the Court of Appeal and above
Correct answer: All courts and tribunals
Section 3 HRA 1998 places the duty of compatible interpretation on all courts and tribunals, not only higher courts.
Question 7: A person makes a unilateral mistake about the subject matter of a contract, while the other party is unaware of the mistake. In English law, the contract is generally:
- Void for mistake
- Voidable at the mistaken party's option
- Valid and enforceable (Correct answer)
- Unenforceable for uncertainty
Correct answer: Valid and enforceable
A unilateral mistake not known to the other party does not affect contract formation — only mutual or non est factum mistakes can void a contract.
LNAT Legal Reasoning 5
A claimant suffers a rare, unforeseeable medical reaction after a defendant's minor negligent act.
Under the 'thin skull' rule, the defendant is liable for: