MA Bar Torts 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A landowner owes the highest duty of care to which class of entrant?
- Trespassers
- Licensees
- Invitees (Correct answer)
- Social guests
Correct answer: Invitees
An invitee—one who enters with express or implied permission for a purpose connected to the landowner's business or where the land is open to the public—is owed the highest duty: reasonable care to inspect, repair, and warn of known dangers.
Question 2: Under Massachusetts law, the traditional distinctions between trespasser, licensee, and invitee were replaced by what standard?
- Strict liability for all entrants
- A single reasonable care standard for all lawful entrants (Correct answer)
- Negligence per se for all premises cases
- Invitee status for all entrants regardless of purpose
Correct answer: A single reasonable care standard for all lawful entrants
Massachusetts abolished the common-law categories in Mounsey v. Ellard (1973), adopting a reasonable care standard for all lawful entrants on the premises.
Question 3: Which intentional tort requires proof that the defendant placed the plaintiff in reasonable apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive contact?
- Battery
- Assault (Correct answer)
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress
- Trespass to land
Correct answer: Assault
Assault requires the defendant to intentionally cause the plaintiff to have a reasonable apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive contact; actual contact is not required.
Question 4: Under the law of nuisance, a private nuisance claim protects against:
- Any interference with public property
- A substantial and unreasonable interference with the plaintiff's use and enjoyment of their own land (Correct answer)
- Any odor or noise emanating from a neighbor's property
- Trespass onto the plaintiff's property by the defendant
Correct answer: A substantial and unreasonable interference with the plaintiff's use and enjoyment of their own land
Private nuisance requires a substantial and unreasonable interference with the plaintiff's use and enjoyment of land, and not every inconvenience rises to the level of an actionable nuisance.
Question 5: Under strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities, which factor is NOT relevant?
- Whether the activity is common usage in the community
- Whether there is a high risk of serious harm
- Whether the defendant exercised due care (Correct answer)
- Whether the risk cannot be eliminated with reasonable care
Correct answer: Whether the defendant exercised due care
Strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities does not require proof of negligence—the defendant's exercise of due care is irrelevant because liability is imposed regardless of fault.
Question 6: In Massachusetts, the statute of limitations for most personal injury tort claims is:
- 1 year from the date of injury
- 2 years from the date of injury
- 3 years from the date of injury (Correct answer)
- 6 years from the date of injury
Correct answer: 3 years from the date of injury
Under M.G.L. c. 260, § 2A, the general statute of limitations for personal injury tort actions in Massachusetts is three years from the date the cause of action accrues.
MA Bar Torts 2
A landowner owes the highest duty of care to which class of entrant?