Multistate Bar Flashcards

A father contracted with a painter to paint his daughter's house as a gift. Before the daughter learned of the contract, the father and painter mutually rescinded. Can the daughter enforce the contract?

Answer: No, because her rights as a third-party beneficiary never vested

A third-party beneficiary's rights vest only upon assent, reliance, or suit, so the parties could freely rescind before she knew of the contract.

A pedestrian was struck by a barrel that fell from a warehouse window exclusively controlled by the warehouse owner; the cause is unknown. The pedestrian's best theory is:

Answer: Res ipsa loquitur, because the accident ordinarily does not occur without negligence and the instrumentality was in the defendant's exclusive control

Res ipsa loquitur permits an inference of negligence when the event ordinarily results from negligence and the defendant controlled the instrumentality.

At a murder trial, the prosecution offers a formal stationhouse statement by a now-unavailable witness who was never cross-examined. Admitting the statement most likely violates:

Answer: The Confrontation Clause, because the statement is testimonial

Under Crawford, testimonial statements of an unavailable declarant are inadmissible against a criminal defendant absent a prior opportunity for cross-examination.

A state law grants a tax exemption to farms under 100 acres but not larger farms. A large farm challenges the classification under equal protection. The law will be reviewed under:

Answer: Rational basis, because economic classifications need only be rationally related to a legitimate interest

Economic and tax classifications involving no suspect class or fundamental right receive rational basis review and are almost always upheld.

A woman was cornered in an alley by an attacker brandishing a knife and demanding her life. She shot him. In a jurisdiction with no duty to retreat, her self-defense claim requires showing:

Answer: A reasonable belief that deadly force was necessary to prevent imminent death or serious bodily harm

Deadly force in self-defense requires a reasonable belief of imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury, with no retreat duty in a stand-your-ground jurisdiction.

A developer sold lots with recorded deeds requiring residential use only. A later buyer with record notice opened a shop on her lot. Neighbors seek an injunction. They will most likely:

Answer: Win, because the restriction is an equitable servitude enforceable against a purchaser with notice

An equitable servitude created by a recorded common scheme binds subsequent purchasers with notice and is enforceable by injunction.

A plaintiff sued a driver for car-accident property damage and lost on the merits. She then filed a second suit against the same driver for personal injuries from the same accident. The second suit is:

Answer: Barred by claim preclusion, because both claims arise from the same transaction

Claim preclusion bars relitigation of all claims arising from the same transaction that were or could have been raised in the first final judgment on the merits.