Torts Flashcards
7 cards from real Multistate Bar Exam practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Torts flashcards as text
A plaintiff is injured when a retail store's shelf collapses. No direct evidence of negligence exists. The plaintiff invokes res ipsa loquitur. Which element is most critical for the doctrine to apply?
Answer: The event must be of a kind that ordinarily does not occur without negligence.
Res ipsa loquitur requires that the accident be of a type that ordinarily does not occur absent negligence, combined with exclusive control by the defendant.
A trespasser is injured by an exposed high-voltage wire on a landowner's property. The landowner knew trespassers frequently crossed the area. Which standard of care does the landowner owe under the majority rule?
Answer: Only the duty to refrain from willful or wanton conduct
Under traditional common law, a landowner owes trespassers only the duty to refrain from willful, wanton, or intentional harm.
A plaintiff sues for private nuisance after her neighbor operates a pig farm causing foul odors. The neighbor argues the farm was there before the plaintiff moved in. Which defense is this?
Answer: Coming to the nuisance
The 'coming to the nuisance' defense asserts that plaintiff moved near a pre-existing condition; most courts treat it as a factor, not a complete defense.
A pharmacist fills a prescription with the correct drug but an incorrect dose due to a misreading, injuring the patient. Which products liability theory best applies to the pharmacist?
Answer: Negligence in the provision of professional services
Pharmacists are professionals whose errors in filling prescriptions are analyzed under professional negligence, not products liability.
A plaintiff claims a defendant committed trespass to chattels by borrowing his bicycle without permission for three hours. The bicycle was returned undamaged. Which result is most likely?
Answer: Defendant is not liable for trespass to chattels because there was no actual damage or significant deprivation.
Trespass to chattels requires actual harm or significant interference; minor, temporary use causing no damage does not suffice.
An actor in a film is falsely portrayed in a way that places her in a false light, suggesting she endorses a political cause she opposes. The information is not technically defamatory. Which privacy tort applies?
Answer: False light invasion of privacy
False light invasion of privacy involves publicity that places a person before the public in a misleading, highly offensive way, even if not technically defamatory.
A plaintiff seeks damages for negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED) after witnessing her child struck by a negligent driver from across the street. The child survived. The jurisdiction follows the bystander recovery rule. Which element is most critical for recovery?
Answer: The plaintiff must have been a close family member who contemporaneously perceived the event.
Under Dillon v. Legg's bystander rule, NIED recovery requires close relationship to the victim and contemporaneous sensory perception of the accident.