NPPE Tort Law and Negligence 4

Question 1

In a negligence action against an architect, which element requires the plaintiff to show that the harm would not have occurred 'but for' the defendant's conduct?

Accepted Answer

Causation in fact

Answer

Causation in fact (actual cause) uses the 'but for' test to establish that the defendant's breach directly caused the plaintiff's injury.

Question 2

A structural engineer seals drawings containing an error that causes a building collapse five years after construction. Which doctrine most likely determines whether the engineer can be sued?

Accepted Answer

Statute of repose

Answer

Statutes of repose set an absolute time limit from project completion after which tort claims are barred, regardless of when the harm is discovered.

Question 3

An owner builds without permits on a design the architect warned was non-compliant. A neighbor is injured due to a code violation. Under contributory fault principles, what is the likely outcome for the architect?

Accepted Answer

Reduced liability proportional to the owner's comparative fault

Answer

Most US jurisdictions apply comparative fault, apportioning damages among all negligent parties based on their degree of responsibility.

Question 4

Which tort doctrine allows a court to infer negligence when an event causing injury is of the type that ordinarily does not occur without negligence?

Accepted Answer

Res ipsa loquitur

Answer

Res ipsa loquitur permits an inference of negligence when the instrumentality was in the defendant's control and the accident would not normally occur absent negligence.

Question 5

A landscape architect negligently designs a retaining wall that collapses, injuring a pedestrian on a public sidewalk. What legal relationship establishes the duty of care owed to that pedestrian?

Accepted Answer

Foreseeability that third parties could be harmed by the work

Answer

Post-MacPherson, duty extends beyond contractual privity to any person who could foreseeably be harmed by negligent professional work.

NPPE - National Professional Practice Examination Practice Test

NPPE - National Professional Practice Examination Practice Test

NPPE Tort Law and Negligence 4