SC Bar Torts and Negligence 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under South Carolina's modified comparative negligence rule, a plaintiff is barred from recovery when their fault is:
- Greater than 50% of the total fault (Correct answer)
- 50% or more of the total fault
- Any percentage of the total fault
- Greater than 25% of the total fault
Correct answer: Greater than 50% of the total fault
South Carolina follows the 51% bar rule, so a plaintiff may recover only if their negligence does not exceed that of the defendant(s).
Question 2: A landowner in South Carolina owes an invitee which duty of care?
- No duty because invitees assume all risks
- To discover and warn of or make safe non-obvious dangerous conditions (Correct answer)
- Only to refrain from willful or wanton injury
- Only to warn of known concealed dangers
Correct answer: To discover and warn of or make safe non-obvious dangerous conditions
Invitees are owed the highest duty, requiring reasonable inspection and correction or warning of hidden hazards.
Question 3: In a South Carolina negligence per se claim based on a statutory violation, the plaintiff must show the statute was designed to:
- Create a private right of action expressly
- Regulate interstate commerce
- Protect a class of persons including the plaintiff from the type of harm suffered (Correct answer)
- Impose criminal penalties on the defendant
Correct answer: Protect a class of persons including the plaintiff from the type of harm suffered
Negligence per se requires that the plaintiff be within the protected class and the harm be of the type the statute was meant to prevent.
Question 4: Under South Carolina law, the statute of limitations for most personal injury negligence actions is:
- One year from the date of injury
- Two years from the date of injury
- Six years from the date of injury
- Three years from when the injury was or should have been discovered (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Three years from when the injury was or should have been discovered
S.C. Code § 15-3-530 sets a three-year limitations period, subject to the discovery rule.
Question 5: A defendant negligently causes a car crash, and the plaintiff's injuries are worsened by a physician's negligent treatment. Under South Carolina proximate cause principles, the original defendant is:
- Liable for the aggravated injuries because negligent medical treatment is foreseeable (Correct answer)
- Not liable for any injuries after the physician intervened
- Liable only if the physician was insolvent
- Liable only for half of the aggravated injuries
Correct answer: Liable for the aggravated injuries because negligent medical treatment is foreseeable
Negligent medical treatment of an injury caused by the defendant is a foreseeable intervening cause that does not break the causal chain.
Question 6: In South Carolina, punitive damages must be proven by what standard?
- Probable cause
- Clear and convincing evidence (Correct answer)
- Preponderance of the evidence
- Beyond a reasonable doubt
Correct answer: Clear and convincing evidence
S.C. Code § 15-32-520 requires clear and convincing evidence of willful, wanton, or reckless conduct for punitive damages.
Question 7: Which element distinguishes a South Carolina claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress (outrage) from ordinary negligence?
- Physical contact with the plaintiff
- Breach of a contractual duty
- Conduct so extreme and outrageous it exceeds all possible bounds of decency (Correct answer)
- Any conduct causing emotional upset
Correct answer: Conduct so extreme and outrageous it exceeds all possible bounds of decency
The tort of outrage requires extreme and outrageous conduct causing severe emotional distress, not mere insults or negligence.
SC Bar Torts and Negligence 2
Under South Carolina's modified comparative negligence rule, a plaintiff is barred from recovery when their fault is: