TX Bar Torts and Personal Injury 3

Question 1

A defendant swings a baseball bat intending to hit a ball, but accidentally strikes the plaintiff who was standing nearby. Which analysis correctly addresses battery?

Accepted Answer

Battery exists because the defendant intended the act — swinging the bat — that caused the harmful contact

Answer

Battery requires intent to cause contact, not intent to cause harm — the defendant need only intend the act that results in the harmful or offensive touching.

Question 2

Which of the following scenarios best constitutes the tort of civil assault?

Accepted Answer

Defendant raises a fist toward plaintiff, who sees the gesture and reasonably believes they are about to be struck

Answer

Assault requires the plaintiff to reasonably apprehend imminent harmful or offensive contact — a raised fist that the plaintiff perceives and believes threatens immediate contact satisfies this element.

Question 3

A store security guard says, 'Sit here until police arrive or I'll physically drag you back.' The shopper complies. Which element of false imprisonment is most clearly satisfied?

Accepted Answer

The plaintiff was confined through a threat of physical force

Answer

A threat of physical force — 'I'll drag you back' — satisfies the confinement element of false imprisonment even without actual physical restraint.

Question 4

In a Texas products liability claim based on a design defect, the plaintiff must prove:

Accepted Answer

A reasonable alternative design existed that would have reduced the foreseeable risk of harm without substantially impairing utility

Answer

Texas design defect claims require the plaintiff to show a reasonable alternative design that, if adopted, would have reduced the foreseeable risk of harm without substantially impairing the product's utility.

Question 5

Which of the following activities is most likely classified as 'abnormally dangerous,' justifying strict liability in Texas?

Accepted Answer

Storing large quantities of explosives in a residential neighborhood

Answer

Storing large quantities of explosives is a classic abnormally dangerous activity — it creates a risk of serious harm that cannot be eliminated even with reasonable care.

(TX Bar) Texas Bar Exam Practice Test

(TX Bar) Texas Bar Exam Practice Test

TX Bar Torts and Personal Injury 3