WV Bar Torts 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In West Virginia, a landowner owes the highest duty of care to:
- Licensees
- Trespassers
- Invitees (Correct answer)
- Adjacent landowners
Correct answer: Invitees
Invitees — those invited onto land for a business purpose or who are members of the public on land held open to the public — are owed the highest duty of reasonable care by landowners.
Question 2: The tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress requires conduct that is:
- Merely rude or insensitive
- Extreme and outrageous (Correct answer)
- Negligent and harmful
- Threatening and unlawful
Correct answer: Extreme and outrageous
IIED requires extreme and outrageous conduct that intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional distress — mere insults or rudeness are insufficient.
Question 3: Under West Virginia's joint and several liability rules after tort reform, joint and several liability applies only when a defendant is:
- Any co-defendant
- 30% or more at fault (Correct answer)
- More than 50% at fault
- The sole proximate cause
Correct answer: 30% or more at fault
Under WV Code § 55-7-24, defendants who are 30% or more at fault remain jointly and severally liable for the plaintiff's total damages.
Question 4: A successful defamation claim in West Virginia requires the plaintiff to prove the statement was:
- Embarrassing to the plaintiff
- False and defamatory (Correct answer)
- Offensive to a reasonable person
- Made with ill will toward the plaintiff
Correct answer: False and defamatory
Defamation requires proof of a false and defamatory statement of fact communicated to a third party that damages the plaintiff's reputation.
Question 5: The 'eggshell skull' rule in West Virginia tort law provides that a defendant:
- Is only liable for foreseeable harm to the plaintiff
- Takes the plaintiff as found, even if the plaintiff's injuries are unusually severe due to a pre-existing condition (Correct answer)
- Is not liable when the plaintiff's pre-existing condition caused the harm
- Is liable only for the portion of harm attributable to the tort
Correct answer: Takes the plaintiff as found, even if the plaintiff's injuries are unusually severe due to a pre-existing condition
The eggshell skull rule holds defendants fully liable for all harm caused to a plaintiff even if the plaintiff's unusual sensitivity or pre-existing condition made the injuries far worse than expected.
Question 6: Assumption of the risk as a defense in West Virginia requires the plaintiff to have:
- Created the risk causing harm
- Voluntarily and knowingly assumed a specific known risk (Correct answer)
- Been contributorily negligent
- Signed a written waiver of liability
Correct answer: Voluntarily and knowingly assumed a specific known risk
Assumption of the risk requires the plaintiff to have voluntarily encountered a known and appreciated specific risk; it is now generally merged into comparative fault analysis in West Virginia.
WV Bar Torts 2
In West Virginia, a landowner owes the highest duty of care to: