WV Bar Torts 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In West Virginia, the statute of limitations for most personal injury tort claims is:
- One year
- Two years (Correct answer)
- Three years
- Four years
Correct answer: Two years
West Virginia Code § 55-2-12 provides a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury actions including most tort claims.
Question 2: West Virginia adopted comparative fault in 1986. Under its system, a plaintiff who is 51% at fault may:
- Recover full damages
- Recover reduced damages proportional to defendant's fault
- Not recover any damages (Correct answer)
- Recover only economic damages
Correct answer: Not recover any damages
West Virginia follows modified comparative fault with the 50% bar rule — a plaintiff who is 51% or more at fault is barred from recovery entirely.
Question 3: To establish negligence per se in West Virginia, a plaintiff must show the defendant violated a statute designed to:
- Benefit the general public
- Protect a class of persons that includes the plaintiff from the type of harm suffered (Correct answer)
- Prevent all types of accidents
- Impose strict liability on tortfeasors
Correct answer: Protect a class of persons that includes the plaintiff from the type of harm suffered
Negligence per se applies when a statute is violated and the plaintiff is within the class of persons the statute was designed to protect and suffered the type of harm the statute was designed to prevent.
Question 4: Under West Virginia products liability law, a manufacturer may be held strictly liable when:
- It was negligent in manufacturing the product
- A product defect made it unreasonably dangerous and caused harm (Correct answer)
- The product failed to meet the buyer's expectations
- The consumer did not read the product warnings
Correct answer: A product defect made it unreasonably dangerous and caused harm
West Virginia follows the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A strict products liability, holding sellers liable for unreasonably dangerous product defects regardless of negligence.
Question 5: The intentional tort of battery requires:
- Actual physical injury to the victim
- Harmful or offensive contact with the plaintiff's person (Correct answer)
- Fear of imminent contact
- Consent to the contact withdrawn after the fact
Correct answer: Harmful or offensive contact with the plaintiff's person
Battery is the intentional harmful or offensive contact with another person's body; actual injury is not required — offensiveness alone satisfies the contact element.
Question 6: Which element distinguishes trespass to land from private nuisance?
- Intent to enter the land
- Physical invasion versus interference with use and enjoyment (Correct answer)
- Ownership of the land
- Amount of damages suffered
Correct answer: Physical invasion versus interference with use and enjoyment
Trespass involves a physical invasion of the plaintiff's land, while private nuisance involves interference with the plaintiff's use and enjoyment without necessarily entering the land.
WV Bar Torts 1
In West Virginia, the statute of limitations for most personal injury tort claims is: