Deck 12: Special Tort Actions

Question 1

Wrongful birth cases sometimes involve birth defects.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Under private nuisance, unreasonable use that substantially interferes with neighboring land uses is defined in terms of

A) negligence.
B) strict liability.
C) offensiveness.
D) All of these choices.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

All of the following are remedies for nuisance except

A) money damages.
B) abatement.
C) liquidated damages.
D) TROs.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A public nuisance can affect only a single person and be actionable by the prosecutor.

Question 5

Under public nuisance, the public's common legal rights are affected.

Question 6

In private nuisance law, unreasonable uses are defined by the reasonable person standard, which is usually a community standard.

Question 7

The term use and enjoyment is often used in

A) nuisance cases.
B) negligence per se cases.
C) wrongful death cases.
D) wrongful birth cases.

Question 8

Which of the following best illustrates a private nuisance?

A) Cathy has raised hogs on her farm since 1990. Dale began a subdivision development adjacent to the farm in 1992. The smell from Cathy's farm has severely reduced lot sales in Dale's subdivision.
B) Arnie sells pornographic literature at his "camera shop" downtown across from an elementary school. The city prosecutor filed a criminal complaint to shut down Arnie's operation under a local ordinance.
C) Juan bought a rock pulverizing machine with which he makes homemade cement. Juan works at a night job from 10:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. and then runs the machine from 3:00 to 6:00 a.m. before going to bed. The machine can be heard clearly at a distance of five blocks.
D) None of these choices.

Question 9

Smoking in public, where such activity is prohibited, is considered a

A) nuisance per se.
B) negligence per se.
C) mixed nuisance.
D) private nuisance.

Question 10

Which type of activity can constitute private nuisance?

A) Physical effects on land
B) Health hazards or offending sensibilities
C) Unwanted associations with neighboring land uses
D) All of these choices.

Question 11

Activities that constitute both a public and private nuisance are called

A) nuisances per se.
B) community nuisances.
C) mixed nuisances.
D) None of these choices.

Question 12

In wrongful life actions, it is the parents who are seeking damages.

Question 13

An unreasonable or unlawful use of one's real property that injures another person or interferes with another person's use of his or her land is called

A) negligence per se.
B) nuisance.
C) toxic tort.
D) absolute liability.

Question 14

When a land user arrives after an alleged nuisance activity has existed and been previously operating, the defendant may use the ______ defense.

A) "becoming the nuisance"
B) "coming to the nuisance"
C) "following the nuisance"
D) "nuisance per se"

Question 15

Mandamus is a type of monetary damages for nuisance actions.

Question 16

Which of the following best illustrates a public nuisance?

A) Cathy has raised hogs on her farm since 1990. Dale began a subdivision development adjacent to the farm in 1992. The smell from Cathy's farm has severely reduced lot sales in Dale's subdivision.
B) Arnie sells pornographic literature at his "camera shop" downtown across from an elementary school. The city prosecutor filed a criminal complaint to shut down Arnie's operation under a local ordinance.
C) Juan bought a rock pulverizing machine with which he makes homemade cement. Juan works at a night job from 10:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. and then runs the machine from 3:00 to 6:00 a.m. before going to bed. The machine can be heard clearly at a distance of five blocks.
D) All of these choices.

Question 17

"Coming to the nuisance" is a defense to public nuisance actions.

Question 18

Tort defenses are not applicable in wrongful death actions.

Question 19

Common targets of public nuisance laws include nudist colonies.

Question 20

Wrongful death actions are often controlled by statute.

Question 21

Wrongful birth actions often involve

A) abortion.
B) death.
C) pregnancy.
D) All of these choices.

Question 22

Loss of consortium is defined as

A) lost wages.
B) lost use of body parts.
C) lost love and companionship.
D) All of these choices.

Question 23

In nuisance cases,

A) only money damages are awarded.
B) injunctions are most often granted.
C) equitable remedies are not awarded.
D) None of these choices.

Question 24

Under wrongful death statutes, who may sue the tortfeasor?

A) Dependents of the dead person
B) The decedent's siblings
C) The decedent's estate
D) All of these choices.

Question 25

In wrongful death actions, which of the following damages are usually not recoverable?

A) Lost lifetime earnings potential
B) Loss of consortium
C) Punitive damages
D) None of these choices.