Deck 11: The Law of Torts

Question 1

An intentional tort is one in which the defendant is involved in a(n) ________.

A)careless action that can harm the plaintiff
B)purposeful action that can harm the plaintiff
C)action that is so inherently dangerous that no amount of due care can make it safe
D)civil wrong that fails to meet the standard of care that a reasonable person would meet

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The amount of compensatory damages awarded is ________.

A)sufficient to cover all injuries caused by the tort, including compensation for pain and suffering
B)sufficient to cover all injuries caused by the tort, excluding compensation for pain and suffering
C)sufficient to cover injuries due to pain and suffering
D)sufficient to cover the attorneys' fees

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Punitive damages are awarded ________.

A)to allow the victim to seek compensatory damages
B)to put the victim in the position he or she would have been in had the tort never taken place
C)to recognize that the plaintiff has been wronged
D)when the act of the tortfeasor is flagrant, unconscionable, or egregious

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The purpose of compensatory damages is to ________.

A)put the victim in the position he or she would have been in had the tort never taken place
B)recognize that the plaintiff has been wronged
C)punish the defendant
D)evaluate the extent of damages caused by the defendant in order to deliver a suitable prison sentence

Question 5

Which of the following is the primary distinguishing feature among the three classifications of torts?

A)the extent of harm that the wrongful conduct has caused
B)the amount of damages claimed by the plaintiff
C)the complexity of the wrongful conduct
D)the degree of willfulness of the wrongful conduct

Question 6

Which of the following types of damages seeks to put the victim in the position he or she would have been in had the tort never taken place?

A)compensatory
B)nominal
C)punitive
D)statutory

Question 7

Advocates of tort reform have tried to get the courts to strike down punitive damages as unconstitutional on the ground that ________.

A)punitive damages violate defendants' due process rights
B)the risk of incurring punitive damages rarely convinces manufacturers to produce safe products
C)the principles of a free market economy are violated by punitive damages
D)punitive damages are against the adversarial system of litigation

Question 8

A(n) ________ is a civil wrong that involves taking action that is so inherently dangerous under the circumstances of its performance that no amount of due care can make it safe.

A)intentional tort
B)statutory tort
C)strict liability tort
D)negligent tort

Question 9

Which of the following statements is true about nominal damages?

A)They cover medical bills and lost wages.
B)They allow the plaintiff to seek punitive damages.
C)They are awarded if the plaintiff is able to prove damages that necessitate compensation.
D)They are determined by the severity of the wrongful conduct and the wealth of the defendant.

Question 10

Which of the following statements is true of defamation?

A)If the defamation is published in a permanent form, the tort is called slander.
B)To recover damages in a case of libel, the plaintiff must demonstrate an actual monetary loss resulting from the defamatory statement.
C)A statement that is merely one of opinion and not a statement of a fact is not considered to be defamatory.
D)A plaintiff must prove special damages if the statements constitute slander per se.

Question 11

The amount of nominal damages awarded is ________.

A)sufficient to cover all of the plaintiff's expenses
B)sufficient to allow the plaintiff to seek punitive damages
C)based on the severity of the wrongful conduct
D)determined by the defendant's wealth

Question 12

Which of the following statements is true about the Common Sense Legal Reform Act?

A)It sought to limit punitive damages in all tort cases.
B)It allowed punitive damages only when the plaintiff could convincingly prove that the harm suffered was caused by actual malice.
C)It limited punitive damages to $1 million or five times the economic harm incurred by the plaintiff, whichever was greater.
D)It imposed limits on medical malpractice litigation in state and federal courts by capping awards and attorney fees.

Question 13

Which of the following statements is true about the Class Action Fairness Act?

A)It was designed to transfer the jurisdiction in class action tort suits from federal courts to state courts.
B)It favored the plaintiffs of class action suits as federal courts usually give larger awards than state courts in these suits.
C)It sharply reduced the number of class action suits filed in and removed to the federal courts.
D)It gave federal courts jurisdiction over class action cases in which there are at least 100 class action members.

Question 14

Which of the following is true of tort law?

A)It is considered a national law.
B)It is considered a state law.
C)It is considered a federal law.
D)It is considered an international law.

Question 15

Which of the following damages are considered by legal scholars to be especially useful in deterring manufacturers from making unsafe products?

A)punitive
B)compensatory
C)statutory
D)nominal

Question 16

Compensatory damages do not cover ________.

A)medical bills
B)lost wages
C)attorneys' fees
D)compensation for pain and suffering

Question 17

A(n) ________ refers to the intentional placing of a person in fear or apprehension of an immediate, offensive bodily contact.

A)assault
B)slander
C)appropriation
D)libel

Question 18

Which of the following types of damages is awarded when a plaintiff is unable to prove damages that would necessitate compensation?

A)restitutionary
B)nominal
C)punitive
D)statutory

Question 19

Which of the following statements is true about assault and battery?

A)If the plaintiff is aware that the defendant is incapable of carrying out a threat, it is not an assault.
B)Defense of a third person is permitted even if there is no socially recognized duty to defend that person.
C)A threat to commit harm in a week is considered as an assault.
D)Accidentally bumping into someone on a crowded street is considered a battery.

Question 20

Which of the following statements is true about punitive damages?

A)They can be awarded in a case where no nominal or compensatory damages are awarded.
B)They are designed to put the victim in the position he or she would have been in had the tort never taken place.
C)The Supreme Court has defined the maximum punitive damages that can be awarded as a ratio of compensatory to punitive damages awarded.
D)They are considered by some to be unconstitutional on the ground that they violate defendants' due process rights.

Question 21

Which of the following statements is true about defenses to defamation?

A)A person having absolute privilege can be sued for defamation if the statement is false.
B)A conditional privilege does not protect a defendant against any false statements.
C)If the plaintiff is a public figure, the plaintiff will have to prove that the defamation was made with malice.
D)Politicians are not subject to conditional privilege.

Question 22

Absolute privilege against a defamation action ________.

A)exists in the pressroom of a major newspaper
B)is given on the House and Senate floors during congressional debate
C)is provided within the confines of one's own private property
D)exists at one's place of employment

Question 23

________ refers to the intentional permanent removal of property from the rightful owner's possession and control.

A)Appropriation
B)False light
C)Disparagement
D)Conversion

Question 24

In a negligence per se doctrine, a plaintiff can use proof of the ________ as proof of negligence.

A)invasion of privacy
B)disparagement
C)violation of the statute
D)appropriation

Question 25

Which of the following is an intentional tort against economic interests?

A)misappropriation
B)conversion
C)false light
D)defamation

Question 26

Which of the following is an intentional tort against property?

A)defamation
B)conversion
C)assault
D)false imprisonment

Question 27

Which of the following is an example of false light?

A)The defendant publishes Mabel's medical records in the local newspaper without her consent.
B)The defendant publishes Mabel's picture alongside an article about the evils of gambling, even though Mabel has never gambled in her life.
C)The defendant uses a picture of Mabel in an advertisement for baked goods without paying her or obtaining her consent to use her picture.
D)The defendant invades Mabel's privacy by taking photographs of her inside her house.

Question 28

Jennifer and Sandra were partners in a large petrochemical firm. A dispute arose between them, and Sandra left the firm. Sandra set up a business as an oil producer, but she is constantly underbid by Jennifer. Which of the following torts is Jennifer committing?

A)disparagement
B)misappropriation
C)conversion
D)unfair competition

Question 29

Which of the following statements is true of false imprisonment?

A)The confinement of a person should be done by moral force alone.
B)It involves using a person's name or likeness for commercial gain without the person's permission.
C)It involves taking actions that would lead observers to make false assumptions about the person.
D)It is the intentional restraint of a person against that person's will and without justification.

Question 30

George writes an article about the evils of gambling and includes an untitled photograph of Paul in the article. Paul has never gambled in his life. He is an active member of a charitable organization and is well-known in his town. Which of the following statements is true about this scenario?

A)Paul can recover damages for defamation as he is a public figure for a limited purpose.
B)Paul can recover damages for defamation only if he proves that the defamation was made with malice.
C)Paul can claim damages on the grounds of invasion of privacy.
D)Paul can claim damages on the grounds of false light.

Question 31

________ is a tort that consists of encroaching on the solitude, seclusion, or personal affairs of someone who has the right to expect freedom from interference.

A)Public disclosure of private facts
B)Invasion of privacy
C)False light
D)Appropriation

Question 32

Jim is the leader of an anti-nepotism group. Mark, a former member of Jim's group, claims that Jim was involved in shoplifting. Which of the following statements is true about this scenario?

A)Jim has to prove that Mark made the defamatory statement in malice to recover for defamation.
B)Mark is protected by an absolute privilege as Jim is a public figure.
C)Mark is not protected by public figure privilege.
D)Jim does not have to prove that the defamatory statements are false to recover for defamation.

Question 33

Which of the following is true about conversion and trespass to personalty?

A)Intentionally entering the land of another without permission constitutes conversion.
B)A person who takes another's personal property without permission and returns it unharmed after a short duration has committed conversion.
C)Permanent removal of property from the owner's possession is considered as trespass to personalty.
D)Trespass to personalty occurs when one intentionally interferes with another's use and enjoyment of his or her personal property.

Question 34

Which of the following is a legal doctrine that allows a judge or a jury to infer negligence on the basis of the fact that accidents of the type that happened to the plaintiff generally do not occur in the absence of negligence on the part of someone in the defendant's position?

A)negligence per se
B)contributory negligence
C)comparative negligence
D)res ipsa loquitur

Question 35

Which of the following refers to the tort of intentional interference with a contract?

A)amending a license agreement without consulting the other party to the contract
B)claiming to a third party that a contract exists despite knowing that no contract has been negotiated
C)enticing a third party to breach a valid contract with the plaintiff
D)disclosing the terms of a confidential contract without obtaining the other party's permission

Question 36

Martin is a security guard in a clothing store. He suspects Emma, a customer, of shoplifting. He locks Emma in a room and does not allow her to leave the store until he has searched through her belongings and interrogated all the witnesses. If Emma is entirely innocent of any wrongdoing, and assuming that the state in which this occurred does not recognize the shopkeepers' privilege, which of the following torts has Martin committed?

A)trespass to personalty
B)conversion
C)false imprisonment
D)disparagement

Question 37

Which of the following statements is true of the reasonable-person standard used in a negligence lawsuit?

A)The reasonable-person standard is highly subjective.
B)The judge or jury determines what a reasonable person would do in a particular situation.
C)The code of ethics followed by the defendant's organization is used to determine the behavior of a reasonable person in a particular situation.
D)The reasonable-person standard is used to establish causation.

Question 38

Which of the following statements is true of trespass to realty?

A)A person is not guilty of trespass to realty if one did not know that the land belonged to another.
B)A person is guilty of trespass to realty if the person causes an object to be placed adjacent to the land he or she does not have permission to enter.
C)A person is not guilty of trespass to realty if he did not intend to be on a particular piece of land which he had not been granted permission to enter.
D)A person is guilty of trespass to realty if he causes an object to be placed on the land of another without the landowner's permission.

Question 39

Scorpeo Inc. responds to bomb threats by installing security cameras in its office, even in the toilets. It does not inform its employees about the security cameras. One of its employees decides to file a lawsuit against Scorpeo. Which of the following torts has Scorpeo committed in this scenario?

A)slander
B)invasion of privacy
C)false light
D)trespass to personalty

Question 40

Which of the following statements is true of negligence?

A)Negligence can result from the willful wrongdoing of a party.
B)If a business attempts to warn its customers about potential hazards, it cannot be considered negligent.
C)Proximate cause exists if both the plaintiff and the type of injury incurred by the plaintiff are foreseeable.
D)A party can bring an action in negligence seeking only nominal damages.

Question 41

Which of the following statements is true about the willingness of foreign courts to enforce U.S. tort judgments?

A)Courts in several nations, including Germany and England, have ruled that punitive damage awards violate their public policy interest in maintaining a purely compensatory tort system.
B)Germany and England are the only two countries whose courts have agreed to enforce U.S. punitive damages awards.
C)Foreign courts have demonstrated a willingness to support awards of punitive damages, but they have refused to enforce the awards of nominal and compensatory damages.
D)All foreign courts have demonstrated a willingness to enforce all U. S. tort judgments, including judgments for punitive, nominal, or compensatory damages.

Question 42

Which of the following statements is true of defenses to negligence?

A)Under the last-clear-chance doctrine, once the defendant establishes contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff, the plaintiff cannot recover damages.
B)The court determines the percentage of fault of the defendant under a contributory negligence defense.
C)In a modified comparative negligence defense, the plaintiff can recover if the defendant is more than 50 percent at fault.
D)The parties get to pick the most appropriate defense to negligence in a lawsuit.

Question 43

Public figures generally have access to the media and, therefore, need less protection than an ordinary private citizen.

Question 44

Which of the following refers to a defense to negligence that consists of proving that the plaintiff did not exercise the ordinary degree of care to protect against an unreasonable risk of harm and that this failure directly results in causing the plaintiff's harm?

A)negligence per se
B)contributory negligence
C)comparative negligence
D)res ipsa loquitur

Question 45

Which of the following refers to a defense to negligence that allocates recovery based on percentage of fault allocated to plaintiff and defendant?

A)negligence per se
B)contributory negligence
C)comparative negligence
D)res ipsa loquitur

Question 46

Which of the following statements is true about the enforcement of U.S. tort judgments in foreign countries?

A)Enforcement generally follows the terms of the treaties signed by the United States with foreign countries.
B)Enforcement depends on each nation's laws, as the United States has not signed any applicable treaties.
C)The plaintiff must enforce judgments through the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
D)Tort judgments cannot be enforced outside of the United States.

Question 47

Sean purchased a new car. One of the car's wheels came undone, and Sean crashed into a tree. Sean was not wearing his seatbelt when the car crashed. Sean filed a lawsuit against the car manufacturer. Which of the following statements is true in this scenario?

A)Sean assumed the risk as he was not wearing a seatbelt.
B)The car manufacturer is guilty of a strict liability tort.
C)Assumption of the risk is not a valid defense against Sean, as he could not have known that the wheel would become detached.
D)The car manufacturer can win the lawsuit by establishing the negligence per se doctrine.

Question 48

Which of the following best describes a strict liability tort?

A)publication of a false statement that is harmful to the plaintiff's reputation
B)a purposeful action that can harm the plaintiff
C)an action that is so inherently dangerous that no amount of due care can make it safe
D)taking actions that would lead observers to make false assumptions about a person

Question 49

The most common defense to a battery is self-defense.

Question 50

Tort law discourages private retaliation.

Question 51

In the context of intentional torts, intent is defined as a specific determination to cause harm to the plaintiff.

Question 52

Which of the following is a legal doctrine that says when a statute has been enacted to prevent a certain type of harm and the defendant violates that statute, causing that type of harm to befall the plaintiff, the plaintiff may use proof of the violation as proof of negligence?

A)negligence per se
B)contributory negligence
C)comparative negligence
D)res ipsa loquitur

Question 53

Which of the following can be used as a defense in a negligence case?

A)assumption of the risk
B)disparagement
C)appropriation
D)conversion

Question 54

The Class Action Fairness Act was designed to transfer jurisdiction in large, multistate class action tort suits from state courts to federal courts.

Question 55

Which of the following is an example of an activity that can give rise to a strict liability tort?

A)driving a car on a mountain road
B)opening a new restaurant
C)hiring an employee who is serving a contract with a competitor
D)using explosives to enlarge streets in a residential area

Question 56

The plaintiff has to prove that the defendant made the defamatory statement with malice in any defamation case.

Question 57

If a statement is merely one of opinion and not a statement of a fact, it is not considered defamatory.

Question 58

President Clinton vetoed the Common Sense Legal Reform Act.

Question 59

The Missouri state law limits the punitive damages that can be awarded if the state of Missouri is the plaintiff requesting the award of punitive damages.

Question 60

In a case of slander, the plaintiff can recover damages without proving any special damages.

Question 61

Publication in the context of any kind of defamation action means communication to a third party.

Question 62

If a person causes an object to be placed on the land of another without the landowner's permission, it is considered an instance of trespass to realty.

Question 63

Explain the invasion of privacy tort. How does it vary based on the situation?

Question 64

Actual cause is a factual matter of whether the defendant's conduct resulted in the plaintiff's injury.

Question 65

Conditional privilege is provided to employers to encourage them to give honest assessments of their former employees.

Question 66

Invasion of privacy is known as the shopkeepers' tort.

Question 67

What are the goals of tort law?

Question 68

Why should the public figure privilege be extended to defamatory statements published over the Internet?

Question 69

Explain how comparative negligence can be used as a defense to negligence.

Question 70

A party can bring an action in negligence seeking only nominal damages.

Question 71

A plaintiff need not prove actual economic loss to recover damages in a disparagement case.

Question 72

In most states, the plaintiff can recover damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress even if there are no physical symptoms caused by the emotional distress.

Question 73

Explain the difference between trespass to personalty and conversion with examples.

Question 74

Only permanent removal of property from the owner's possession and control constitutes conversion.

Question 75

Pure comparative negligence requires the defendant to be more than 50 percent at fault before the plaintiff can recover.

Question 76

Explain how the U.S. Supreme Court determines whether a punitive damages award is so excessive as to violate the due process. How did it clarify this in the State Farm v. Campbell case?

Question 77

Explain the rationale behind the requirement of demonstrating physical harm to recover damages in cases of intentional infliction of emotional distress.