Question 1

In Obsidian Finance Group,LLC v.Cox,the case in the text,the court held that the Gertz negligence requirement for private defamation actions:

Accepted Answer

The court held that the Gertz negligence requirement for private defamation actions is not limited to cases with institutional media defendants.

Question 2

A party other than the person who initially made a defamatory statement may be liable along with the original speaker or writer if that other party served as a ________ of the defamatory falsehood but not if the other party was a mere ________.

Accepted Answer

A party other than the person who initially made a defamatory statement may be liable along with the original speaker or writer if that other party served as a publisher of the defamatory falsehood but not if the other party was a mere distributor.

Question 3

In a conversation,Donna falsely tells Wendy that Paul has Krabbe disease,a rare genetic disorder.Paul wants to sue Donna for defamation,but he is having trouble showing any tangible financial loss.Must Paul prove special damages in order to recover against Donna? Why or why not?

Accepted Answer

The answer of In a conversation,Donna falsely tells Wendy that...

Question 4

Which of the following is not an example of a conditional privilege in a defamation case?

Accepted Answer

Each of these are examples of conditional privileges except for statements that are the truth because the truth is a complete defense to liability-not a conditional privilege.

Question 5

In the case in the text,Jordan v.Jewel Food Stores,Inc. ,the court reversed the trial courts judgment because:

Accepted Answer

The court held that the ad's commercial nature was readily apparent.It stated the ad may have been generic and implicit,but it was nonetheless clear.The ad was a form of image advertising aimed at promoting goodwill for the Jewel-Osco brand by exploiting public affection for Jordan at an auspicious moment in his career.

Question 6

The Daily Tattler,a supermarket-checkout-counter tabloid,says that a U.S.Senator has fathered fourteen illegitimate children.The statement is false and defamatory.If the Senator sues the Tattler for libel,which fault or culpability standard applies? Why?

Accepted Answer

The answer of The Daily Tattler,a supermarket-checkout-counter tabloid,says that a...

Question 7

As a prank,Joe signs Susan's name to a pro-abortion petition that appears in a local newspaper.Susan is passionately opposed to abortion.Thus,Susan sues Joe for both defamation and for putting her in a false light in the public eye.Is Joe liable for either tort? If it matters,assume that the town in question is a fairly liberal one with a lot of abortion supporters.

Accepted Answer

The answer of As a prank,Joe signs Susan's name to...

Question 8

In Bertrand v.Mullin,the case in the text,the court held that:

Accepted Answer

The court concluded that the evidence failed to establish actual malice.The failure to write the advertisement in a way to avoid the false implication may have been negligence,but it did not rise to the level of reckless disregard for the truth.The evidence failed to support the high degree of subjective awareness of falsity needed for a public official to recover for defamation.

Question 9

A person distributes unsolicited e-mails to large numbers of employees of the company.
He does so illegally from the company's e-mail system without consent of the company.Has the distributor committed the tort of trespass to personal property?

Accepted Answer

The answer of A person distributes unsolicited e-mails to large...

Question 10

After a student named Bob insults him in class,Marvin,a business law professor,pulls out his .38-revolver and fires a shot at the student.The shot misses Bob,but strikes another student named Cathy,who never saw the shot coming and never knew what hit her.Bob and Cathy sue Marvin for assault and battery.Who can recover for what? Why?

Accepted Answer

The answer of After a student named Bob insults him...

Quiz 6: Intentional Torts

In Obsidian Finance Group,LLC v.Cox,the case in the text,the court held that the Gertz negligence requirement for private defamation actions:

A party other than the person who initially made a defamatory statement may be liable along with the original speaker or writer if that other party served as a of the defamatory falsehood but not if the other party was a mere .

In a conversation,Donna falsely tells Wendy that Paul has Krabbe disease,a rare genetic disorder.Paul wants to sue Donna for defamation,but he is having trouble showing any tangible financial loss.Must Paul prove special damages in order to recover against Donna? Why or why not?

Which of the following is not an example of a conditional privilege in a defamation case?

In the case in the text,Jordan v.Jewel Food Stores,Inc. ,the court reversed the trial courts judgment because:

The Daily Tattler,a supermarket-checkout-counter tabloid,says that a U.S.Senator has fathered fourteen illegitimate children.The statement is false and defamatory.If the Senator sues the Tattler for libel,which fault or culpability standard applies? Why?

In Bertrand v.Mullin,the case in the text,the court held that:

A person distributes unsolicited e-mails to large numbers of employees of the company. He does so illegally from the company's e-mail system without consent of the company.Has the distributor committed the tort of trespass to personal property?