1
Chapter 6
Torts
TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS
B1. Two notions serve as the basis for all torts: wrongs and compensation.
B2. Tort law provides remedies for acts that cause personal injury but not for acts
that interfere with physical security.
B3. The goal of tort law is to put a defendant in the position that he or she would
have been in had the tort occurred to the defendant.
B4. Occasionally, the courts award punitive damages in tort cases to punish the
wrongdoer and deter others from similar wrongdoing.
B5. A successful defense releases the defendant from partial or full liability for a
tortious act.
2 TEST BANK B—UNIT TWO: TORTS AND CRIMES
B6. There are three broad classifications of torts: intentional torts, unintentional
torts, and accidental torts.
B7. Moral pressure constitutes false imprisonment.
B8. When outrageous conduct consists of speech about a public figure, the First
Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech limits emotional distress claims.
B9. A misrepresentation leads another to believer in a condition that is different
from the condition that actually exists.
B10. For fraud to occur, seller’s talk must be involved.
B11. Abuse of process applies to any person using a legal process against another
in an improper manner.
B12. Specifically targeting the customers of a competitor is always a legitimate
business practice.
CHAPTER 6: TORTS 3
B13. The tort of trespass to land is designed to protect the right of an owner to
exclusive possession.
B14. Most states do not allow automobile repair shops to hold a customer’s car
when the customer refuses to pay for repairs already completed.
B15. Failure to live up to a standard of care may be an act or an omission.
B16. The duty to exercise reasonable care requires storeowners to warn business
invitees of all risks.
B17. Judges use proximate cause to limit the scope of a defendant’s liability to a
subset of the total number of potential plaintiffs that might have been harmed
by the defendant’s negligence.
B18. Negligence per se may occur if an individual violates a statute or an ordinance
providing for a criminal penalty and the violation causes another to be injured.
B19. Courts apply the assumption of risk doctrine only in emergency situations.
4 TEST BANK B—UNIT TWO: TORTS AND CRIMES
B20. Under the doctrine of comparative negligence, only the plaintiff’s negligence is
computed and the liability for damages is distributed accordingly.
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
B1. Hayley is injured in an incident caused by Isolde. Hayley files a tort action
against Isolde, seeking to recover for the damage suffered. Damages that are
intended to compensate or reimburse a plaintiff for actual losses are
a. compensatory damages.
b. reimbursement damages.
c. actual damages.
d. punitive damages.
B2. Ladd throws a rock intending to hit Minh but misses and hits Nasir instead. On
the basis of the tort of battery, Nasir can sue
a. Ladd.
b. Minh.
c. the rightful owner of the rock.
d. no one.
CHAPTER 6: TORTS 5
B3. Luella trespasses on Merchandise Mart’s property. Through the use of rea–
sonable force, Merchandise Mart’s security guard Norris detains Luella until the
police arrive. Merchandise Mart is liable for
a. assault.
b. battery.
c. false imprisonment.
d. none of the choices.
B4. Jackie, an accountant, distributes a flyer to her business clients and potential
customers that accuses her competitor Ked of being a convicted thief. The
statement is defamatory if
a. a recipient of one of the handbills repeats it.
b. Ked suffers emotional distress.
c. the statement is true.
d. the statement is false.
B5. Jayne develops a new color of lipstick. To market her lipstick, Jayne uses a
computer design program to show a famous model using Jayne’s lipstick.
Jayne does not ask the model’s permission. The model can sue Jayne for
a. battery.
b. fraudulent misrepresentation.
c. defamation.
d. appropriation.
6 TEST BANK B—UNIT TWO: TORTS AND CRIMES
B6. Brady knows that the brakes on his car do not work, but he tells Celia, a
potential buyer, that there are no problems with the car. On this assurance,
Celia buys the car. When she learns the truth, Celia may sue Brady for
a. trade libel.
b. conversion.
c. fraudulent misrepresentation.
d. appropriation.
B7. Jenny Lee is an appliance salesperson. To make a sale, she asserts that a
certain model of a Kitchen Helper refrigerator is the “best one ever made.” This
is
a. fraud if the statement is not true.
b. fraud if Jenny Lee believes that this statement is not true.
c. fraud if Jenny Lee is stating her opinion, not the facts.
d. not fraud.
B8. Dom, an EZ Baked Goods salesperson, follows Flora, a salesperson for Gooey
Pastries, Inc., as she attempts to make sales to food stores. Dom solicits each
of Flora’s customers. Dom is most likely liable for wrongful interference with a
a. bargaining relationship.
b. business relationship.
c. contractual relationship.
d. customer relationship.
CHAPTER 6: TORTS 7
B9. OK Dry-Cleaning advertises so effectively that the regular customers of its
competitor Purity Cleaners patronize OK instead of Purity. This is
a. appropriation.
b. wrongful interference with a contractual relationship.
c. no tort.
d. wrongful interference with a business relationship.
B10. Oakes enters Parnell’s property to read an electric meter. Parnell asks Oakes
to leave. Oakes refuses. Oakes has most likely committed
a. trespass to land.
b. trespass to personal property.
c. slander of title.
d. no tort.
B11. In advertising circulars, Lo-Price Autos falsely accuses Hi-Value Vehicles, a
competitor, of selling stolen cars. Hi-Value’s sales decrease. Lo-Price has most
likely committed
a. slander of quality.
b. slander of title.
c. wrongful interference with a business relationship.
d. none of the choices.
8 TEST BANK B—UNIT TWO: TORTS AND CRIMES
B12. Fifi, a clerk at a Games n’ Gamers store, takes a video game player and a
selection of new games from the store without permission. Fifi is liable for
a. appropriation.
b. conversion.
c. malicious prosecution.
d. wrongful interference with a business relationship.
B13. Bette backs out of City Parking Garage, colliding with Dill’s car and thereby
causing damage to the vehicle. Dill may recover the cost of repair if Bette failed
to act as
a. a blameless person.
b a faultless person.
c. a professional person.
d. a reasonable person.
B14. Cook’s Pantry Appliances, a retail store, must use reasonable care on its
premises to warn its patrons of
a. all risks.
b. hidden risks.
c. obvious risks.
d. no risks.
CHAPTER 6: TORTS 9
B15. Rafi, a van driver for Speedy Delivery Company, causes a multi-vehicle
accident on a city street. Rafi and Speedy are liable to
a. all those who were injured.
b. only those who were uninsured.
c. only those whose injuries could have been reasonably foreseen.
d. only those whose vehicles were closest to Rafi’s van.
B16. Duffy is a passenger in a car that Caleb is driving when an accident occurs.
Both Caleb and Duffy are emotionally rattled, but neither is physically hurt.
Caleb is not liable to Dufy on a negligence theory because
a. both parties were emotionally rattled.
b. Caleb apparently did not intend to cause an accident.
c. Duffy must have been comparatively negligent.
d. Duffy was not injured.
B17. An Iowa state statute requires amusement parks to maintain equipment in
specific condition for the protection of patrons. Jack’s Fun Park fails to maintain
its equipment. Keely, a patron, is injured. Jack’s has committed
a. a violation of a dram shop act.
b. negligence per se.
c. res ipsa loquitur.
d. a violation of a Good Samaritan statute.
10 TEST BANK B—UNIT TWO: TORTS AND CRIMES
B18. Liu enters Mountain Triathlon, an athletic competition in which Liu has never
competed. Regarding the risk of injury, Liu assumes the risks
a. attributable to the triathlon in any way.
b. different from the risks normally associated with the triathlon.
c. greater than the risks normally associated with the triathlon.
d. normally associated with the triathlon.
B19. Oliver slips and falls on Port Harbor’s Tour Boat and is injured. Oliver files a
suit against Port Harbor for $500,000. If Oliver is 20 percent at fault and Port
Harbor is 80 percent, under the “50 percent rule” comparative negligence
principles, Oliver would recover
a. $0.
b. $250,000.
c. $400,000.
d. $500,000.
B20. Precision Crafted Tools, Inc., makes tools for consumers and construction
professionals. While using a Precision Crafted tool to replace an electrical
fixture, Quinn neglects to shut off the power and is electrocuted. Quinn’s heirs
file a suit against Precision Crafted. In a contributory negligence jurisdiction,
the plaintiffs could recover
a. only if both parties were equally at fault.
b. only if Quinn was less than 50 percent at fault.
c. only if Precision Crafted was more than 51 percent at fault.
d. nothing.
CHAPTER 6: TORTS 11
ESSAY QUESTIONS
B1. Data Analytics, Inc., and eProducts Corporation market competing software
products. Data Analytics launches an advertising campaign claiming that
eProducts, instead of testing software before it is marketed, has customers
“test” the software by using it. eProducts knows this is not true but begins to
lose sales to Data Analytics. On what grounds could eProducts sue Data
Analytics for injury to eProducts’ reputation?
B2. Dixie, a driver for Express Delivery Company, leaves the truck’s motor running
in neutral and carelessly forgets to set the parking brake while she makes a
delivery. The truck rolls and crashes into a nearby gas station pump, igniting a
fire that spreads quickly to a construction site a block away. A burned wall col-
12 TEST BANK B—UNIT TWO: TORTS AND CRIMES
lapses onto a crane, which falls on Fazio, a bystander, and injures him. What
must Fazio show to recover damages from Express Delivery?