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McInnes/Kerr/VanDuzer: Managing the Law: The Legal Aspects of Doing Business, Fourth Edition
Chapter 3: Introduction to Torts
7) Sasha committed a tort against Katarina. Katarina wants to recover compensatory
damages. Identify and briefly explain two doctrines that may limit the amount of money
that she actually receives.
8) What is an “alternative compensation scheme”? From the perspective of an injured
person, what are the advantages and disadvantages of receiving relief under an alternative
compensation scheme, rather than under tort law?
McInnes/Kerr/VanDuzer: Managing the Law: The Legal Aspects of Doing Business, Fourth Edition
Chapter 3: Introduction to Torts
9) Explain how torts are classified according to the degree of mental culpability. Your
answer should include examples of each category within that classification system.
McInnes/Kerr/VanDuzer: Managing the Law: The Legal Aspects of Doing Business, Fourth Edition
Chapter 3: Introduction to Torts
10) Eliza adores animals. Consequently, although she works in a small office, she brings a
number of pets to work with her every day. She always brings Higgins, her poodle.
Depending upon the circumstances, she often also brings Henry, her badger. For the most
part, the animals cause no problems. Eliza is very conscientious and she takes every
precaution to ensure that her animals do not cause any damage to the people and property
around them. Unfortunately, as a result of a thunderstorm, both Henry and Higgins became
unusually agitated one day at Eliza’s office. And despite Eliza’s best efforts to comfort and
control them, they both bit Rex, a courier delivery person, as he entered Eliza’s office. Eliza
is very apologetic, but she does not believe that she should be liable for the losses that Rex
suffered as a result of the attack. She did, after all, do her best to protect Rex from harm,
both by training Henry and Higgins to behave gently toward strangers and by trying to calm
them down during the storm. Based on the common law rules discussed in Chapter 3,
would a court hold Eliza liable to Rex? If so, on what basis?
McInnes/Kerr/VanDuzer: Managing the Law: The Legal Aspects of Doing Business, Fourth Edition
Chapter 3: Introduction to Torts
11) The provincial government has become very concerned about the number of torts that
occur each year that result in personal injuries. Aside from the human misery that they
cause, those accidents cost society a great deal of money. A tort victim cannot be a
productive member of the work force while they are recuperating at home or in hospital.
The provincial government consequently has asked you to prepare a report on how the rules
in tort law might be reformed to more effectively deter tortious behaviour. Your report
should include a discussion of (a) the availability of liability insurance, and (b) the rules of
vicarious liability. You have also been asked to consider whether it is always desirable to
deter activities that may result in tortious losses.
McInnes/Kerr/VanDuzer: Managing the Law: The Legal Aspects of Doing Business, Fourth Edition
Chapter 3: Introduction to Torts
McInnes/Kerr/VanDuzer: Managing the Law: The Legal Aspects of Doing Business, Fourth Edition
Chapter 3: Introduction to Torts
12) Until recently, Tamara worked in a warehouse, earning $3000 a month. She was
required to quit her job, however, after being injured in a skiing accident that was tortiously
caused by Buck. That injury required Tamara to spend two months in the hospital. After
being discharged from the hospital, Tamara was further required to complete an intensive
physiotherapy program over the course of a month. At the end of that month, her physician
told her that while she could never return to work in a warehouse, she should immediately
take up employment in a less demanding (and lower paying) job. Nevertheless, for the next
two months, Tamara chose to do nothing at all beyond watching television and listening to
music. As her financial difficulties deepened, she eventually decided to re-train as a
secretary. She therefore enrolled in a three-month secretarial course, for which she was
required to pay a total of $3000. At the end of that course Tamara promptly returned to
workforce, this time as a secretary at a salary of $2000 per month. Exactly one year has
now passed since Tamara began working as a secretary. How much is she entitled to
receive from Buck by way of damages for lost income in the past?
McInnes/Kerr/VanDuzer: Managing the Law: The Legal Aspects of Doing Business, Fourth Edition
Chapter 3: Introduction to Torts
13) Sinead owns a cottage that has been in her family for generations. Until recently, the
natural beauty of the property was enhanced by surrounding forest, which consisted of old-
growth trees that had taken generations to reach full maturity. Sinead was therefore
devastated when she last visited her cottage and discovered that all of those trees had been
cut down and dragged away. It was not difficult to identify the culprit. Xarol Developments
Inc had purchased a number of nearby properties with the intention of building new, luxury
cottages for the high-end market. In order to add to the value of those properties, Xarol had
entered onto Sinead’s land and cut down her trees, thereby allowing the new cottages that it
was building to have unobstructed views of the nearby lake. Xarol has admitted to
committing a trespass to land and has offered to pay for the value of the trees. It does so
secure in the knowledge that it would still reap a substantial profit of $100 000 from its
actions as a result of being able to sell its new cottages for higher prices. Sinead disagrees.
She believes that she is entitled, in addition to compensatory damages for her loss, to
punitive damages worth $5 million. She settled on that figure after watching a television
program that dealt with punitive damages in American courts. (She could not find a similar
program on Canadian law.) Is a Canadian court likely to award punitive damages? If so, it
is likely to award punitive damages worth $5 million? Explain your answer.
McInnes/Kerr/VanDuzer: Managing the Law: The Legal Aspects of Doing Business, Fourth Edition
Chapter 3: Introduction to Torts
14) Alpha Corp owns a large plot of land called Blackacre. Except for one corner of that
property, where Alpha’s factory, offices, and warehouse are located, Blackacre is
undeveloped. Omega Inc owns a piece of land that shares a common border with Blackacre.
That border is located at the edge of an undeveloped section of Blackacre. Omega’s
property contains a number of buildings, including a manufacturing plant. That plant
generates a considerable amount of waste. For the past 10 months, Omega has greatly
reduced its waste disposal expenses by simply dumping its waste onto Blackacre, rather
than transporting the waste to a proper dumpsite. Alpha objected to the waste from the
outset and initially tried to resolve the issue through friendly negotiations. It eventually
became clear, however, that Omega would not voluntarily stop dumping waste onto
Blackacre. Alpha consequently sued Omega for trespass to land. The court agreed with the
claim and imposed liability upon Omega. The judge is now required to decide which
remedy or remedies Alpha is entitled to receive. In that respect, Alpha has shown three
things. (i) It will cost $75 000 to remove Omega’s waste from Blackacre. (ii) Omega will
dump waste onto Blackacre again in the future unless there is something to prevent it from
doing so. And (iii) Deliberate dumping of this sort has become a widespread problem
because manufacturers, such as Omega, often believe that while the expense of properly
disposing of waste material is much the same whether the work is done immediately or
whether it is done only after a court has imposed liability, there is always a chance that the
victim of a tort will not, for some reason, actually take the problem to court. Consequently,
manufacturers often believe that there is little to lose, and potentially much to gain, by
tortiously dumping waste on neighbouring properties. What remedies should be awarded
against Omega on these facts?
McInnes/Kerr/VanDuzer: Managing the Law: The Legal Aspects of Doing Business, Fourth Edition
Chapter 3: Introduction to Torts
15) Bondi Shipping Corp steered its ship, The Surf, into a dock that was owned by
Bradman Inc. Bondi intended to make certain repairs to The Surf. During the course of
those repairs, Bondi’s employees carelessly allowed a chemical, known as australite, to leak
into the water surrounding the dock. The australite, which floated on the surface of the
water, caught fire after sparks from a welding gun that Bondi’s employees were using fell
into the water and onto the australite. The flames spread quickly and Bradman’s dock was
entirely destroyed. The total cost of the damage is $2 million. The court has found that
Bondi is vicariously responsible for the actions of its employees, and that those employees
committed the tort of negligence when they carelessly allowed australite to leak out of The
Surf and onto the water. The court also found that while it is now obvious that australite is
flammable in some circumstances, no one knew (or could have known) at the time of the
accident that australite is flammable. Will Bondi be held liable to Bradman for
compensatory damages? Provide the best explanation for your answer.
McInnes/Kerr/VanDuzer: Managing the Law: The Legal Aspects of Doing Business, Fourth Edition
Chapter 3: Introduction to Torts
