Chapter 4
Torts and Cyber Torts
N.B.: TYPE indicates that a question is new, modified, or unchanged, as follows.
N A question new to this edition of the Test Bank.
+ A question modified from the previous edition of the Test Bank,
= A question included in the previous edition of the Test Bank.
TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS
1. False imprisonment occurs when a person restrains another intentionally and
without justification.
2. Through tort law, society compensates those who suffer injuries as a result of
others’ wrongful conduct.
3. Very few states have limited the amount of damages that can be awarded in
tort cases.
4. Class-action lawsuits are suits in which a number of persons join together to
bring an action.
5. To commit an intentional tort, one person must intend to harm a certain person.
6. For a tort to be considered intentional, the tortfeasor must have an evil or
harmful motive.
7. Self-defense is a defense to an allegation of both assault and battery.
8. Defense of others is a defense to an allegation of battery, but not assault.
9. A party cannot recover damages for severe emotional distress absent a show-
ing of physical injury.
10. Defamation is one person’s use of another’s name without permission.
11. Statements made by in judicial proceedings are NOT privileged
communications and may be the basis for defamation.
12. The public disclosure of private facts about a person is an invasion of privacy.
13. The use of a person’s likeness for commercial purposes without permission is
appropriation.
14. Fraud occurs only when there is reliance on a statement of opinion.
15. Any lawful contract can potentially form the basis for an action based on
wrongful interference with a contractual relationship.
16. The courts consider legitimate competitive behavior permissible only if it does
not result in the breaking of a contract.
17. If it can be shown that a trespass to land was warranted, a complete defense
exists.
18. Wrongfully taking personal property without the owner’s permission is
conversion.
19. A failure to return personal property is disparagement of property even if the
rightful owner consented to the initial taking.
20. Disparagement of property is another term for slander of quality.
21. Failure to live up to a standard of care may be an act or an omission.
22. To determine whether a duty of care has been breached, a judge asks how a
reasonable person would have acted in the same circumstances.
23. Under the theory of negligence, the duty of care requires a careless act.
24. To avoid liability for negligence, a business owner must protect its patrons
against all risks.
25. Some risks are obvious but that does not necessarily excuse a business owner
from the duty to protect customers from foreseeable harm.
26. Proximate cause exists when the connection between an act and an injury is
strong enough to justify imposing liability.
27. Harm must be foreseeable to be considered the proximate cause of an injury in
negligence.
28. If no harm results from an allegedly negligent act, there is no liability.
29. Self-defense is a defense to negligence.
30. An assumption of risk defense does not require that a risk be voluntarily
assumed.
31. Under the doctrine of comparative negligence, only the plaintiff’s negligence is
taken into consideration.
32. Under the “danger invites rescue” doctrine, a person who tries to rescue
another individual from harm is liable for any injuries to that individual.
33. Under a dram shop act, liability can be imposed without proof of negligence.
34. The extreme risk of an activity is a defense against imposing strict liability.
35. An Internet service provider cannot be held liable for disseminating others’
defamatory remarks.
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005
a. shifted jurisdiction over certain class-action lawsuits from the state
courts to the federal courts.
b. shifted jurisdiction over certain class-action lawsuits from the federal
courts to the state courts.
c. made forum shopping punishable by large fines.
d. limited the amount of damages that could be awarded in a medical
malpractice suit.
2. Ike pushes Joan, who falls and breaks her arm. Ike is liable for the injury
a. if Ike intended to push Joan.
b. only if Ike did not intend to break Joan’s arm.
c. only if Ike had a bad motive for pushing Joan.
d. only if Ike intended to break Joan’s arm.
3. Mary is angry with Julia so she waits outside Julia’s house and hits Julia with a
baseball bat as Julia leaves the house. When Julia sues Mary for battery, Mary
will be considered a
a. victim.
b. tortfeasor.
c. plaintiff.
d. unreasonable person.
4. Louis—larger and stronger than Mica—threatens to hit Mica before hitting and
injuring him. Mica files a suit against Louis for assault and battery. Mica will
most likely recover for
a. assault and battery.
b. assault but not battery.
c. battery but not assault.
d. neither assault nor battery.
5. Liz trespasses on Mega Corporation’s property. Through the use of reasonable
force, Mega’s security guard Ned detains Liz until the police arrive. Mega is
liable for
a. assault.
b. battery.
c. false imprisonment.
d. none of the choices.
6. Roger wants Andy to work late on a project. He tells Andy that the morally
correct thing to do is to stay late at the office and work on the project. Andy
feels obligated to stay and work late due to the moral pressure from Roger.
Andy stays late at the office, even though he does not want to. Andy can sue
Roger for
a. false imprisonment.
b. battery.
c. defamation.
d. no tort.
7. Jackie distributes a handbill throughout her neighborhood accusing her
neighbor Ked of being a convicted sex offender. The statement is defamatory if
a. a neighbor repeats it.
b. Ked suffers emotional distress.
c. the statement is true.
d. the statement is false.
8. Glen falsely accuses Hu of stealing from Island Tours, Inc., their employer.
Glen’s statement is NOT defamatory if
a. only Hu hears it.
b. a third party hears it.
c. the statement is published.
d. the statement is a lie.
9. Jane develops a new color of lipstick. To market her lipstick, Jane uses a
computer design program to show a famous model using Jane’s lipstick. Jane
does not ask the model’s permission. The model can sue Jane for
a. battery.
b. fraudulent misrepresentation.
c. defamation.
d. appropriation.
10. Barbara is selling her car. She knows that the brakes do not work. When a
potential buyer asks Barbara if there are any problems with the car, Barbara
assures the buyer that there are no problems. The buyer purchases the car
based on the assurance that there is nothing wrong with it. The buyer may be
able to sue Barbara for
a. assault.
b. defamation.
c. fraudulent misrepresentation.
d. appropriation.
11. Obie accuses Portia, a broker with QT Financial Services, of fraudulently
inducing him to invest in Risky Development Company, whose stock price
declines in value. The reliance that gives rise to liability for fraud requires
a. a subjective statement.
b. misrepresentation of a fact knowing that it is false.
c. puffery.
d. seller’s talk.
12. Jim is an appliance salesperson. To make a sale, he asserts that a certain
model of a Kitchen Helper refrigerator is the “best one ever made.” This is
a. fraud if the statement is the truth.
b. fraud if Jim believes that this statement is not true.
c. fraud if Jim is stating his opinion, not the facts.
d. not fraud.
13. Dom, an EZ Baked Goods salesperson, follows Flora, a salesperson for Goody
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.
14. Kai files a suit against Lana based on one of Lana’s statements that Kai alleges
is fraudulent. To give rise to fraud, the statement must be one of
a. emotion.
b. fact.
c. illusion.
d. opinion.
15. 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. conversion.
c. wrongful interference with a contractual relationship.
d. no tort.
16. Bella owns a farm in Colorado. Doyle drives his sport utility vehicle off a
highway and onto Bella’s land. Doyle commits trespass if he
a. does not have Bella’s permission to drive on the property.
b. drives onto the property for recreational purposes.
c. harms the property in a material way.
d. harms the property in any way.
17. Manuel is walking past Thomas’s house when he hears a smoke alarm going
off. He also hears a child calling for help and sees smoke coming from a
window. Manuel rushes into Thomas’s house, finds the child and brings it
outside. If Thomas sues Manuel for trespass to land, Manuel’s defense will
probably be
a. assisting someone in danger.
b. consent.
c. self-defense.
d. the reasonable person defense.
18. Susan takes her car to Ken’s repair shop and asks him to fix the car’s brakes.
Ken completes the work and sends Susan a bill for $100. Susan refuses to pay
so Ken refuses to return Susan’s car. Susan can probably successfully sue
Ken for
a. battery.
b. conversion.
c. trespass to property.
d. none of the choices.
19. As a joke, Jem takes Kyla’s business law textbook and hides it so that Kyla
cannot find it during the week before the exam. Jem may have committed
a. appropriation.
b. conversion.
c. disparagement of property.
d. trespass to personal property.
20. Lizzie, a clerk at a Movies Unlimited store, takes a DVD player from the store
without permission. Lizzie is liable for
a. appropriation.
b. benefiting an employee.
c. conversion.
d. wrongful interference with a business relationship.
21. In newspaper ads, 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.
22. Bette backs out of City Parking Garage, colliding with Dill’s car. Dill may
recover $7,500 to cover the cost of the repairs if Bette failed to act as
a. a blameless person.
b a faultless person.
c. a holistic person.
d. a reasonable person.
23. Kelly is injured when she slips and falls on Layla’s sidewalk. To determine
whether Layla owed a duty of care to Kelly, Layla is subject to the standard of
a. a realistic person.
b. a reasonable person.
c. a recognizable person.
d. a reliable person.
24. 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.
25. Nico is a passenger in a car driven by Owen, whose reckless driving causes an
accident, injuring himself. Nico, uninjured, accompanies Owen to Parkside
Hospital in an ambulance. The ambulance is hit by a car driven by Quin, and
Nico is injured. Nico files a suit against Owen, alleging negligence. The
element most likely to be a question for the court to decide is
a. causation in fact.
b. proximate cause.
c. the duty of care.
d. the injury requirement.
26. Ralph, a van driver for Speedy Delivery Company, causes a multi-vehicle
accident on a city street. Ralph 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 Ralph’s van.
27. 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.
28. Richard is an avid baseball fan and attends baseball games whenever he can.
Richard considers himself an expert on all things, including risks, related to
baseball. One day a ball flies into the stands, hits Richard in the head and
seriously injures him. Richard can probably successfully win a case against the
sports stadium based on
a. negligence.
b. breach of duty of care.
c. defamation.
d. none of the choices.
29. 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.
30. Frank slips and falls on Guy’s Harbor Tour Boat and is injured. Frank files a suit
against Guy’s for $500,000. If Frank is 20 percent at fault and Guy’s is 80
percent, under the “50 percent rule” comparative negligence principles, Frank
would recover
a. $0.
b. $250,000.
c. $400,000.
d. $500,000.
31. A Rhode Island state statute requires machinery in industrial plants to include
automatic shut-off switches accessible to each employee working on the
machine. Steel Company’s equipment does not have the switches. Trudy, a
Steel employee, suffers an injury that an accessible shut-off switch would have
prevented. Trudy’s best theory for recovery is
a. assault.
b. assumption of risk.
c. invasion of privacy.
d. negligence.
32. George has a badly infected right foot. Herb, George’s physician, prescribes
amputation. George agrees. During the operation, Herb amputates the left foot.
In George’s suit against Herb, George’s best theory for recovery is
a. assumption of risk.
b. negligence per se.
c. res ipsa loquitur.
d. strict liability.
33. 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. abuse of process.
b. battery.
c. false imprisonment.
d. negligence.
34. Jean is playing a video game on a defective disk that melts in her game player,
starting a fire that injures her hands. Jean files a suit against K-Tech, Inc., the
game’s manufacturer. K-Tech is held liable under the doctrine of strict liability.
A significant application of this doctrine is in the area of
a. cyber torts.
b. intentional torts.
c. product liability.
d. unintentional torts.
35. Oakley posts a defamatory remark about Pierre in “Roominate,” an online social
network maintained by SocNet, Inc., an Internet service provider. Most likely to be
held liable for the remark will be
a. Oakley.
b. Pierre.
c. Roominate.
d. SocNet.
ESSAY QUESTIONS
1. Precise Engineering Corporation has a contract with Quik Mart Stores to
provide customized software for Quik’s inventory control system. Retail Outlets,
Inc., Quik’s competitor, induces Sam, a Precise subcontractor who is writing
code for the Quik software, to delay delivery of the code for one week. As a
result, Precise’s delivery of the software is delayed, and Quik sustains
$500,000 in lost profits. On what ground could Quik recover damages from
Retail Outlets?
2. After two years of research and the investment of considerable funds, Coast–to–
Coast Company (CC) develops a new product that it hopes will produce
substantial profits. CC learns that a competitor, National Sales, Inc., has made
and begun to sell a nearly identical product. CC learns from a reliable source
CHAPTER 4: TORTS AND CYBER TORTS 19
that National paid a CC employee to obtain the plans for CC’s product while it
was in development. What legal recourse does CC have against National?