Business Law, 8e (Cheeseman)
Chapter 5 Intentional Torts and Negligence
1) Actual physical contact is not necessary for a tort to be considered an assault.
2) Direct physical contact, such as intentionally hitting someone with a fist, is considered battery.
3) Assault and battery are mutually exclusive torts that do not occur together.
4) A threat of future harm or moral pressure is not considered false imprisonment.
5) If a shoplifting suspect is detained for an unreasonably long time and is found to be innocent,
the merchant is liable for the tort of malicious prosecution.
6) If a defendant makes an untrue statement of fact about the plaintiff and the statement was
intentionally or accidentally published to a third party, the defendant is held liable for
misappropriation of the right to publicity.
7) If a magazine publishes a false statement about a public personality, it is liable for invasion of
the right to privacy.
8) If a newspaper review calls a commercially successful actor talentless, it is liable for
defamation of character.
9) A disparagement is an untrue statement made by one person or business about the products,
services, property, or reputation of another business.
10) Intentional misrepresentation occurs when a wrongdoer deceives another person out of
money, property, or something else of value.
11) If a person did not have knowledge that his representation of facts was false, he is still liable
for fraud.
12) In a lawsuit for malicious prosecution, the original defendant sues the original plaintiff.
13) Jessica files a frivolous lawsuit against Thomas claiming emotional distress because he
plucked flowers from her garden without her permission. The judge exonerates Thomas who can
now sue Jessica for malicious prosecution.
14) Reasonable person standard is a test used to determine whether a tort is intentional or
unintentional.
15) If a plaintiff is injured, the damages recoverable depend on the effect of the injury on the
plaintiff’s life or profession.
16) Causation in fact refers to a point along a chain of events caused by a negligent party after
which this party is no longer legally responsible for the consequences of his or her actions.
17) If the defendant’s act caused the plaintiff’s injuries, there is causation in fact
18) Disparagement refers to the liability of a professional who breaches his or her duty of
ordinary care.
19) John watches his brother being killed in a road accident. The perpetrator was driving under
the influence of alcohol. John can recover damages for negligent infliction of emotional distress
for the mental trauma he suffered from watching his brother die.
20) Res ipsa loquitor is a tort in which the violation of a statute or an ordinance constitutes the
breach of the duty of care.
21) A doctor driving on the wrong side of the road crashes into an eight-year-old boy riding a
bicycle. Fearing the consequences, the doctor flees without reporting the accident or giving first-
aid to the boy. The doctor is liable for professional malpractice.
22) A lawyer who fails to file a document with the court on time, causing the client’s case to be
dismissed is liable for legal malpractice.
23) Malicious prosecution is a tort that permits a person to recover for emotional distress caused
by the defendant’s negligent conduct.
24) A bystander who suffers severe emotional distress on witnessing a heinous crime can claim
damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
25) If a woman is informed of her husband being run over by a bus the previous night, she can
recover damages for negligent infliction of emotional distress.
26) The violation of a statute that proximately causes an injury is termed as negligence per se.
27) A homeowner is liable for negligence per se, if he or she fails to repair a damaged sidewalk
in front of his or her home, and a pedestrian who trips on the unrepaired sidewalk is injured.
28) In order to claim damages for negligence per se, the plaintiff need not prove that he or she
was within a class of persons meant to be protected by the statute.
29) Res ipsa loquitur switches the burden to the plaintiff to prove that the defendant was
negligent.
30) Res ipsa loquitur applies when the plaintiff had exclusive control of the instrumentality or
situation that caused his or her own injury.
31) If a nurse administers CPR to save the life of a dying man and negligently injures the man’s
arm in the process, the nurse cannot be sued as he or she is protected by Good Samaritan statutes.
32) The defendant can held liable for injuries caused by the superseding event.
33) Assumption of the risk is a defense a defendant can use against a plaintiff who knowingly
and voluntarily participates in a risky activity that results in injury.
34) Comparative negligence is a doctrine that says a plaintiff who is partially at fault for his or
her own injury cannot recover against the negligent defendant.
35) A participant in an activity covered by strict liability laws will be held liable for any injuries
caused by the activity, even if he or she was not negligent.
36) Which of the following is an intentional tort?
A) breach of duty of care
B) defect in product manufacture
C) disparagement
D) negligence
37) The threat of immediate harm or offensive contact is termed as ________.
A) battery
B) assault
C) disparagement
D) libel
38) Which of the following statements is true of the tort of assault?
A) An assault is considered an unintentional tort.
B) An attack is considered an assault only if the defendant was provoked to attack a plaintiff.
C) An attack is not considered an assault if the defendant was provoked to attack a plaintiff.
D) Actual physical contact between plaintiff and defendant is not necessary.
39) John Harley was on his way home when an assailant stopped his car and threatened to
physically harm him if he ever saw him drive on that street again. John can sue the assailant to
recover damages for ________.
A) assault
B) battery
C) libel
D) disparagement
40) Which of the following best describes the tort of battery?
A) unauthorized and harmful or offensive physical contact with another person that causes injury
B) an action that arouses reasonable apprehension of imminent harm
C) oral or written defamation of another person’s character
D) intentional confinement or restraint of another person without that person’s consent
41) Which of the following torts constitutes battery?
A) stealing a person’s wallet
B) threatening to shoot a person
C) blackmailing a person
D) poisoning a person’s drink
42) Which of the following statements is true of battery?
A) Battery refers to intentional infliction of emotional distress.
B) Assault and battery often occur together.
C) Actual physical contact is not necessary for a tort to be termed as battery.
D) Indirect physical contact between the victim and the perpetrator is not battery.
43) Harvey was at his college reunion where he noticed Raymond, his former roommate. Harvey
and Raymond did not get along well at the reunion. Offended by something Raymond
mentioned, Harvey punched him in the face which broke his jaw. Harvey is liable for ________.
A) breach of duty of care
B) disparagement
C) battery
D) assault
44) Which of the following actions would make Sarah liable for battery?
A) She publishes an article calling for the current U.S. President to quit because she thinks he is
not doing a good job.
B) She extends the boundary of her plot of land encroaching two feet of her neighbor’s plot.
C) She smuggles marijuana into the country.
D) She slaps her ex-husband because he denied her alimony.
45) Michael wanted to shoot Gary but accidentally injured Stella with the bullet. Which of the
following can Stella use to recover damages from Michael?
A) doctrine of unintentional tort
B) doctrine of proximate cause
C) doctrine of negligence
D) transferred intent doctrine
46) Jessica is babysitting Kyle one afternoon when Kyle starts bleeding from his nose. Jessica
manages to stop the bleeding and rushes out to the nearest pharmacy—three miles away—to get
medication for him. While doing so, she locks the house from outside and asks Kyle not to leave
the house till she returns. The only way he can get out of the house is by breaking a window. Due
to a roadblock on her way back, Jessica is delayed by an hour. Which of the following statements
is true in this case?
A) Jessica is liable for kidnapping.
B) Jessica is liable for negligence as well as breach of duty of care.
C) Jessica can be sued for false imprisonment.
D) Jessica is not liable for prosecution for an intentional tort.
47) ________ refers to an attempt by another person to take over a living person’s name or
identity for commercial purposes.
A) Invasion of the right to privacy
B) Tort of appropriation
C) Defamation of character
D) Disparagement
48) Sending an objectionable telegram to a third party and signing another’s name constitutes the
tort of ________.
A) invasion of the right to privacy
B) defamation of character
C) battery
D) intentional misrepresentation
49) The tort of defamation of character requires a plaintiff to prove that the defendant ________.
A) publicized a private fact about the plaintiff
B) insulted people closely related to the plaintiff, such as family or friends
C) published an untrue statement of fact about the plaintiff to a third party
D) made one or more financial deals with the plaintiff under a false identity
50) Gary Govetty is a famous movie star. A tabloid published an interview with his ex-girlfriend
in which she falsely claimed that Gary was completely bald and had been wearing a wig for
several years. Gary can sue his ex-girlfriend for ________.
A) slander
B) invasion of the right to privacy
C) tort of appropriation
D) negligent infliction of emotional distress
51) Libel and slander constitute ________.
A) the tort of outrage
B) defamation of character
C) the tort of appropriation
D) intentional misrepresentation
52) Making false statements about a competitor’s products, services, property, or business
reputation could make a company liable for ________.
A) intentional misrepresentation
B) tort of appropriation
C) disparagement
D) misappropriation of the right to publicity
53) Which of the following instances depict the tort of outrage?
A) A farmer’s crops are set on fire by an unidentified miscreant.
B) A gym teacher verbally abuses an overweight kid in every gym class and the kid suffers
severe emotional distress.
C) A cosmetics company uses Julia Roberts’ image without her consent to depict her as its brand
ambassador.
D) A beverage-manufacturer claims that its competitor uses coffee beans of poor quality.
54) One student actor wins a part in a play over another student actor. To get back at the winning
student, the rejected student files a lawsuit against the winning student alleging intentional
infliction of emotional distress, defamation, and negligence. The jury returns a verdict
exonerating the defendant. The defendant is now entitled to sue the plaintiff for ________.
A) tort of outrage
B) malicious prosecution
C) intentional misrepresentation
D) misappropriation of the right to publicity
55) ________ is a doctrine that says a person is liable for harm that is the foreseeable
consequence of his or her actions.
A) Tort of outrage
B) Tort of misappropriation
C) Disparagement
D) Unintentional tort
56) The obligation people owe each other not to cause any unreasonable harm or risk of harm is
termed as ________.
A) libel
B) res ipsa loquitur
C) Good Samaritan law
D) duty of care
57) Throwing a lit match on the ground in the forest and causing a fire is a breach of ________.
A) appropriation
B) Good Samaritan law
C) duty of care
D) res ipsa loquitur
58) Which of the following is true about the duty of care?
A) Breach of duty of care is not actionable unless the plaintiff suffers injury or injury to his or
her property.
B) Reasonable person standard is used to determine the amount of damages that a defendant
owes a plaintiff.
C) A firefighter who refuses to put out a fire when his safety is not at stake does not breach his
duty of care.
D) The damages recoverable for breach of the duty of care are independent of the effect of the
injury on the plaintiff’s life or profession.
59) George, Jerry, and Harry are passengers on a flight from Chicago to New York. They injure
their legs when their seatbelts do not fasten during take-off. The airline is sued by all three
together for injuries caused and the airline is found to be negligent and is directed by the court to
pay damages to the injured parties. Which of the following parties is entitled to recover
maximum damages?
A) George, a retired professor who gets a pension of $50,000 a year
B) Jerry, a football player who earns $2 million a year
C) Harry, a chartered accountant who earns $200,000 a year
D) All the men recover the same amount of damages, irrespective of their income or profession.
60) What is meant by “causation in fact”?
A) the facts stated by a plaintiff during trial
B) a defendant’s negligent act that caused the plaintiff’s injuries
C) a defendant’s defense against a case of negligence
D) a defendant’s plea of guilt due to negligence
61) ________ is a point along a chain of events caused by a negligent party after which this party
is no longer legally responsible for the consequences of his or her actions.
A) Causation in fact
B) Point of reason
C) Point of appropriation
D) Proximate cause
62) If a lawyer fails to file a document with the court on time, causing his client’s case to be
dismissed, he would be liable for ________.
A) professional malpractice
B) intentional misrepresentation
C) tort of appropriation
D) breach of the duty of care
63) Martha is walking along a street with her son when he is hit by a passing car just as he steps
off the pavement. He dies in his mother’s arms, leaving her traumatized. The court hearing the
case rules that Martha’s son was “not responsible for the accident.” Martha can sue the person
who killed her son to recover damages for ________.
A) tort of outrage
B) breach of duty of care
C) negligent infliction of emotional distress
D) transfer of intent
64) The violation of a statute that proximately causes an injury is termed as ________.
A) disparagement
B) res ipsa loquitur
C) negligence per se
D) misappropriation
65) In order to claim damages for negligence per se, the plaintiff has to prove that ________.
A) the defendant was in exclusive control of the situation
B) the plaintiff was within a class of persons meant to be protected by the violated statute
C) the defendant made a false representation of material fact
D) the plaintiff was affected by malicious statements made by the defendant about his/her
character
66) A pedestrian trips and falls on a poorly lighted sidewalk in front of Kate Geller’s house and is
injured. If the pedestrian sues for damages, which of the following parties is would be liable to
pay the damages?
A) the civic authority
B) Kate Geller
C) the residents’ association of the locality
D) the pedestrian
67) ________ is a doctrine that raises a presumption of negligence and switches the burden to the
defendant to prove that he or she was not negligent.
A) Res ipsa loquitur
B) Negligence per se
C) Doctrine of proximate cause
D) Doctrine of comparative negligence
68) ________ is a statute that relieves medical professionals from liability for ordinary
negligence when they stop and render aid to victims in emergency situations.
A) Good Samaritan law
B) Assumption of the risk
C) Duty of care
D) Res ipsa loquitur
69) Under negligence, a person is liable only for ________ events.
A) intervening
B) foreseeable
C) superseding
D) overruling
70) The term ________ refers to a defense a defendant can use against a plaintiff who knowingly
and voluntarily entered into or participated in an activity that had a high probability of resulting
in injury to the plaintiff.
A) superseding event
B) comparative negligence
C) assumption of risk
D) intervening event
71) In order to use the defense of assumption of risk, the defendant has to prove that the plaintiff
________.
A) assumed there was no risk involved and entered into the activity that injured him or her
B) was injured after the defendant’s liability for the risk ended
C) was injured in an activity that had no risk of any manner
D) had knowledge of the specific risk and voluntarily assumed the risk
72) Prado Loyola is a race-car driver who has signed an agreement with the racing team Provolt,
stating that Provolt is not responsible for the dangers involved in racing and that Loyola
participates in all car races voluntarily, with full knowledge of the risk of injury or death that
might result as a consequence. During the course of the race, a slight drizzle that covers the
windshield affects Loyola’s visibility and he misses a turn, resulting in a crash. Which of the
following defenses can the Provost team cite to protect itself from liability in the event that
Loyola sues them?
A) res ipsa loquitur
B) assumption of the risk
C) private necessity
D) breach of the duty of care
73) ________ refers to a doctrine that says a plaintiff who is partially at fault for his or her own
injury cannot recover against the negligent defendant.
A) Contributory negligence
B) Comparative negligence
C) Comparative fault
D) Assumption of risk
74) Under the ________ doctrine, damages are apportioned according to fault.
A) Contributory negligence
B) Comparative fault
C) Proximate cause
D) Assumption of risk
75) A person driving over the prescribed speed limit in a suburban area hits and injures a
pedestrian jaywalking against a red “Do Not Walk” sign. The jury finds that the driver is 80
percent responsible for the accident and the jaywalker is 20 percent responsible. The pedestrian
suffered $100,000 in injuries. If the state in which this case is heard adopts the doctrine of
contributory negligence to interpret such cases, the pedestrian is entitled to ________.
A) recover $20,000 from the driver
B) recover $80,000 from the driver
C) recover $100,000 from the driver
D) recover no damages from the driver
76) According to the doctrine of ________, a participant in a covered activity will be held liable
for any injuries caused by the activity, even if he or she was not negligent.
A) strict liability
B) assumption of risk
C) comparative negligence
D) contributive negligence
77) How is assault different from battery?
78) Explain the torts of appropriation and invasion of the right to privacy with examples.
79) Monica told a prospective patient that a certain cosmetic surgeon had been banned from
practicing by the American Medical Council. But this is untrue. Is Monica liable for prosecution?
Why?
80) When and how can a plaintiff claim damages if the defendant has breached a duty of care?
81) Explain the doctrine of strict liability with examples.