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CHAPTER 6
TORT LAW
ANSWER TO CRITICAL THINKING QUESTION
IN THE FEATURE
DIGITAL UPDATE—CRITICAL THINKING
Should domain name hosting companies be liable for revenge porn? In general, current
law says no. For example, Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act protects
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
AT THE ENDS OF THE CASES
CASE 6.1—LEGAL REASONING QUESTIONS
1. What is the standard for the protection of free speech guaranteed by the First
Amendment? The First Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging
the freedom of speech.” The right of free speech is founded on the principle that a democratic
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2. How did the standard apply to the statements posted online by Blake and Birzon? The
standard for the protection of free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment applies to
statements posted online no differently that it applies to statements published in any other
3. The First Amendment normally protects statements of opinion, and this can be an
effective defense against a charge of defamation. Does it seem reasonable to disregard
this defense, however, if any assertion of fact within a statement of opinion is false?
Explain. Statements of pure opinion are not subject to restrictions or sanctions under the First
Amendment. Thus, it can be a complete defense to a charge of defamation that a statement is
CASE 6.2—CRITICAL THINKING
LEGAL ENVIRONMENT
Financing for the purchase of the property was conditioned on the bank’s review of
Guido’s answers to the environmental questionnaire. How could the court conclude that
CHAPTER 6: TORT LAW 3
the plaintiffs justifiably relied on misrepresentations made to the bank? Explain. Guido
owned nine houses that lacked a functioning waste disposal system. When sewage was found
on the property, Guido had the system partially replaced. Meanwhile, the Environmental
WHAT IF THE FACTS WERE DIFFERENT?
If a visual inspection of the property had revealed “boggy areas, odors or liquids
bubbling up to the surface” indicating that the septic system was not working properly,
would the outcome of this case have been different? Perhaps. If Revell had seen boggy
areas or bubbling liquids or smelled odors when he was inspecting the property, he would have
CASE 6.3—CRITICAL THINKING
WHAT IF THE FACTS WERE DIFFERENT?
Would the result in this case have been different if it had been Taylor’s minor son, rather
than Taylor herself, had been struck by the ball? Should courts apply the doctrine of
assumption of risk to children? Discuss. There is no legal bar to applying assumption of risk
to children. Children are expected to use the degree of caution required of a child of like age
LEGAL ENVIRONMENT
What is the basis underlying the defense of assumption of risk? How does that basis
support the court’s decision in this case? The basis for the defense of assumption of risk is
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ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS IN THE REVIEWING FEATURE
AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER
1A. Defense
The strongest defense will be assumption of the risk, which is common in sports. That defense
2A. Statute
3A. Effect of statute
4A. Proportioned damages
Comparative negligence allows the jury to compute the contributions of both parties to the
ANSWER TO DEBATE THIS QUESTION IN THE REVIEWING FEATURE
AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER
Each time a state legislature enacts a law that applies the assumption of risk
doctrine to a particular sport, participants in that sport suffer. The argument is that the less
liability imposed on a sports-activity operator, the less that operator will take care to maintain the
CHAPTER 6: TORT LAW 5
ANSWERS TO ISSUE SPOTTERS
AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER
1A. Jana leaves her truck’s motor running while she enters a Kwik-Pik Store. The
truck’s transmission engages and the vehicle crashes into a gas pump, starting a fire
that spreads to a warehouse on the next block. The warehouse collapses, causing its
billboard to fall and injure Lou, a bystander. Can Lou recover from Jana? Why or why
not? Probably. To recover on the basis of negligence, the injured party as a plaintiff must show
2A. A water pipe bursts, flooding a Metal Fabrication Company utility room and
tripping the circuit breakers on a panel in the room. Metal Fabrication contacts Nouri, a
licensed electrician with five years experience, to check the damage and turn the
breakers back on. Without testing for short circuits, which Nouri knows that he should
do, he tries to switch on a breaker. He is electrocuted and his wife sues Metal Fabrication
for damages, alleging negligence. What might the firm successfully claim in defense?
The company might defend against this electrician’s claim by asserting that the electrician
should have known of the risk and, therefore, the company had no duty to warn. According to
ANSWERS TO BUSINESS SCENARIOS
AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER
6-1A. Defamation
The legal issue is whether Dun has libeled Richard’s character. For Richard to recover in a
legal action, he must prove the following elements: (a) that the defendant’s writing contained a
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false statement, not privileged, presented as fact (called a false statement of fact), or a
statement of opinion that was overpublicized, or even a true statement of fact that was
6–2A. Liability to business invitees
Yes. An occupier of the premises has a duty to use ordinary care to keep its premises in a
reasonably safe condition and to warn customers of any foreseeable hazards. What constitutes
ANSWERS TO BUSINESS CASE PROBLEMS
AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER
6–3A. SPOTLIGHT ON INTENTIONAL TORTS—Defamation
The newspaper’s defense was that the statement was not actionable defamation because it did
6–4A. Intentional infliction of emotional distress
The court found that the facts alleged in the complaint, if true, were sufficient to establish
Kiwanuka’s claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress. There was evidence that
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6-5A. BUSINESS CASE PROBLEM WITH SAMPLE ANSWER—Negligence
Because Lucario was the Weatherford’s business invitee, the hotel owed her a duty of
reasonable care to make its premises safe for her use. The balcony ran nearly the entire width
of the window in Lucario’s room. She could have reasonably believed that the window was a
means of access to the balcony. The window/ balcony configuration was dangerous, however,
because the window opened wide enough for an adult to climb out, but the twelve-inch gap
between one side of the window and the balcony was unprotected. This unprotected gap
opened to a drop of more than three stories to a concrete surface below.
6–6A. Negligence
Yes, Rawls could obtain benefits from Progressive Northern Insurance Co. under an
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6–7A. Negligence
Yes, West Star was negligent in failing to provide a reasonably safe place to work. Central to the
tort of negligence is the concept of duty of care. Tort law measures duty by the reasonable
person standard—how a reasonable person would have acted in the same circumstances. But
the degree of care to be exercised varies, depending on the person’s profession, his or her
relationship with the injured party, and other factors—in other words, it is what a reasonable
person in the position of the defendant in a negligence case would have done in the particular
circumstances.
6–8A. Negligence
Yes, North Kitsap is liable to Gould in the circumstances of this problem for negligence. To
succeed in an action for negligence, a plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed a duty of
care to the plaintiff, the defendant breached the duty, the breach caused an injury to the plaintiff,
and the plaintiff thereby suffered a legally recognizable injury.
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6-9A. A QUESTION OF ETHICS—Wrongful interference
(a) The New York Court of Appeals recognized that “[a]t bottom, as a matter of policy,
courts are called upon to strike a balance between two valued interests: protection of
enforceable contracts, which lends stability and predictability to parties’ dealings, and promotion
of free and robust competition in the marketplace.” The court acknowledged that actions might
(b) The New York Court of Appeals’ answer to the question was no, absent a prior
economic relationship, a general economic interest in making a profit was not a sufficient
defense to wrongful interference with a contractual relationship. “One who intentionally and
improperly interferes with the performance of a contract . . . between another and a third
person by inducing or otherwise causing the third person not to perform the contract is subject
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ANSWERS TO LEGAL REASONING GROUP ACTIVITY QUESTIONS
AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER
6–10A. Negligence
(a) If there were a statute in South Carolina that could be applied to this set of facts,
as there are in some states, it would present a nearly unassailable argument in favor of
imposing liability.
In the absence of such a specific law, an alcoholic beverage control statute might provide
a basis for imposing liability, under limited circumstances, on commercial hosts (the owners of
bars, for example). For policy reasons, those circumstances might be limited to the service of
alcoholic beverages to an intoxicated adult to whom recovery might be denied. Commercial
(b) In any situation, it might be argued that underage drinkers who are not minors
(c) The contrast in liability and punishments among the states is a consequence of
conflicting public attitudes about underage drinking. Parents who would not approve of their
underage children consuming alcoholic beverages outside their homes, for example, might
condone such drinking in their homes. In that situation, the rationalization might be to keep