business law punitive damages, negligence

why was punitive damages designed

to punish the defendant for wrongful behavior

punitive damages design to deter others

what does that mean

to make an example of defendant to reduce others from doing the same thing the defendant did

who decides punitive damages

the judge or jury

jury

what is another name for punitive damages

exemplary damage

due process clause

prevents excessive and arbitrary punitive damage awards

punitive damage guideline

1. how bad was the ___ conduct

defendant

what is the reason to figure out how bad the defendant conduct is in a punitive damage case

the worst the conduct, the higher the award plaintiff will receive

punitive damage guideline

there must be a ___ between the damage awards and behavior the defendant engaged in

reasonable connection

punitive damage guideline

there is a difference between the damage awards and…

any civil penalties used in a similar case

what is the first element of negligence

duty

simple meaning of duty in negligence

when the defendant owe duty to plaintiff

what is the 2nd element of negligence

breach of duty

what is breach of duty

defendant fails to owe duty to the plaintiff

what is the 3rd element of negligence

causation

the last element of negligence

injury

when is foreseeability used in a negligent case

used in determining duty

“Negligence is not actionable unless it involves the invasion of a legally protected interest the invasion of legally protected interest”

what is this saying

just because someone being negligent to another in a way does NOT mean they were negligent to you

in the palsgraf case,

the two train workers were negligent to

a. the brief case guy

b. the lady that got injured from the fireworks exploding

c. none of the above

d. both a and b

only A

Negligence per say (summary)

uses a statute to set the duty in negligence

what is negligence per say

violation of a statute that was made to protect a specific group from harm

t or f

foreseeability is involved in negligence per say

false

reasonably prudent person standard

a legal benchmark used in negligence cases to determine if someone acted carelessly, by evaluating their conduct against what a hypothetical reasonable person would do in similar circumstances

Would a lawyer be held as a reasonably prudent person when writing a contract

yes

because the person’s occupation, special knowledge, expertise is held at a HIGHER standard

When are you held at a higher standard of the reasonably prudent person standard

base on your occupation, special knowledge, expertise because a regular person that did not go to get the same special knowledge would not have known better in the case that corresponds to the occupation

children are held at the standard of

a typical child of the same age

true of false

people with a mental disability are held at the standard of care as a reasonable person who is not mentally disabled

true they are held at that standard

substantial factor

when a reasonable person would conclude the defendant contributed to the harm

when we look at duty, we first base it on

what the defendant perceive at that time/see the defendant perspective first

after we put ourselves in the defendant shoes in duty, what happens next

we decide the foreseeability

after we decide what is foreseeable in duty, we

look at behavior and evaluate what is reasonable

in causation, we look at foreseeability to see

the injury that occurred

comparative negligence

when plaintiff has recovery damage base on percentage of how much they were at fault of their own injury and how much defendant cause their injury

California uses

a. modified comparative fault

b. pure comparative fault

B

Modified comparative fault

how much would lead to plaintiff having no recovery awards

50% or more if plaintiff was responsible of their own injury

• plaintiff sues for $100,000

• plaintiff was 80% responsible of their own injury

• defendant was 20% responsible

How much recovery damages is given to plaintiff?

20,000

T or F

fault is required in strict liability

FALSE

is fault required in strict liability

NO

is there always an injury in strict liability

YES

Abnormally dangerous activity is involved in

strict liability

is foreseeability determined in strict liability

No it is not

Do you question reasonability in strict liability

no you do not

are you liable if you conducted in an abnormally dangerous activity and it causes an injury

yes you are

scenario

• a sues b for strict liability

• no one was injured at all

what will happen in this case

the case is dismissed since strict liability always has injury

what is an intervening cause

a new act or event in negligence that contributes to plaintiff injury

scenario

• puddle in store’s aisle that was supposed to be cleaned up by the store’s worker

• A slips on puddle

• while A slips, B is running through the aisle

• B hits A

what would B’s act be called

intervening cause

is intervening cause foreseeable?

yes

does intervening cause break chain of causation

no

when intervening cause is involved, the original defendant is liable

yes

what is superseding cause

something that happens after a defendant’s actions and breaks the chain of events, making the defendant no longer legally responsible for the final outcome

is superseding cause foreseeable?

no

superseding cause breaks chain of events/causation?

yes

A landlord forgets to fix a broken stair rail.

before anyone uses the stairs, an earthquake hits,

it knocks a person down the stairs and they get injured

what is the superseding cause of the person injury

the earthquake

Mark, a city worker, negligently leaves a large pothole unmarked on a busy road. Several hours later, Emma, while driving, hits the pothole and loses control of her car. She skids off the road and crashes into a nearby fence, causing damage to her car. The crash leaves Emma stranded on the side of the road. At that moment, a sudden, unexpected flash flood occurs and sweeps Emma’s car into a nearby river, where it’s destroyed.

In a negligence suit against Mark, what is the most likely legal effect of the flash flood?

the flood was superseding since it was unexpected which makes it unforeseeable

Mark, a city worker, negligently leaves a large pothole unmarked on a busy road. Several hours later, Emma, while driving, hits the pothole and loses control of her car. She skids off the road and crashes into a nearby fence, causing damage to her car. The crash leaves Emma stranded on the side of the road. At that moment, a sudden, unexpected flash flood occurs and sweeps Emma’s car into a nearby river, where it’s destroyed.

is mark still liable after the flood?

yes but it will be relieved

contributory negligence case

what happens to plaintiff

they get no recover damage even if defendant was 99% at responsible

does the plaintiff win or lose if they were contributory negligent

lose

substantial factor is based on ____ in negligence

causation

substantial factor looks at ____ first to determine causation

injury

land owners have duty when people enter their land

but there are limited exceptions towards

Flagrant Trespasser

Alex trespasses into a private electrical substation late at night, climbing over a locked gate marked with “Danger – High Voltage” and “No Trespassing” signs. He enters a restricted zone, touches equipment, and is electrocuted. His family sues the utility company for negligence, claiming it failed to install additional barriers or lighting.

What is the most likely legal outcome?

A) The utility company is liable because it did not have lighting or 24/7 security.
B) The utility company is not liable because it owed no duty to a trespasser.
C) The utility company is liable because it should anticipate trespassers at night.
D) The utility company is not liable because Alex was a flagrant trespasser and was adequately warned.

D) The utility company is not liable because Alex was a flagrant trespasser and was adequately warned.

a land possessor owes ____ to not intentionally or recklessly cause physical harm to flagrant trespassers

only a minimal duty