Reference no: EM133194272 , Length: 6 pages
Question 1: Choose a question that you did not choose throughout the term for the discussion Board questions. Apply them to your real life experiences, society or how you may act in that case. Please go in depth with responses.
Discussion Questions
You can assign these questions several ways: in a discussion forum in your LMS, as whole-class discussions in person, or as a partner or group activity in class.
1. Discussion: Trespass and intention ([Intentional Torts (8-1)], Duration 20 minutes.
a. Writing prompt asking students to analyze the following fact pattern.
b. Alan spends the weekend hiking in the woods that are behind his new home. Alan believes the woods are part of a public park. Later in the week, he receives notice of suit for trespassing on Rob's property. Alan defends by arguing he did not know the property belonged to Rob. Therefore, he did not commit a trespass. What is the likely outcome and why?
i. Answer: Alan is still liable for trespass because the intentional act of walking into Rob's property is enough to trigger liability. The focus is not on the belief that Alan has.
2. Discussion: False advertising and free speech. ([Business Torts (8-3)], Duration 20 minutes.
a. Students examine the rationale behind false adverting and free speech.
b. What is the public policy behind false advertising? How does this make sense when compared with free speech?
i. Answer: The public policy behind making false advertising actionable is that there is value on one hand in the marketplace where different producers of products and services compete. However, the tort of false advertising is narrowly drawn to not ban any and all possible misleading advertising. Only through all four elements can a particular form of advertising be actionable as false. The filter of the four elements distills down extreme false advertising from what could be called misleading or ordinary marketing strategies in the free market.
Question 2: Choose a question that you did not choose throughout the term for the discussion Board questions. Apply them to your real life experiences, society or how you may act in that case. Please go in depth with responses.
1. Discussion: Tale of two fires. ([Negligence (9-1)], Duration 20 minutes.
a. Asking students to analyze negligence causation.
b. Amanda is enjoying the use of her newly acquired barn. While she is making some repairs, she notices smoke. Amanda moves to investigate and sees that the barn is on fire. She runs and calls for help. At the same time, Brian's home is also on fire. Brian luckily escapes and gets help. Both fires spread out of control and combine into a large one. This larger fire ignites Cory's home. Cory brings suit against both Amanda and Brian for damages to his home in negligence. Amanda and Brian both point to the other as the real cause of the damage. What are the factual and proximate causes of the damage? Who is responsible?
i. Answer: The factual causes are with fires from each home, it is foreseeable that a fire could combine with another and therefore cause greater destruction. Both Amanda and Brian are responsible. A court would likely divide damages between each.
2. Discussion: Is Sophie a wolf or not? ([Strict Liability and Product Liability (9-2)], Duration 20 minutes.
a. Analyze the fact pattern and apply the proper theory.
b. Paul is walking his new dog, Sophie. Paul traced Sophie's lineage and she is 99 percent German Shepard and 1 percent Eurasian Wolf. Paul looks at his smartphone to check the time and then decides to send a few text messages. While he is doing so, Sophie sees a squirrel and takes off running, snapping the leash from Paul's hand. Paul calls for Sophie and eventually finds her, but not until Don is bitten by her. Don brings suit against Paul. What legal theory will Don's attorney use? What defense, if any, does Paul have?
i. Answer: Don will claim that Sophie is 1 percent Eurasian Wolf, meaning that she is a wild animal. The owners of wild animals are strictly liable for any injury they cause. Paul can try to argue that a 1 percent Eurasian Wolf heritage is too little for Sophie to be considered a wild animal.
What was your favorite topic so far this term? Why did you enjoy it and what topic would you like to learn as we move further into the course?