Special Duties and Limitations Special Duties and Limitations

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Special Duties and Limitations

Special Duties and Limitations

Special Duties and Limitations Does a duty exist? Usually, yes. But sometimes: • D

Special Duties and Limitations Does a duty exist? Usually, yes. But sometimes: • D does not owe a duty to P at all: No duty to rescue. • D may owe a lesser (or greater) duty to the P based on their relationship: Government agents; landowners; family members; those engaged in undertakings. • D may not owe a duty to the P to protect against a particular kind of harm: Unforeseeable harms; pure emotional distress; pure economic loss.

Action v. Inaction

Action v. Inaction

Duty to Rescue Generally, no duty to rescue. But there are exceptions: • Creating

Duty to Rescue Generally, no duty to rescue. But there are exceptions: • Creating the risk (Rest. § 321, 322; Yania) • Increasing P’s peril; undertaking to assist; creating reliance (O’Neill; Lawter) • Having a special relationship (Tarasoff, landowners, social hosts)

Yania v. Bigan Three breaches of duty were alleged: 1. Bigan enticed Yania to

Yania v. Bigan Three breaches of duty were alleged: 1. Bigan enticed Yania to jump 2. Bigan failed to warn Yania of the danger 3. Bigan failed to rescue Yania

Yania v. The Restatement • Rest. 2 d § 321: If an actor “does

Yania v. The Restatement • Rest. 2 d § 321: If an actor “does an act” and subsequently realizes that his act “has created an unreasonable risk of causing physical harm to another, ” he must exercise due care to prevent this harm from taking effect. • Rest. 2 d § 322: If an actor knows that “his conduct, whether tortious or innocent” has caused P bodily harm such that P is now “helpless and in danger of further harm, ” he must exercise due care to prevent the further harm.

Yania Variations Would the outcome in Yania have been different if: • Bigan had

Yania Variations Would the outcome in Yania have been different if: • Bigan had easy access to a life preserver he could throw to Yania? • Bigan had told Yania the water was shallower than it actually was?

Undertakings to Assist

Undertakings to Assist

Hurley v. Eddingfield P’s family doctor refuses to aid P, and P dies. •

Hurley v. Eddingfield P’s family doctor refuses to aid P, and P dies. • What factors in this case would you rely on to argue that there was a duty on the part of D? • What factors would you rely on to argue that there was no duty on the part of D?

US v. Lawter / Frank v. US What’s the distinction between Lawter (L) and

US v. Lawter / Frank v. US What’s the distinction between Lawter (L) and Frank (NL)? What rules can we extract from these two cases?

US v. Lawter / Frank v. US After Frank fell in, could the Coast

US v. Lawter / Frank v. US After Frank fell in, could the Coast Guard have just left him in the water without attempting to rescue him further?

Return to Yania falls in the water. Suppose Bigan has two ropes – a

Return to Yania falls in the water. Suppose Bigan has two ropes – a fat one and a thin one – and lowers the thin rope to begin hoisting Yania out of the water. The rope breaks, and Yania falls and drowns. Liability?

Duty to Rescue Lessons Learned: • If you undertake a rescue, you must do

Duty to Rescue Lessons Learned: • If you undertake a rescue, you must do so with due care • If you undertake a rescue negligently, you may be liable • If you undertake a rescue and abandon it when the P is relying on you at the expense of others, you may be liable

Problems: Marsalis and Bloomberg In Marsalis and Bloomberg, did the Ds owe a duty

Problems: Marsalis and Bloomberg In Marsalis and Bloomberg, did the Ds owe a duty of care to Ps? • If so, was this duty breached? How?

Problem: Marsalis v. La Salle “Perhaps the defendant, La. Salle, initially owed no duty

Problem: Marsalis v. La Salle “Perhaps the defendant, La. Salle, initially owed no duty … but when he once agreed to restrain and keep the cat under observation, he was bound to use reasonable care and prudence in doing so[. ] It may be that Mrs. Marsalis had open to her some other course by which she could have had the cat incarcerated and examined in order to determine if it was rabid, but she unquestionably and in good faith relied upon defendant to carry out the agreement which he voluntarily made, thus foregoing such other possible available protection. ”

Problem: Bloomberg v. Interinsurance “Based on these facts we cannot say that respondent owed

Problem: Bloomberg v. Interinsurance “Based on these facts we cannot say that respondent owed no duty of care to appellants' son. The undertaking to send the tow truck clearly did affect his interest. Had they not expected respondent to send assistance, the boys may have made other arrangements. They could have called their parents, a friend or even CHP to be driven home or at least to a safer location. … To the extent that Seth and David relied on respondent to come to their assistance and in so relying made no other arrangements for their rescue … respondent contributed to the risk of harm. ”

Public Duty Doctrine

Public Duty Doctrine

Riss v. City of N. Y. Do you agree with the court’s reasoning in

Riss v. City of N. Y. Do you agree with the court’s reasoning in Riss? Why or why not?

Public Duty Doctrine Hypothetical: P calls 911, says there’s a burglar trying to break

Public Duty Doctrine Hypothetical: P calls 911, says there’s a burglar trying to break into the house. She gives them the address, and 911 says, “We’ll send someone right away. ” But dispatcher writes the address wrong, the police car never gets there, and the dispatcher clears the call. Liability?

Duties Based on Relationships

Duties Based on Relationships

Duties Based on Relationships Tarasoff: “Legal duties are not discoverable facts of nature, but

Duties Based on Relationships Tarasoff: “Legal duties are not discoverable facts of nature, but merely conclusory expressions that, in cases of a particular type, liability should be imposed for damage done. ”

Social Hosts Common law rule: No liability. See Charles v. Seigfreid (IL 1995). But

Social Hosts Common law rule: No liability. See Charles v. Seigfreid (IL 1995). But note: A growing minority of states reject the common law rule, and will impose liability on social hosts. See Kelly v. Gwinell.

Social Hosts Common law rule: No liability. See Charles v. Seigfreid (IL 1995). In

Social Hosts Common law rule: No liability. See Charles v. Seigfreid (IL 1995). In Illinois: • Wakulich v. Mraz (IL 2003): No social host liability for providing alcohol, regardless of age. • But then: Impaired Minor Act, 40 ILCS 581, imposing social host liability for underage guests.

Tarasoff v. Regents Who were the defendants?

Tarasoff v. Regents Who were the defendants?

Tarasoff v. Regents Who were the defendants? What two claims did P bring against

Tarasoff v. Regents Who were the defendants? What two claims did P bring against them?

Tarasoff v. Regents Who were the defendants? What two claims did P bring against

Tarasoff v. Regents Who were the defendants? What two claims did P bring against them? • Failure to confine • Failure to warn

Tarasoff v. Regents Who were the defendants? What two claims did P bring against

Tarasoff v. Regents Who were the defendants? What two claims did P bring against them? • Failure to confine • Failure to warn Do Ds owe Tatiana or her family a duty of care?

Tarasoff v. Regents Who were the defendants? What two claims did P bring against

Tarasoff v. Regents Who were the defendants? What two claims did P bring against them? • Failure to confine • Failure to warn Do Ds owe Tatiana or her family a duty of care? How should Ds exercise this duty of care?

Tarasoff: Problems and Implementation • In what ways is the Tarasoff ruling problematic? •

Tarasoff: Problems and Implementation • In what ways is the Tarasoff ruling problematic? • Do you think these arguments have merit? Was Tarasoff wrongly decided? • What do you expect was the practical effect of Tarasoff on therapist-patient relationship?