Tort Law Jody Blanke Ernest L Baskin Jr

Tort Law Jody Blanke Ernest L. Baskin, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Computer Information Systems and Law

Torts o Strict Liability o Intentional Torts o Negligence

Strict Liability o Liability without fault n neither intent nor negligence need be shown o Ultrahazardous activities n e. g. , dynamite blasting n e. g. , ownership of wild animals o lions and tigers and bears …

Intentional Torts o o Battery Assault False Imprisonment Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

Invasion of Privacy o Appropriation of name or likeness o Intrusion upon seclusion o False light o Publication of private embarrassing facts Silvia Leyva at Café Intermezzo, Perimeter

Appropriation of Name or Likeness o Earliest privacy cases o Ex. Michael Jordan Wine

Intrusion Upon Seclusion o Jackie O o Holiday Inn o Mazzio’s Pizza o Sean Penn o Bill Gates o Bob Dylan o Katz o Kyllo

U. S. v. Katz (1967) o Introduced the “reasonable expectation of privacy” standard o The FBI had placed a tape recorder between two telephone booths and recorded Katz making or taking bets 8

Your Home is Your Castle o Kyllo v. U. S. (2001) n Thermal imaging of a home constitutes a search o Bowers v. Hardwick (1986) n Supreme Court upheld Georgia sodomy law o Lawrence v. Texas (2003) n Supreme Court overturned Bowers 9

Your Workplace? o Not so much 10

False Light o Parade Magazine article on Teenage Prostitution

Publication of Private Embarrassing Facts o “Joe Hero” n Potomac River plane crash n Assassination attempt on Gerald Ford

Defamation o Libel and slander o Truth is a defense o Richard Jewell n against media defendant, must prove “actual malice”

Trespass o Trespass to land o Conversion o Trespass to personal property (trespass to chattels)

Interference with Contractual Relations o $10. 5 B award against Texaco for interfering with Penzoil’s contract to buy Getty (later settled for $3 B) o “Ditch the dish”

Negligence o o Duty Breach of Duty Causation Injury

Duty of Care o Reasonable person standard o Is there a legal duty? n e. g. , Lady Di, Seinfeld finale, Good Samaritan laws

Breach of Duty o What would the reasonable person do in similar circumstances? o Professional standard – malpractice o Negligence per se o Res ipsa loquitur n A burden of proof shifting doctrine

Causation o Actual cause (causation in fact) n n “but for” analysis e. g. , Rube Goldberg cartoons, Mouse Trap

Causation o Proximate cause (legal cause) n foreseeabilty o e. g. , Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad o e. g. , Crankshaw v. Piedmont Driving Club

Injury o Plaintiff must prove injury o Injury need not be personal injury

Defenses to Negligence o Assumption of Risk o Fellow-Servant Rule

Defenses to Negligence o Contributory Negligence n e. g. , the “rolling stop” o Comparative Negligence n pure comparative negligence n modified comparative negligence (50% rule)

Product Liability o Warranty (contract) law o Negligence o Strict liability

Rationale o Stream of commerce theory n manufacturer hopes to profit; must pay price o Last best chance n manufacturer in best position to prevent injury o Economic theory n dangerous products will price themselves out of market

Lawn Darts

Early Cases o Mac. Pherson v. Buick Motor Co. (1916) n eliminated privity of contract requirement n consumer can sue manufacturer

Early Cases o Greenman v. Yuba Power Products (1963) n applied strict liability in tort n manufacturer responsible for product it places in the market

Restatement (Second) of Torts o § 402 A provides n 1. One who sells any product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer or to his property is subject to liability for physical harm thereby caused to the ultimate user or consumer, or to his property, if o (a) the seller is engaged in the business of selling such a product, and o (b) it is expected to and does reach the user or consumer without substantial change in the condition in which it is sold. n 2. The rule stated in Subsection (1) applies although o (a) the seller has exercised all possible care in the preparation and sale of his product, and o (b) the user or consumer has not bought the product from or entered into any contractual relation with the seller.

Restatement (Third) of Torts o Defines “defect” n A product is defective when, at the time of sale or distribution, contains a manufacturing defect, is defective in design, or is defective because of inadequate instructions or warnings