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CISR Commercial Casualty I study materials
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CISR Commercial Casualty I practice questions

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Question 1Essentials of Legal Liability

Which combination correctly lists the elements a plaintiff must prove in a negligence action?

  1. Duty, breach, damages, and motive
  2. Duty, breach, causation, and damages Correct answer.
  3. Intent, duty, malice, and harm
  4. Breach, intent, causation, and damages

Explanation

Negligence requires proof that the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care, breached that duty, and that the breach was the actual and proximate cause of the plaintiff's damages. Intent and malice belong to intentional torts, not negligence, and motive is irrelevant to the standard of care.

Question 2Essentials of Legal Liability

What duty does a landowner generally owe to an adult trespasser?

  1. Refrain from willful or wanton harm Correct answer.
  2. An inspection of the premises
  3. Reasonable care under all circumstances
  4. A warning of hidden dangers

Explanation

Traditionally a landowner owes a trespasser only the duty not to injure him willfully, wantonly, or through gross negligence, such as by setting traps. Reasonable care, inspection, and warnings of hidden dangers are duties owed to invitees.

Question 3Essentials of Legal Liability

What is the primary purpose of punitive damages?

  1. To restore the injured party
  2. To reimburse medical bills
  3. To punish and to deter Correct answer.
  4. To pay the plaintiff's attorney

Explanation

Punitive damages are awarded over and above compensatory damages to punish outrageous conduct and to discourage similar conduct by others. Reimbursement of bills, restoration of the plaintiff, and attorney fees are compensatory or procedural matters.

Question 4Essentials of Legal Liability

Which best describes an assault?

  1. A written statement that damages another's reputation
  2. Actual harmful or offensive bodily contact made without consent
  3. A threat creating apprehension of imminent contact Correct answer.
  4. An unintentional contact that happens to cause injury

Explanation

An assault is an intentional act that places another in reasonable apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive contact, and no touching is required. Actual contact is battery, an unintentional injury may be negligence, and a written reputational injury is libel.

Question 5Essentials of Legal Liability

Defamatory material published in written or printed form is known as:

  1. Libel Correct answer.
  2. Disparagement
  3. Slander
  4. Conversion

Explanation

Defamation is divided into libel, which involves a written, printed, or otherwise fixed publication, and slander, which is spoken or transitory. Disparagement concerns harm to business or property interests, and conversion is an interference with another's personal property.

Question 6Essentials of Legal Liability

Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, which statement is accurate?

  1. An employer is liable for every tort of an independent contractor
  2. An employer is never liable for the torts of its employees
  3. An employer is liable for an employee's torts on the job Correct answer.
  4. An employee is liable for the torts committed by the employer

Explanation

Respondeat superior makes an employer vicariously liable for torts an employee commits within the scope of employment. Employers are generally not liable for the torts of independent contractors, and liability does not ordinarily run from employer to employee.

Question 7Essentials of Legal Liability

Which of the following constitutes a trespass to land?

  1. Digging on your own property near the boundary line
  2. Entering another's land without permission Correct answer.
  3. Causing offensive odors that drift onto a neighbor's land
  4. Failing to repair a fence along a property line

Explanation

Trespass to land is an intentional physical entry onto land in another's possession without consent, or remaining after consent ends. Odors and fumes are typically addressed as nuisance, and activity confined to one's own land is not a trespass.

Question 8Essentials of Legal Liability

In a jurisdiction that follows traditional contributory negligence, a plaintiff found 10 percent at fault recovers:

  1. Full damages from the defendant
  2. Damages reduced by his share of fault
  3. Nothing at all Correct answer.
  4. Half of the proven damages

Explanation

Under traditional contributory negligence, any negligence by the plaintiff that contributes to his injury completely bars recovery. Reduction by percentage of fault and partial recovery are features of comparative negligence systems.

Question 9Essentials of Legal Liability

A plaintiff with $100,000 in proven damages is 30 percent at fault. In a pure comparative negligence state, the plaintiff recovers:

  1. $70,000 Correct answer.
  2. $0
  3. $30,000
  4. $100,000

Explanation

Pure comparative negligence reduces the plaintiff's recovery by his own percentage of fault but never bars it entirely, so the award is $100,000 less 30 percent. Modified comparative systems bar recovery once the plaintiff's fault reaches a stated threshold, which pure comparative negligence does not.

Question 10Essentials of Legal Liability

Which element is essential to the defense of assumption of risk?

  1. The plaintiff's injury was caused by a third party
  2. The plaintiff knowingly and voluntarily accepted the risk Correct answer.
  3. The defendant warned the plaintiff of the risk
  4. The plaintiff was unaware of any danger

Explanation

Assumption of risk requires that the plaintiff knew of and appreciated a specific danger and voluntarily exposed himself to it. A warning by the defendant supports knowledge but does not by itself establish the defense, and lack of awareness defeats it.

Question 11Essentials of Legal Liability

An intervening act will break the chain of proximate causation when:

  1. The intervening act was not reasonably foreseeable Correct answer.
  2. The intervening act was committed by a third party
  3. The intervening act occurred after the original conduct
  4. The intervening act was negligent rather than intentional

Explanation

A superseding cause must be both independent of the original negligence and unforeseeable to relieve the original actor of liability. Foreseeable intervening conduct, including negligent or intentional acts of third parties, does not break the chain.

Question 12Essentials of Legal Liability

Which circumstance is required for the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur to apply?

  1. The plaintiff can explain precisely how the injury occurred
  2. The defendant owed no duty of care to the plaintiff
  3. The thing causing harm was under the defendant's control Correct answer.
  4. The injury resulted from the plaintiff's own careless act

Explanation

Res ipsa loquitur allows an inference of negligence when the accident is of a kind that ordinarily does not occur absent negligence and the instrumentality was in the defendant's exclusive control. It is used precisely when the plaintiff cannot explain how the injury occurred, and it presupposes a duty owed.

Question 13Essentials of Legal Liability

Negligence per se arises when:

  1. The defendant's conduct fell below the standard of a reasonable person
  2. The defendant violated a statute designed to protect the injured class Correct answer.
  3. The plaintiff freely and knowingly accepted the risk of injury
  4. The defendant intended to cause the plaintiff's injury

Explanation

When a statute sets a standard of conduct and the injured plaintiff is within the class the statute was enacted to protect, violation of the statute establishes breach as a matter of law. Ordinary reasonable-person analysis is common-law negligence, and intent belongs to intentional torts.

Question 14Essentials of Legal Liability

The attractive nuisance doctrine provides that:

  1. A landowner may owe a duty to child trespassers drawn to a hazard Correct answer.
  2. A landowner is strictly liable for every injury that occurs on the premises
  3. A landowner owes all adult trespassers the full duty of reasonable care
  4. A landowner owes no duty whatsoever to any trespasser, adult or child

Explanation

The attractive nuisance doctrine recognizes that young children may not appreciate danger, so a landowner may be liable for harm to a child trespasser caused by a dangerous condition the owner knew or should have known would attract children. Adult trespassers still receive only the limited traditional duty, and landowners are not strictly liable for all on-site injuries.

Question 15Essentials of Legal Liability

Which activity is most likely to be classified as an abnormally dangerous activity supporting strict liability?

  1. Operating a swimming pool for houseguests
  2. Driving a delivery truck on a public street
  3. Blasting rock with explosives near homes Correct answer.
  4. Storing household cleaning products in a garage

Explanation

Strict liability attaches to abnormally dangerous activities that involve a high risk of serious harm that cannot be eliminated with reasonable care and that are inappropriate to the location. Blasting near homes fits this test; ordinary driving, residential pools, and typical household storage are judged by negligence standards.

Question 16Essentials of Legal Liability

Under strict liability in tort for a defective product, an injured user must show that:

  1. The seller knew the product was defective
  2. The product was defective and unreasonably dangerous Correct answer.
  3. The buyer purchased the product directly from the manufacturer
  4. The seller failed to inspect the product before sale

Explanation

Strict products liability requires proof that the product was defective and unreasonably dangerous when it left the seller's hands and that the defect caused the injury. Privity is not required, and the claimant need not show that the seller knew of the defect or failed to inspect.

Question 17Essentials of Legal Liability

What duty does a property owner owe to an invitee?

  1. To refrain from willful and wanton misconduct
  2. To keep the premises free of every possible risk
  3. To inspect the premises and warn of hidden dangers Correct answer.
  4. To warn only of dangers the visitor already knows about

Explanation

An invitee is owed the highest duty of the three common-law visitor classes: the owner must exercise reasonable care to inspect the premises and to discover and warn of hidden dangers. The landowner is not an insurer and need not eliminate every conceivable risk.

Question 18Essentials of Legal Liability

Which defense will defeat a defamation claim regardless of the defendant's state of mind?

  1. The speaker believed the statement was true
  2. The statement was repeated from a reliable source
  3. The statement was made only to one other person
  4. The statement made was substantially true Correct answer.

Explanation

Truth is a complete defense to defamation because a statement that is substantially true does not harm a reputation unfairly. Publication to even one third party satisfies the publication element, and honest belief or reliance on a source does not excuse a false statement.

Question 19Essentials of Legal Liability

Which situation most likely constitutes false imprisonment?

  1. A store posts a sign warning that shoplifters will be prosecuted
  2. A store clerk politely asks a customer whether she needs help
  3. A guard physically detains a customer without consent or authority Correct answer.
  4. A store refuses to accept a customer's return of merchandise

Explanation

False imprisonment is the intentional confinement of another within boundaries fixed by the defendant without consent or legal justification. Polite offers of assistance, posted warnings, and refusal of a return do not restrain a person's freedom of movement.

Question 20Essentials of Legal Liability

In a hold harmless and indemnity agreement, the indemnitor:

  1. The insurer agrees to defend the insured against covered claims
  2. The indemnitor agrees to answer for the liability of the indemnitee Correct answer.
  3. Both parties waive all claims against each other
  4. The indemnitee pays the losses of the indemnitor

Explanation

An indemnity agreement shifts the obligation to pay for certain losses from the indemnitee to the indemnitor, who agrees to answer for the indemnitee's liability. It is a contractual risk-transfer device distinct from insurance, and the burden runs from indemnitor to indemnitee, not the reverse.

Question 21Essentials of Legal Liability

Which factor most strongly supports classifying a worker as an employee rather than an independent contractor?

  1. The worker performs services for several unrelated clients
  2. The company controls the details of how the work is performed Correct answer.
  3. The worker is paid a fixed price for a finished project
  4. The worker supplies his own tools and sets his own hours

Explanation

The central test for employee status is the employer's right to control the manner and means of the work, not merely the result. Supplying one's own tools, setting one's own hours, quoting a project price, and serving multiple clients are all indicators of independent contractor status.

Question 22Essentials of Legal Liability

Two defendants are jointly and severally liable for a $300,000 judgment. The plaintiff may:

  1. The plaintiff may collect the full judgment from either defendant Correct answer.
  2. Each defendant is liable only for its percentage of fault
  3. The plaintiff must collect equally from both defendants
  4. The plaintiff may collect only from the defendant who acted intentionally

Explanation

Joint and several liability allows the plaintiff to collect the entire judgment from any one joint tortfeasor, who then may seek contribution from the others. Apportionment among defendants and equal collection are not required under the doctrine.

Question 23Essentials of Legal Liability

Fumes and odors from a factory drift onto neighboring land and interfere with the neighbor's use of the property. The claim is best described as:

  1. Trespass, because something entered the neighbor's land
  2. Conversion, because the neighbor's use was taken away
  3. Nuisance, because it interferes with use and enjoyment Correct answer.
  4. Negligence per se, because a statute was violated

Explanation

Nuisance addresses substantial and unreasonable interference with another's use and enjoyment of land, and intangible invasions such as fumes and odors are classic nuisance fact patterns. Trespass generally requires a physical entry by a person or tangible object, and conversion concerns personal property.

Question 24Essentials of Legal Liability

Which element must a plaintiff prove in an action for malicious prosecution?

  1. The defendant published a false statement about the plaintiff
  2. The defendant used unreasonable force during an arrest
  3. The defendant detained the plaintiff without consent
  4. The prior proceeding ended in the plaintiff's favor Correct answer.

Explanation

Malicious prosecution requires that a prior criminal or civil proceeding was initiated or continued by the defendant, without probable cause, with malice, and that it terminated favorably to the plaintiff. Unreasonable force and detention relate to excessive force and false imprisonment, while publication relates to defamation.

Question 25Essentials of Legal Liability

In a personal injury action, which item is classified as general damages?

  1. Cost of repairing damaged property
  2. Pain and suffering Correct answer.
  3. Medical expenses
  4. Lost wages

Explanation

General damages are non-economic losses that flow naturally from the injury, such as pain and suffering, disability, and loss of enjoyment of life. Special damages are the quantifiable economic losses, including medical bills, lost earnings, and property repair costs.

Question 26Essentials of Legal Liability

In a negligence action, which element must the plaintiff establish in addition to duty, breach, and causation?

  1. Actual damages Correct answer.
  2. The defendant's intent to cause harm
  3. The defendant's financial ability to pay a judgment
  4. A written contract between the parties

Explanation

Negligence requires proof of duty, breach, causation (actual and proximate), and damages; without actual harm no negligence claim exists. Intent belongs to the intentional torts, and neither a contract nor the defendant's wealth is an element of the cause of action.

Question 27Essentials of Legal Liability

Under the traditional common-law rule, which duty does a landowner owe to an undiscovered adult trespasser?

  1. A duty to keep the premises reasonably safe for visitors
  2. A duty to avoid willful or wanton misconduct Correct answer.
  3. A duty to inspect the property regularly for hidden dangers
  4. A duty to warn of all known hazards on the premises

Explanation

Trespassers receive the lowest level of protection: the possessor must refrain from willful or wanton injury and, in many states, from maintaining hidden traps. Duties to inspect and to warn of known dangers are owed to licensees and invitees, not to an undiscovered trespasser.

Question 28Essentials of Legal Liability

Which circumstance constitutes an assault?

  1. Apprehension of an imminent harmful contact Correct answer.
  2. A person is struck from behind without any warning
  3. A person's property is taken without consent
  4. A person is confined to a room against his will

Explanation

Assault is an intentional act that causes a reasonable apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive contact; physical contact is not required. A completed contact is battery, a taking of property is conversion or trespass to chattels, and confinement is false imprisonment.

Question 29Essentials of Legal Liability

A patient signs a consent form before undergoing surgery. In a battery claim arising from the operation, the signed form most directly supports which defense?

  1. Assumption of risk
  2. Statute of limitations
  3. Self-defense
  4. Express consent Correct answer.

Explanation

Consent, whether express (written or spoken) or implied from conduct, negates the offensiveness of the contact and defeats a battery claim. Self-defense responds to a threatened attack, and the time limit for filing suit is unrelated to permission for the contact.

Question 30Essentials of Legal Liability

Under the traditional common-law rule, what obligation does a stranger have upon seeing a swimmer in distress in a public pool?

  1. No duty, absent a special relationship or created peril Correct answer.
  2. A duty to rescue whenever the rescuer could act without personal risk
  3. An absolute duty to attempt a rescue, since the pool is a public facility
  4. A duty to summon help only if the swimmer is a minor

Explanation

The common law imposes no general duty to rescue; a duty arises only when the defendant created the peril, stands in a special relationship such as parent-child or carrier-passenger, or has assumed responsibility. Good Samaritan statutes may shield those who choose to help, but they do not create the duty itself.

Question 31Essentials of Legal Liability

A spouse of an injured worker sues for the lost companionship, affection, and household services caused by the injury. Which type of damages is claimed?

  1. Loss of consortium Correct answer.
  2. Punitive damages
  3. Liquidated damages
  4. Nominal damages

Explanation

Loss of consortium is a derivative claim compensating a spouse for the deprivation of companionship and services resulting from the injury. Nominal damages are a token award, punitive damages punish wrongdoing, and liquidated damages are fixed in advance by agreement.

Question 32Essentials of Legal Liability

After an accident, an injured plaintiff unreasonably refuses medical treatment that would have reduced the severity of the injury. What is the effect under the avoidable-consequences rule?

  1. Damages may be reduced by the avoidable portion Correct answer.
  2. The plaintiff may recover punitive damages to offset the loss
  3. The defendant's liability is extinguished entirely
  4. The plaintiff's claim is barred by contributory negligence

Explanation

The avoidable-consequences rule limits recovery to the harm the plaintiff could not reasonably have avoided, so unreasonable refusal of treatment reduces but does not eliminate damages. It operates as a limitation on damages rather than a complete bar to the claim.

Question 33Essentials of Legal Liability

A witness testifies falsely during a court trial. Which defense most likely bars a defamation claim based on that testimony?

  1. Fair comment on a matter of public concern
  2. Truth, because the statement was made under oath
  3. Absolute privilege for judicial proceedings Correct answer.
  4. Qualified privilege based on public interest

Explanation

Statements by participants in judicial proceedings are absolutely privileged, so no defamation liability attaches even when the statement is false and made with malice. Qualified privileges, by contrast, can be lost through abuse or malice.

Question 34Essentials of Legal Liability

An office worker deliberately flicks a paper clip that strikes a co-worker's arm, causing a slight sting but no injury. Which tort, if any, has occurred?

  1. Battery, because the contact was intentional Correct answer.
  2. Assault only, because the contact was trivial
  3. No tort, because the co-worker was not injured
  4. Negligence, because the harm was unintended

Explanation

Battery requires only an intentional harmful or offensive contact; actual physical injury is not required. Flicking an object at another person is a deliberate act producing a contact a reasonable person would find offensive.

Question 35Essentials of Legal Liability

A mechanic refuses to return a customer's car after being paid in full and instead uses it for personal errands over several months. Which tort best describes this conduct?

  1. Defamation
  2. Negligent misrepresentation
  3. Conversion Correct answer.
  4. Trespass to land

Explanation

Conversion is the intentional exercise of dominion and control over another's chattel that so seriously interferes with the owner's rights as to justify a forced sale of the item. Prolonged use of another's vehicle in defiance of the owner's rights is a classic example.

Question 36Essentials of Legal Liability

A person intends to strike one individual but misses and hits a bystander instead. Under the doctrine of transferred intent, the actor is liable to the bystander for:

  1. Nothing, because the bystander was not the intended target
  2. Battery, because the intent transfers to the person struck Correct answer.
  3. Assault only, because the actor missed the intended victim
  4. Negligence only, because the harm was accidental

Explanation

Transferred intent shifts the actor's intent from the intended victim to the person actually harmed, making the actor liable for battery to the bystander. The same act may also constitute an assault on the intended target if that person apprehended the contact.

Question 37Essentials of Legal Liability

A man is threatened with a shove by an unarmed stranger standing close by. Which level of force may he use in self-defense?

  1. Any force necessary to eliminate the threat permanently
  2. Deadly force, if he genuinely fears any contact
  3. Reasonable force proportionate to the threat Correct answer.
  4. No force at all, because the threat was not deadly

Explanation

Self-defense permits only the force reasonably necessary to repel the apparent threat; deadly force is limited to threats of death or serious bodily harm. Using force beyond what the situation reasonably requires forfeits the privilege.

Question 38Essentials of Legal Liability

A homeowner catches a trespassing child stealing a garden ornament. Which statement about the homeowner's use of force to protect the property is accurate?

  1. Force may be used only after a police report has been filed
  2. Reasonable nondeadly force may be used to protect property Correct answer.
  3. No force of any kind may ever be used to protect property
  4. Deadly force is permitted because the trespasser is committing a crime

Explanation

A possessor may use reasonable, nondeadly force to prevent or terminate a trespass or interference with property, but deadly force is never justified solely to protect property. Human life is valued above property interests.

Question 39Essentials of Legal Liability

A delivery company fails to check references and hires a driver with a known history of violent assaults; the driver later attacks a customer while making a delivery. The company is most likely exposed to liability under:

  1. Strict liability for an abnormally dangerous activity
  2. Products liability for a defective product
  3. Premises liability as a possessor of land
  4. Negligent hiring and supervision Correct answer.

Explanation

An employer may be directly liable for negligent hiring, training, or supervision when it places an unfit person in a position that creates an unreasonable risk to others. This direct liability exists independently of any vicarious liability for the employee's acts.

Question 40Essentials of Legal Liability

A defendant's minor negligence causes a small cut to a plaintiff with a rare bleeding disorder, resulting in catastrophic harm. Under the thin-skull rule, the defendant is liable for:

  1. Half the damages, because the plaintiff's condition contributed
  2. Full damages, taking the victim as found Correct answer.
  3. Nothing beyond the harm a normal person would have suffered
  4. Only the harm the defendant actually foresaw

Explanation

Under the thin-skull rule, a tortfeasor is liable for the full extent of the harm caused, even if an unusual susceptibility made the injury far worse than expected. Foreseeability limits the type of harm, not the degree of the victim's vulnerability.

Question 41Essentials of Legal Liability

In a state that follows the 50 percent modified comparative negligence rule, a plaintiff whose fault equals or exceeds the defendant's is barred. A plaintiff found 50 percent at fault recovers:

  1. Nothing; recovery is barred at 50 percent fault Correct answer.
  2. Damages reduced by the defendant's percentage of fault
  3. Damages reduced by 50 percent
  4. Full damages, because the plaintiff's fault did not exceed the defendant's

Explanation

Under the 50 percent modified rule, a plaintiff whose negligence equals or exceeds the defendant's is completely barred, so a 50/50 allocation produces no recovery. Reduction of damages by the plaintiff's percentage applies only where the plaintiff's fault falls below the threshold.

Question 42Essentials of Legal Liability

An employee is injured at work by a coworker's negligence. Which statement best reflects the exclusive remedy rule of workers compensation?

  1. The employee may sue the employer in tort and also collect statutory benefits
  2. The employee must choose between statutory benefits and a tort suit
  3. The tort claim against the employer is barred Correct answer.
  4. The employee may sue the coworker's supervisor in place of the employer

Explanation

Workers compensation provides no-fault statutory benefits and makes them the exclusive remedy against the employer for work-related injury, barring a tort suit against that employer. Claims against third parties outside the employment relationship may still be possible.

Question 43Essentials of Legal Liability

A mother watches her child narrowly escape being struck by a speeding truck. She suffers severe emotional distress but no physical impact. Under the zone-of-danger rule, she may recover if she:

  1. Can prove the truck driver intended to frighten her
  2. Suffered distress only after reading about the event in the news
  3. Was in the zone of danger and feared for her own safety Correct answer.
  4. Was a bystander who arrived at the scene shortly afterward

Explanation

Under the zone-of-danger approach, a bystander may recover for emotional harm without physical impact if the bystander was personally at risk of physical harm and feared for his or her own safety. Many jurisdictions also require a close family relationship to the endangered person.

Question 44Essentials of Legal Liability

In most jurisdictions, punitive damages in a tort action may be awarded when the defendant's conduct is:

  1. Merely careless, even if the plaintiff was seriously harmed
  2. Malicious, oppressive, or reckless indifference to rights Correct answer.
  3. The proximate cause of any economic loss
  4. Covered by the defendant's liability insurance

Explanation

Punitive damages are reserved for conduct worse than ordinary negligence, such as malice, oppression, fraud, or reckless indifference to the safety of others, and serve to punish and deter. Ordinary carelessness supports only compensatory damages.

Question 45Essentials of Legal Liability

A consumer buys a new power drill that jams on first use because of a manufacturing defect and is injured. Under the implied warranty of merchantability, the seller is liable if the goods:

  1. Caused any injury, regardless of the product's condition
  2. Were sold without any written warranty document
  3. Were not fit for the ordinary purposes for which such goods are used Correct answer.
  4. Were fit for their ordinary purpose only if the buyer gave notice within 24 hours

Explanation

The implied warranty of merchantability promises that goods are fit for the ordinary purposes for which such goods are used and are adequately packaged and labeled. A defect that makes a new tool jam on first use breaches that warranty, and no written warranty document is required.

Question 46Essentials of Legal Liability

A property owner hires an independent contractor to repair a gas line at a shopping center open to the public. The contractor's negligent work causes an explosion. The owner:

  1. Is liable only if the contractor carried no insurance
  2. May be liable, because the duty is nondelegable Correct answer.
  3. Is liable only if the owner personally supervised the work
  4. Is never liable for the acts of an independent contractor

Explanation

Although a principal is generally not liable for an independent contractor's negligence, certain duties-such as keeping premises safe for the public and complying with safety codes-are nondelegable, so the owner remains responsible. Active supervision by the owner is not the test.

Question 47Essentials of Legal Liability

In a jurisdiction that still recognizes last clear chance, a negligent plaintiff may recover despite contributory negligence when the defendant:

  1. Had a final opportunity to avoid the harm and failed to do so Correct answer.
  2. Carried liability insurance covering the occurrence
  3. Was also negligent in a different way
  4. Failed to warn the plaintiff of a danger the plaintiff already knew about

Explanation

Last clear chance permits recovery when the defendant, after discovering or having the ability to discover the plaintiff's peril, negligently fails to use a final opportunity to avoid the harm. It does not apply when the defendant never had such an opportunity.

Question 48Essentials of Legal Liability

Two tortfeasors are found 60 percent and 40 percent at fault in a jurisdiction that allows contribution. After one tortfeasor pays the entire judgment, that tortfeasor may:

  1. Reallocate the plaintiff's own comparative fault to the other tortfeasor
  2. Recover nothing from the other tortfeasor under any circumstances
  3. Recover the full amount paid from the other tortfeasor
  4. Seek contribution for the other tortfeasor's proportionate share Correct answer.

Explanation

Contribution allows a tortfeasor who paid more than its proportionate share to recover the excess from other jointly liable tortfeasors, typically measured by comparative fault. Recovery is limited to the other party's share of the judgment.

Question 49Essentials of Legal Liability

A city's building inspector negligently approves plans that violate the fire code, and a fire later injures occupants. The city's strongest defense is likely that:

  1. The inspector's conduct was a superseding cause
  2. The inspection was a discretionary function shielded by immunity Correct answer.
  3. Municipalities are always immune from suit for any act
  4. Building inspection is a proprietary function

Explanation

Under governmental tort immunity statutes, discretionary functions involving policy judgment are generally protected, while merely ministerial acts are not. Blanket immunity for every municipal act is no longer the prevailing rule.

Question 50Essentials of Legal Liability

A plaintiff's medical bills were paid by her health insurer. Under the collateral source rule, the defendant tortfeasor:

  1. Is liable only for the amounts the plaintiff personally paid
  2. May not reduce damages by the insurance payments Correct answer.
  3. Owes no damages, because the plaintiff had no out-of-pocket loss
  4. May offset the judgment by the full amount of the benefits

Explanation

The collateral source rule bars a tortfeasor from reducing damages by benefits the plaintiff received from sources independent of the tortfeasor, such as health insurance. Any reimbursement or subrogation rights between the plaintiff and the insurer are resolved separately.