CLA/CP Exam Torts: Negligence and Liability 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under respondeat superior, an employer is vicariously liable for an employee's tort when the employee acts:
- During personal time off work
- Within the scope of employment (Correct answer)
- Contrary to explicit employer instructions only
- With malicious intent
Correct answer: Within the scope of employment
Respondeat superior imposes vicarious liability on employers for employee torts committed within the scope of employment, regardless of employer fault.
Question 2: In most U.S. jurisdictions, the standard of care owed by a professional (e.g., attorney or doctor) is measured by:
- The reasonable person standard applied to all adults
- What the professional subjectively believed was correct
- The standard of a reasonably competent professional in the same field (Correct answer)
- Strict liability for any errors made
Correct answer: The standard of a reasonably competent professional in the same field
Professionals are held to the standard of a reasonably competent member of their profession, not merely the reasonable layperson.
Question 3: Which doctrine allows an injured plaintiff to sue multiple defendants jointly when it is impossible to determine which one caused the harm?
- Res ipsa loquitur
- Alternative liability (Correct answer)
- Comparative fault
- Contributory negligence
Correct answer: Alternative liability
Alternative liability (from Summers v. Tice) shifts the burden of proof to each defendant to show they did not cause the harm when all acted negligently and only one could have caused it.
Question 4: Assumption of risk as a complete defense in negligence typically requires that the plaintiff:
- Was unaware of any risk
- Voluntarily and knowingly encountered a known risk (Correct answer)
- Was contributorily negligent
- Signed a written waiver before any activity
Correct answer: Voluntarily and knowingly encountered a known risk
Express or implied assumption of risk requires that the plaintiff voluntarily chose to encounter a risk they knew and understood.
Question 5: Under the 'last clear chance' doctrine (in contributory negligence states), a plaintiff who was contributorily negligent may still recover if:
- The defendant acted with malicious intent
- The defendant had a final opportunity to avoid the harm and failed to use it (Correct answer)
- The plaintiff had no time to realize the danger
- The plaintiff's negligence was slight compared to the defendant's
Correct answer: The defendant had a final opportunity to avoid the harm and failed to use it
Last clear chance allows a contributorily negligent plaintiff to recover if the defendant, seeing the plaintiff in peril, had the last opportunity to prevent the injury.
Question 6: An independent contractor relationship generally prevents vicarious liability for the hiring party except when:
- The contractor is paid on a project basis
- The work involves an inherently dangerous activity (Correct answer)
- The contractor uses their own tools
- The contractor has more than five employees
Correct answer: The work involves an inherently dangerous activity
One major exception to the no-vicarious-liability rule for independent contractors applies when the work is inherently dangerous, making the hiring party non-delegably liable.
Question 7: Which of the following is the correct 'but-for' causation test?
- Would the harm have occurred even if the defendant had acted non-negligently? (Correct answer)
- Was the defendant's act the sole cause of the harm?
- Did the defendant act with disregard for foreseeable risks?
- Was the harm within the scope of the risk that made the act negligent?
Correct answer: Would the harm have occurred even if the defendant had acted non-negligently?
The but-for test asks whether the harm would NOT have occurred but for the defendant's negligent conduct, establishing actual cause.
CLA/CP Exam Torts: Negligence and Liability 3
Under respondeat superior, an employer is vicariously liable for an employee's tort when the employee acts: