CP CP Torts & Personal Injury 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under California negligence law, a plaintiff must prove which four elements to prevail?
- Intent, act, causation, damages
- Duty, breach, causation, damages (Correct answer)
- Offer, acceptance, consideration, breach
- Fault, injury, witness, complaint
Correct answer: Duty, breach, causation, damages
A California negligence claim requires proof of (1) a duty of care, (2) breach of that duty, (3) causation (actual and proximate), and (4) resulting damages.
Question 2: California follows which comparative fault doctrine in personal injury cases?
- Contributory negligence (plaintiff's any fault bars recovery)
- Pure comparative negligence (plaintiff may recover even if 99% at fault) (Correct answer)
- Modified comparative negligence (51% bar)
- Assumption of risk bars all recovery
Correct answer: Pure comparative negligence (plaintiff may recover even if 99% at fault)
California adopted pure comparative negligence in Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975), allowing a plaintiff to recover damages reduced by their percentage of fault, regardless of how high that percentage is.
Question 3: In California, the general statute of limitations for a personal injury (negligence) claim is:
- 1 year from the date of injury
- 2 years from the date of injury (Correct answer)
- 3 years from the date of injury
- 4 years from the date of injury
Correct answer: 2 years from the date of injury
California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 sets a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims based on negligence.
Question 4: Strict liability in California applies most commonly to which type of tort defendant?
- Landowners who fail to warn trespassers
- Manufacturers and sellers of defective products (Correct answer)
- Employers of negligent employees
- Drivers who exceed the speed limit
Correct answer: Manufacturers and sellers of defective products
Under California products liability law (stemming from Greenman v. Yuba Power Products), manufacturers and sellers are strictly liable for injuries caused by defective products.
Question 5: California's dog bite statute (Civil Code § 3342) imposes liability on a dog owner when their dog bites someone who is:
- Only trespassing on private property
- In a public place or lawfully in a private place, regardless of the dog's prior vicious propensities (Correct answer)
- Provoking the dog at the time of the bite
- On the owner's property without prior warning
Correct answer: In a public place or lawfully in a private place, regardless of the dog's prior vicious propensities
California Civil Code § 3342 imposes strict liability on dog owners when a bite occurs in a public place or when the victim is lawfully on private property, without requiring proof of prior vicious behavior.
Question 6: Under the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) in California, a plaintiff must show conduct that is:
- Negligent and causes mild anxiety
- Extreme and outrageous, intentional or reckless, causing severe emotional distress (Correct answer)
- Any deliberate act causing hurt feelings
- Fraudulent misrepresentation causing financial loss
Correct answer: Extreme and outrageous, intentional or reckless, causing severe emotional distress
California IIED requires extreme and outrageous conduct, intent or recklessness, causation, and severe emotional distress; ordinary rudeness does not qualify.
CP CP Torts & Personal Injury 1
Under California negligence law, a plaintiff must prove which four elements to prevail?