June 2007 Question 1 [Torts]
Daisy was driving on the streets of City to meet her friend Sally for a lunch date.
Realizing that she might be late for the lunch date and, while still driving, Daisy decided to call Sally on her cell phone to let her know that she was running late. While dialing Sally’s telephone number, Daisy lost control of her car and hit a telephone pole. The pole broke, fell over, and rolled down the street.
About a block away, the pole rolled toward Frisky, a cat, who was walking across the street. Fearing for Frisky’s safety, nine-year-old Owen, Frisky’s owner, ran into the street, jumped in front of the moving pole, and pushed the startled Frisky out of its path. Unfortunately, the pole ran over Owen’s leg and crushed it. Owen will need medical treatment for these injuries for the rest of his life.
Prior to these events, City had passed an ordinance forbidding the use of a cell phone by an automobile driver while driving. The ordinance was passed in response to community concerns that cell phone use while driving is distracting and causes motor vehicle accidents. The penalty for a violation of the ordinance is $100.
On what theory or theories might an action for damages be brought on behalf of Owen against Daisy, what defenses, if any, might Daisy assert, and what is the likely result? Discuss fully.
June 2007 Question 2 [Criminal Law]
Victor and Debra were dealers of cocaine, which they brought into the United States from South America in Debra’s private plane. On a trip from South America, while Debra was flying her plane, it crashed in a snowy mountainous area in California. Victor was rendered unconscious in the crash. The cocaine they had obtained in South America was hidden inside Victor’s coat. Debra, who was uninjured, put on Victor’s coat and left to seek help.
Eventually, Debra came to a farmhouse with a truck parked outside. She decided to steal the truck. When she opened its door, however, she found an anti-theft device locked onto the steering wheel. Since this would make it difficult to steal the truck, she decided not to steal the truck after all and called a taxi cab from a roadside telephone a short distance from the farmhouse.
Carl, the cab driver, turned out to be a local drug dealer whom Debra knew. Debra agreed to sell Carl the cocaine she had brought from South America so that he could distribute it. He drove her to his house, where they discussed and finalized the deal. Debra then remembered about Victor, and notified the authorities of the plane crash. By the time the plane wreckage was reached, Victor had died. The authorities concluded that if help had arrived earlier, Victor likely could have been saved.
Carl sold all the cocaine he had obtained from Debra. Unbeknownst to either of them, in South America a strong chemical had been sprayed on the plants that were used to produce the cocaine. As a result, after using the cocaine twenty of the people who purchased the cocaine became seriously ill and all died. Carl has fled the jurisdiction.
What crimes, if any, has Debra committed, and what defenses might she assert? Discuss fully.
June 2007 Question 3 [Contracts]
Delia, who operates and is the only instructor at a successful dance school, needed a new dance instructor. While at an out-of-town social function, she mentioned the job opportunity to her friend, Fran, saying, "I know you don’t have any formal dance training, but you are such a natural athlete that this position could be a good fit for you." Fran immediately quit her job and moved to the town of Delia's school to pursue her prospects as a dance instructor at the school.
Unaware that Fran was moving, Delia contacted Irv, an experienced dance instructor, to inquire about his availability for the position at her school. Delia offered Irv a six-month contract. Irv said, "That is a tempting offer. Can you give me a month to think about it?" Reluctantly, Delia signed a statement that provided that Irv had one month to make his decision based on the "good consideration" of $20 paid by Irv to Delia. In fact, Irv paid Delia nothing.
In the meantime, the landowner of the property at which the dance school operated terminated Delia’s lease. Worried about having to find a new site on which to operate the dance school, Delia decided not to hire a second dance instructor just yet. At the end of the month, when Irv called Delia to advise her of his decision to accept the job offer, Delia advised him that she had decided not to hire another dance instructor.
1. Under what legal theory, if any, can Fran sue Delia, and to what relief, if any, might Fran be entitled? Discuss fully.
2. Is Irv likely to prevail in a lawsuit against Delia to enforce their contract? Discuss fully.
June 2007 Question 4 [Torts]
Eight-year-old Hannah attended Camp, a children’s summer camp. Some of the children at Camp were resident campers who spent each night in cabins, and others, such as Hannah, were day campers who attended Camp between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and rode bicycles to and from their nearby suburban homes daily. The bicycles were locked outside each day camper’s cabin, with the camper keeping the key to the bicycle.
Rick, a Camp counselor, owned a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth that he had brought with him to Camp to show the campers. One day at 3:00 p.m. after a baseball game at Camp, Rick discovered that his autographed baseball had been put into the ball bag and used in the game. He was very upset to find that Babe Ruth’s autograph had been all but worn off as a result.
Rick learned that Hannah had been seen coming out of Rick’s cabin a few minutes before the baseball game and that she had sat near the ball bag before the start of the game. He told Hannah that he would not let her ride home until she admitted what she had done. Very upset, Hannah continually protested her innocence until Rick finally told her at 6:30 p.m. that she could get her bike and ride home. She lived approximately one-half mile from Camp.
When Hannah’s parents asked the Camp Director why their daughter had been so late in getting home, the Director told them what had happened. The Director added that he would never have allowed Rick to keep Hannah so late had he been aware of it. He also told Hannah’s parents that Hannah had not taken Rick’s ball. In fact, her eight-year-old campmate, Jessie, confessed that she had placed Rick’s autographed baseball in the ball bag.
1. On what theory or theories, if any, might an action be brought on Hannah’s behalf against Rick, what defenses might Rick assert, and what is the likely outcome? Discuss fully.
2. On what theory or theories, if any, might an action be brought on Hannah’s behalf against Camp, what defense might Camp assert, and what is the likely outcome? Discuss fully.
October 2007 Question 1 [Torts]
Child, a four-year-old, was seated in a shopping cart her mother was using to shop at Market. While mother was distracted with her shopping list, Child took a banana from a display counter and took a bite out if it, peel and all. Child swallowed the bite she had taken and threw the remainder of the banana onto the floor. Eventually, Child became very ill from a toxic substance the banana supplier had sprayed the banana skin with before delivery of the bananas to Market.
Shopper slipped on the banana that Child had thrown onto the floor and fell against the shopping cart he was using. As he fell, he hit his face on a sharp edge protruding from the shopping cart, severely injuring his eye.
Polly, a police officer, who was off duty and doing her personal shopping, saw Shopper fall and ran to his aid. Polly slipped on the banana that child had thrown onto the floor and, as Polly fell, she came in contact with the sharp edge of the same shopping cart that Shopper had used. Polly’s arm was seriously cut as a result.
Child, through her mother as guardian ad litem, Shopper, and Polly filed separate lawsuits against Market. Child claims that Market is strictly liable for injuries caused by the toxic substance on the banana peel; Shopper and Polly each claim that Market is strictly liable for the injuries caused by the sharp edge on the shopping cart.
What defenses might Market reasonably raise to each claim, and what is the likely outcome of:
1. Child’s lawsuit against Market? Discuss.
2. Shopper’s lawsuit against Market? Discuss.
3. Polly’s lawsuit against Market? Discuss.
October 2007 Question 2 [Criminal Law]
Twelve-year-old Al was throwing rocks against a tree alongside the road to amuse himself while waiting for his school bus. One of the rocks thrown by Al missed the tree and shattered the windshield of an approaching car driven by Bill.
Bill, who had just left a bank he had robbed, was driving carefully and below the speed limit to avoid attracting the attention of the police. When the windshield shattered, Bill swerved, causing the car to run off the road. The car struck and killed Vic, a boy who had also been waiting for the school bus.
Chuck and Dave, Vic’s brothers, decided that the accident had been Al’s fault and, together, carefully planned to avenge Vic’s death. They pooled their money and bought a shotgun, planning to use it to shoot Al. When the time came to go to looking for Al, however, Chuck told Dave, “I’m not going. If you want to do it, you’re on your own.” Dave carried out the plan, shooting and killing Al. After killing Al, Dave removed Al’s watch and kept it for himself.
1. Did Al commit any crime relating to the death of Vic? Discuss.
2. Could Bill be found guilty of any crime relating to the death of Vic? Discuss.
3. Did either Chuck or Dave, or both, commit:
a. Conspiracy to murder Al? Discuss.
b. Murder of Al? Discuss.
c. Theft of Al’s watch? Discuss.
October 2007 Question 3 [Contracts]
Apple Orchards (“Apple”), a grower of apples, entered into a written contract with Best Bakery (“Bakery”) to supply Bakery with all of Bakery’s apple requirements for one year. Under the contract, Apple was required to deliver on the first day of each month the quantity of apples that Bakery required. The contract price was $5,000 per month, payable upon delivery of each shipment.
Apple delivered the required quantity each month for the first six months. At the end of the sixth month, Apple assigned its contract with Bakery to FruitCo, which undertook to deliver the requisite quantities for the remainder of the contract term. Bakery, having some doubts about FruitCo’s reliability, wrote both Apple and FruitCo a letter in which Bakery stated, “I want to be absolutely sure that both Apple and FruitCo will guarantee that I receive the quantity of apples that I require each month.”
Neither Apple nor FruitCo responded to Bakery’s letter. In the seventh and eighth months of the contract, FruitCo made deliveries that were substantially short of the quantity that Bakery required and that Apple had previously delivered. Nevertheless, Bakery accepted and paid for the short shipments.
At the end of the eighth month, Bakery entered into a contract with Davis Farms (“Davis”) to supply Bakery with its requirements for apples for the remaining four months of the year. The contract price was $7,500 per month, payable upon delivery of each shipment. Bakery wrote a letter to Apple and FruitCo informing them that Bakery would no longer accept any apple shipments from either of them.
Bakery then sued both Apple and FruitCo for breach of contract to recover the difference between the Apple/FruitCo contract price and the Davis contract price.
Apple defended on the ground that, after its assignment to FruitCo, it was no longer liable to Bakery. FruitCo filed a counterclaim for breach of contract against Bakery to recover its lost profits.
Which party is likely to prevail in the lawsuit involving:
1. Bakery vs. Apple? Discuss.
2. Bakery vs. FruitCo? Discuss.
October 2007 Question 4 [Torts]
A residence hall on the campus of University was evacuated after a number of student residents became seriously ill from aerial dispersal of bacteria that had infested the air conditioning system. Reputable consultants retained by University to prescribe a remedy for the infestation advised University that there were three ways to proceed: the cheapest would be to purge the air conditioning system with disinfectants, which had usually taken care of the problem in several other similar circumstances; a more expensive method would be to seal off and fumigate the building, which would be more effective; and the most expensive, and the most effective, would be to do multiple sealed fumigations.
To minimize the expense, University chose the cheapest method. University was also motivated by the need to recover revenues that it had lost during the closure and by the need to be able to provide desperately needed housing for the students. After allowing time for the disinfectant to work its way out of the air conditioning system, University reopened the residence hall and advertised reduced rates to induce students to move back in.
Paula and her roommate Art, students attracted by the reduced rates, spoke with University’s Director of Student Housing, who told them that it was safe to move back. Paula said, “Well, I guess I have to rely on your judgment.” Art agreed, saying, “At that price, it’s worth the risk.” They resumed living in the residence hall. Soon after they moved back, Paula and Art had an argument, which left Paula harboring anger against Art.
Within a month, Paula fell ill with the same bacterial infection. Art did not become ill. However, while waiting for an ambulance to pick her up, Paula stuffed Art’s pillow into the ventilator duct with the intent of allowing the pillow to accumulate as much bacteria as possible. She then placed the pillow on Art’s bed. A week later, Art became ill with the same infection.
Paula and Art each wish to sue University for personal injury. What theory of liability should they assert, what defenses might University raise against each, and who would be likely to prevail in each suit? Discuss.