Torts Practice Problems Exam 2025
Questions and Answers
In a crowded subway two people are standing next to each other because there are
no available seats. Person 1 looks down and notices that Person 2 has shiny, new
shoes. Person 1 thinking that it would be funny and a good natured prank, decides
to step on person 2's shoes to scuff them a little. As he does so the train slows
suddenly and instead of just scuffing the shoes with light contact Person 1 ends up
stomping Person 2's shoe with a lot of force. Person 2 suffers injury to his toes but
there is no actual damage to the shoe. For what intentional tort, if any, may Person
1 be liable? - --Answer --- Person 1 may be liable for battery.
- Even though there was no intent to commit a battery, there was the intent to
commit a trespass to chattel by scuffing the shoe. Even though the shoe ended up
not being scuffed, because harmful or offensive contact occurred (damage to toes),
the intent to commit trespass to chattel transfers via the doctrine of transferred
intent to satisfy all the elements of the tort of battery.
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,Sleeping Beauty had been asleep for years. One day Prince Charming strolled into
town. He saw Sleeping Beauty and out of the goodness of his heart decided to kiss
her. His only motivation in kissing her was to help her because he knew the kiss
would wake her up. Two weeks after the kiss, sleeping beauty woke up. She was
completely unaware at this point that she had been kissed by the long gone prince.
After she woke up she ran into her friend Rapunzel who said to her, "You know
Prince Charming came by 2 weeks ago and kissed you and that is the reason you
are now awake." Even though she was physically and emotionally unharmed, the
unsolicited kiss from Prince charming was something both she and a reasonable
person would find offensive. What cause(s) of action are at least actionable from
these facts? - --Answer --- Battery
- Battery is defined as intentionally causing harmful or offensive contact to the
person of another. Unlike assault, which requires fear or apprehension, battery
does not require an element of sensory awareness of the contact. Prince Charming
unquestionably had the intent to cause contact to Sleeping Beauty so intent is
satisfied. He did in fact cause contact and the contact was the type of contact that
would have been harmful or offensive to a reasonable person. The tort is therefore
satisfied. Additionally, battery is a dignitary tort so Sleeping Beauty may sue in
Battery even if there was no actual harm.
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,Randy was Angry at Big Brock so Randy hatched a plan. He would sneak up on
Brock while Brock was sleeping in his tent and point his rifle into the center of the
tent where he knew Brock always slept and shoot, killing Brock. Randy waited until
Brock was camping out in the wilderness and he snuck up to the tent. He stuck the
barrel of the rifle through the opening of the tent and fired into the center of the
tent without looking. It turns out that Brock was nowhere near the tent and Randy
ended up shooting only Brock's expensive sleeping bag, completely destroying it.
This was curious since Brock never slept with a sleeping bag before and Randy
knew this. Brock discovered all that had transpired after he returned to his tent and
other campers described what had happened. Brock seeks your advice to recover
for the value of the sleeping bag. Which of the following causes of action would be
most likely to succeed? - --Answer --- Trespass to chattel
- The intent to batter will transfer to satisfy the intent element of trespass to
chattel. Because the resulting tort involved interference with Brock's chattel or
personal property, then trespass to chattel would be most likely to succeed.
Two students at the end of the semester got a D grade in torts. One student was
incredibly irate about the grade and the other was blissfully happy he did not get an
F. The blissfully happy student decided to celebrate. In order to celebrate she went
to the store and bought a bow and arrow. She waited until the classroom was full
and began shooting suction cup tipped, wooden arrows into the air in the
....COPYRIGHT ©️ 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED...TRUSTED & VERIFIED 3
, classroom with a sign on them that said, "Joy, Joy I will work harder because now I
know that your grades in law school are proportional to the amount of work you
do." Her only goal in shooting the arrows was to share her profound discovery
about the correlation between grades and work in law school. However, the arrows
bounced off the walls and hit many, many people causing them to experience
offensive contact. The irate student got the same kind of bow and arrow that the
other student got and began shooting the studen - --Answer --- The irate
student acted with intent because he acted with the specific purpose of causing
harmful and offensive contact.
- Here the intent of the unhappy student may be classified as specific intent. The
facts state the student "methodically aimed at other students," and that he had 10
years of archery lessons. What this shows is that the unhappy student is taking
deliberate actions to bring about the tortious result of harmful or offensive
contact. This action with a deliberate purpose to achieve a tortious result is called
specific intent.
As Pedestrian was walking along the street on the edge of Homeowner's property,
Homeowner decided to play a prank on Pedestrian. Homeowner opened the door
of his house facing the street where Pedestrian was walking. He stood in the open
doorway with his huge ferocious dog and called to Pedestrian, "Hey." As
Pedestrian looked across the 15 yards of lawn between the street and the doorway
....COPYRIGHT ©️ 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED...TRUSTED & VERIFIED 4
Questions and Answers
In a crowded subway two people are standing next to each other because there are
no available seats. Person 1 looks down and notices that Person 2 has shiny, new
shoes. Person 1 thinking that it would be funny and a good natured prank, decides
to step on person 2's shoes to scuff them a little. As he does so the train slows
suddenly and instead of just scuffing the shoes with light contact Person 1 ends up
stomping Person 2's shoe with a lot of force. Person 2 suffers injury to his toes but
there is no actual damage to the shoe. For what intentional tort, if any, may Person
1 be liable? - --Answer --- Person 1 may be liable for battery.
- Even though there was no intent to commit a battery, there was the intent to
commit a trespass to chattel by scuffing the shoe. Even though the shoe ended up
not being scuffed, because harmful or offensive contact occurred (damage to toes),
the intent to commit trespass to chattel transfers via the doctrine of transferred
intent to satisfy all the elements of the tort of battery.
....COPYRIGHT ©️ 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED...TRUSTED & VERIFIED 1
,Sleeping Beauty had been asleep for years. One day Prince Charming strolled into
town. He saw Sleeping Beauty and out of the goodness of his heart decided to kiss
her. His only motivation in kissing her was to help her because he knew the kiss
would wake her up. Two weeks after the kiss, sleeping beauty woke up. She was
completely unaware at this point that she had been kissed by the long gone prince.
After she woke up she ran into her friend Rapunzel who said to her, "You know
Prince Charming came by 2 weeks ago and kissed you and that is the reason you
are now awake." Even though she was physically and emotionally unharmed, the
unsolicited kiss from Prince charming was something both she and a reasonable
person would find offensive. What cause(s) of action are at least actionable from
these facts? - --Answer --- Battery
- Battery is defined as intentionally causing harmful or offensive contact to the
person of another. Unlike assault, which requires fear or apprehension, battery
does not require an element of sensory awareness of the contact. Prince Charming
unquestionably had the intent to cause contact to Sleeping Beauty so intent is
satisfied. He did in fact cause contact and the contact was the type of contact that
would have been harmful or offensive to a reasonable person. The tort is therefore
satisfied. Additionally, battery is a dignitary tort so Sleeping Beauty may sue in
Battery even if there was no actual harm.
....COPYRIGHT ©️ 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED...TRUSTED & VERIFIED 2
,Randy was Angry at Big Brock so Randy hatched a plan. He would sneak up on
Brock while Brock was sleeping in his tent and point his rifle into the center of the
tent where he knew Brock always slept and shoot, killing Brock. Randy waited until
Brock was camping out in the wilderness and he snuck up to the tent. He stuck the
barrel of the rifle through the opening of the tent and fired into the center of the
tent without looking. It turns out that Brock was nowhere near the tent and Randy
ended up shooting only Brock's expensive sleeping bag, completely destroying it.
This was curious since Brock never slept with a sleeping bag before and Randy
knew this. Brock discovered all that had transpired after he returned to his tent and
other campers described what had happened. Brock seeks your advice to recover
for the value of the sleeping bag. Which of the following causes of action would be
most likely to succeed? - --Answer --- Trespass to chattel
- The intent to batter will transfer to satisfy the intent element of trespass to
chattel. Because the resulting tort involved interference with Brock's chattel or
personal property, then trespass to chattel would be most likely to succeed.
Two students at the end of the semester got a D grade in torts. One student was
incredibly irate about the grade and the other was blissfully happy he did not get an
F. The blissfully happy student decided to celebrate. In order to celebrate she went
to the store and bought a bow and arrow. She waited until the classroom was full
and began shooting suction cup tipped, wooden arrows into the air in the
....COPYRIGHT ©️ 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED...TRUSTED & VERIFIED 3
, classroom with a sign on them that said, "Joy, Joy I will work harder because now I
know that your grades in law school are proportional to the amount of work you
do." Her only goal in shooting the arrows was to share her profound discovery
about the correlation between grades and work in law school. However, the arrows
bounced off the walls and hit many, many people causing them to experience
offensive contact. The irate student got the same kind of bow and arrow that the
other student got and began shooting the studen - --Answer --- The irate
student acted with intent because he acted with the specific purpose of causing
harmful and offensive contact.
- Here the intent of the unhappy student may be classified as specific intent. The
facts state the student "methodically aimed at other students," and that he had 10
years of archery lessons. What this shows is that the unhappy student is taking
deliberate actions to bring about the tortious result of harmful or offensive
contact. This action with a deliberate purpose to achieve a tortious result is called
specific intent.
As Pedestrian was walking along the street on the edge of Homeowner's property,
Homeowner decided to play a prank on Pedestrian. Homeowner opened the door
of his house facing the street where Pedestrian was walking. He stood in the open
doorway with his huge ferocious dog and called to Pedestrian, "Hey." As
Pedestrian looked across the 15 yards of lawn between the street and the doorway
....COPYRIGHT ©️ 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED...TRUSTED & VERIFIED 4
