LEB 320F COURT CASES UPDATED QUESTIONS AND
ACCURATE ANSWERS
What is Podias vs Mairs and example of? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Good samaritan
laws, possibly precedents
Podias v. Mairs - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Negligence--Duty--Nonfeasence--Exceptions
Case: D was drinking at the home of a friends. He drove with two other friends (D2 and D3), all
18. D1 was driving; it was raining; the road was wet. D1 lost control of the car, struck the
motorcycle of P, and went over the guardrail. All Ds huddled around the car and saw that P was
lying in the roadway, and thought he was dead. D1 told D3 that he thought D1 killed P. No one
called for assistance, D1 called his girlfriend on D3's phone. D2 placed 17 calls. There were 26
more calls on D3's phone. None were calls to emergency assistance. All Ds decided to get back
in the car and leave the scene. D2 told D1 not to bring him or D3 up. They drove until D1's car
broke down and D2 & D3 ran into the woods (D1 hid in a bush for his girlfriend). Meanwhile, a
motor vehicle operated by another person ran over P who died as a result of injuries sustained in
these accidents.
Podias vs Mairs ruling - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Criminal: possible manslaughter
Civil: wrongful death
Set precedent for good samaritan law: "notion of fairness and common decency and is in account
with public policy" > duty to make reasonable effort to give assistance/avoid further harm
Amended law: cant leave scene of an accident
Case was reversed an remanded and retried in lower court with new law
What is Soldano vs O'Daniels an example of? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Good Samaritan
Laws
Soldano v. O'Daniels - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅- Plaintiff's father shot & killed at
saloon, patron came into Circle Inn & asked bartender to call police or let him use the phone,
bartender refused
- Plaintiff alleges: Circle Inn employee did not fulfill his legal duty to help
,Soldano vs O'Daniels ruling - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Court held:
- Harm was foreseeable & imminent, certainty of injury
- While may not have had a duty to help, DID have a duty to NOT HINDER others from helping
--> so yes, he was liable
Big Idea: foreseeability, action vs inaction
What is Tarasoff vs Board of regents an example of? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Duty and
foreseeability tort
Tarasoff vs. Board of Regents of the University of California - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅-
Doctor was treating patient she was concerned was a dangerous individual, but did not warn
authorities due to doctor/patient confidentiality
- Individual harmed someone and victim's family sued doctor's employer
Tarasoff vs Board of Regents ruling - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅- CA Supreme court ruled
medical professionals have duty to protect individuals from bodily harm that could potentially be
caused by patient
- New laws can be retried in civil case = remanded
What is the Bristol Meyers Squibb vs Superior court an example of? - CORRECT
ANSWER✅✅✅Jurisdiction
Bristol Meyers Squibb vs Superior court - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅- 600 people harmed
by drug, people of CA sue BMS
- Focus on case shifted to jurisdiction > BMS "doesn't belong in court in CA" because HQ and
state of formation is in Delaware - CA has no general jurisdiction
BMS vs Superior court ruling - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅- Lowe court ruled CA had
specific jurisdiction based on sliding scale approach - BMS could be tried in CA
- Went to supreme court, used Calder effects test to try BMS
1. Must show intentional acts
, 2. Must show acts were aimed at forum state
3. Must show D caused harm and new acts would cause harm
- Supreme court ruled BMS did not meet requirement #2, CA has no specific jurisdiction -
reversed decision
What is Ashcroft vs Iqbal an example of? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Conceivable vs
plausible and failed to plead sufficient facts
Ashcroft vs. Iqbal - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Pakistan citizen arrested around the wake of
9/11 on criminal charges. The man claimed that he was deprived of various constitutional
protections while in federal custody due to his race, ethnicity and religion. The man filed a
complaint against people including a former Attorney General (Ashcroft) and the director of the
FBI. Ashcroft appealed the charges and it went to the Supreme Court.
Ashcroft vs Iqbal ruling - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅- Interlocutory appeal
- Did the complainant have enough evidence to make it past threshold in court - Ashcroft filed
MTS
- Conceivable vs plausible
- No legal claim: detaining of Muslims was justified do to events of 9/11
- MTD granted - The Supreme Court said that the plaintiff did not have sufficient evidence and
would need to regroup and try again at the lower courts.
- Iqbal settled eventually and received a large sum of money.
What is Riley vs Willis an example of? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Tort case,
Contributory/comparative negligence
Riley vs. Willis - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Willis was walking dog w/o a leash and he
leaned into the road and was hit by Riley
Riley vs Willis ruling - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅In original trial, Riley ordered to pay
60% of the damages
ACCURATE ANSWERS
What is Podias vs Mairs and example of? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Good samaritan
laws, possibly precedents
Podias v. Mairs - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Negligence--Duty--Nonfeasence--Exceptions
Case: D was drinking at the home of a friends. He drove with two other friends (D2 and D3), all
18. D1 was driving; it was raining; the road was wet. D1 lost control of the car, struck the
motorcycle of P, and went over the guardrail. All Ds huddled around the car and saw that P was
lying in the roadway, and thought he was dead. D1 told D3 that he thought D1 killed P. No one
called for assistance, D1 called his girlfriend on D3's phone. D2 placed 17 calls. There were 26
more calls on D3's phone. None were calls to emergency assistance. All Ds decided to get back
in the car and leave the scene. D2 told D1 not to bring him or D3 up. They drove until D1's car
broke down and D2 & D3 ran into the woods (D1 hid in a bush for his girlfriend). Meanwhile, a
motor vehicle operated by another person ran over P who died as a result of injuries sustained in
these accidents.
Podias vs Mairs ruling - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Criminal: possible manslaughter
Civil: wrongful death
Set precedent for good samaritan law: "notion of fairness and common decency and is in account
with public policy" > duty to make reasonable effort to give assistance/avoid further harm
Amended law: cant leave scene of an accident
Case was reversed an remanded and retried in lower court with new law
What is Soldano vs O'Daniels an example of? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Good Samaritan
Laws
Soldano v. O'Daniels - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅- Plaintiff's father shot & killed at
saloon, patron came into Circle Inn & asked bartender to call police or let him use the phone,
bartender refused
- Plaintiff alleges: Circle Inn employee did not fulfill his legal duty to help
,Soldano vs O'Daniels ruling - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Court held:
- Harm was foreseeable & imminent, certainty of injury
- While may not have had a duty to help, DID have a duty to NOT HINDER others from helping
--> so yes, he was liable
Big Idea: foreseeability, action vs inaction
What is Tarasoff vs Board of regents an example of? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Duty and
foreseeability tort
Tarasoff vs. Board of Regents of the University of California - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅-
Doctor was treating patient she was concerned was a dangerous individual, but did not warn
authorities due to doctor/patient confidentiality
- Individual harmed someone and victim's family sued doctor's employer
Tarasoff vs Board of Regents ruling - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅- CA Supreme court ruled
medical professionals have duty to protect individuals from bodily harm that could potentially be
caused by patient
- New laws can be retried in civil case = remanded
What is the Bristol Meyers Squibb vs Superior court an example of? - CORRECT
ANSWER✅✅✅Jurisdiction
Bristol Meyers Squibb vs Superior court - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅- 600 people harmed
by drug, people of CA sue BMS
- Focus on case shifted to jurisdiction > BMS "doesn't belong in court in CA" because HQ and
state of formation is in Delaware - CA has no general jurisdiction
BMS vs Superior court ruling - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅- Lowe court ruled CA had
specific jurisdiction based on sliding scale approach - BMS could be tried in CA
- Went to supreme court, used Calder effects test to try BMS
1. Must show intentional acts
, 2. Must show acts were aimed at forum state
3. Must show D caused harm and new acts would cause harm
- Supreme court ruled BMS did not meet requirement #2, CA has no specific jurisdiction -
reversed decision
What is Ashcroft vs Iqbal an example of? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Conceivable vs
plausible and failed to plead sufficient facts
Ashcroft vs. Iqbal - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Pakistan citizen arrested around the wake of
9/11 on criminal charges. The man claimed that he was deprived of various constitutional
protections while in federal custody due to his race, ethnicity and religion. The man filed a
complaint against people including a former Attorney General (Ashcroft) and the director of the
FBI. Ashcroft appealed the charges and it went to the Supreme Court.
Ashcroft vs Iqbal ruling - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅- Interlocutory appeal
- Did the complainant have enough evidence to make it past threshold in court - Ashcroft filed
MTS
- Conceivable vs plausible
- No legal claim: detaining of Muslims was justified do to events of 9/11
- MTD granted - The Supreme Court said that the plaintiff did not have sufficient evidence and
would need to regroup and try again at the lower courts.
- Iqbal settled eventually and received a large sum of money.
What is Riley vs Willis an example of? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Tort case,
Contributory/comparative negligence
Riley vs. Willis - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅Willis was walking dog w/o a leash and he
leaned into the road and was hit by Riley
Riley vs Willis ruling - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅✅In original trial, Riley ordered to pay
60% of the damages
