TORT LAW 2025 EXAM QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS ALL CORRECT
What is a tort? - Answer-a tort is the imposition of risks or costs on another individual
without either legal consent or proper cause in violation of socially defined and evolving
standard of conduct.
What is the burden of proof in torts cases? - Answer-A preponderance of the evidence
What are the elements of a tort? - Answer-○ Requisite tortuous conduct
○ Actual causation
○ Proximate causation
○ Damages
What is the egg shell thin skull doctrine? - Answer-A defendant takes the victim as they
find him
Definition of Intent (according to the 3rd Restatement) - Answer-● A person acts with
intent to produce a consequence if:
(a) the person acts with the purpose of producing the consequence; or
(b) the person acts knowing that the consequence is substantially certain to result.
● Substitution for intent: violation of rules (Vosburg)
● Insane persons and children ARE liable for intentional torts while they may not be
liable for negligent torts.
Define Battery - Answer-Acts intending to cause a harmful or offensive contact with the
person or a third person, or imminent apprehension of such a contact, and a harmful
contact with the person directly or indirectly results.
When is movement involuntary? - Answer-■ An act is a voluntary muscular contraction.
A defendant does not act if the movement is involuntary (e.g. result of a seizure/ reflex,
while sleepwalking, etc)
What are the elements of battery? - Answer-ELEMENTS:
(1) D acts intentionally
(2) to cause contact with P
(3) that is harmful or offensive
,• Objective (reasonable person) standard
• Harmful: causes physical impairment, pain, or illness
• Offensive: offends a reasonable sense of personal dignity
CONSEQUENCES: Liable for all consequences, even if they are unforeseeable
(Vosburg)
What is harmful contact? - Answer-causes physical harm to the body
What is offensive contact? - Answer-"offends a reasonable sense of personal dignity"
(Restatement 2nd § 19); causes dignitary and emotional harm (e.g. spitting in
someone's eye)
Define transferred intent - Answer-Transferred intent: substitute the intent toward a third
party
• You have to establish that there was intent running from A to B before you can transfer
it to C
• Does not apply to intentional infliction of emotional distress
Define assault - Answer-Acts intending to cause a harmful or offensive contact with the
person or a third person, or an imminent apprehension of such a contact, and the other
is thereby put in such imminent apprehension
What are the elements of assault? - Answer-(1) D acts intentionally
• Attempted battery = completed assault
(2) to cause a harmful or offensive contact
or put P in imminent apprehension of such a contact
• Words alone are not enough unless there is some contact
• Conditional threats are generally not actionable (Tuberville v. Savage)
(3) and P is reasonably placed in imminent apprehension of such a contact
• Objective (reasonable person) standard
• Imminent apprehension: believe the act is capable of immediately inflicting the contact;
have to be aware of it
Define False Imprisonment - Answer-Acts intending to confine the other within
boundaries fixed by the actor and his act directly or indirectly results in such a
confinement of the other and the other is conscious of the confinement or is harmed by
it
What are the elements of false imprisonment? - Answer-(1) D acts intentionally
(2) to confine the other within boundaries
• Does not need to be within 4 wlls
• Imminent threats are false imprisonment
• Such threats don't only have to be against D
• If movement is only restricted, P is not confined (Bird v. Jones)
(3) D's act results in confinement of P
(4) P is conscious of or harmed by the confinement
, What is the Shopkeeper's Privilege in false imprisonment? - Answer-SHOPKEEPER'S
PRIVILEGE (Coblyn v. Kennedy's, Inc.): Suspected shoplifters may be held
(1) For a reasonable time
(2) In a reasonable manner
(3) In a reasonable place
What is intentional infliction of emotional distress? - Answer-One who by extreme and
outrageous conduct intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional distress to
another is subject to liability for such emotional distress, and if bodily harm to the other
results from it, for such bodily harm. Where such conduct is directed at a third person,
the actor is subject to liability if he intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional
distress to a member of such person's immediate family who is present at the time,
whether or not such distress results in bodily harm, or to any other person who is
present at the time, if such distress results in bodily harm.
What are the elements of IIED? - Answer-(1) D's extreme and outrageous conduct
(2) intentionally or recklessly
(3) causes severe emotional distress to P
(4) D is liable for such emotional distress and any resultant bodily harm
What is formalism? - Answer-● Formalist approach was a common law attempt to
incorporate the stability of the civil code system, while keeping the advantages of the
common law approach.
○ Civil Code: law professors write codes that say concretely what will happen if certain
events occur. Offers stability and predictability
○ Common Law: legal doctrines are like onions; a system of precedent; argue by
analogy to the closest line of cases (Blackstone's Commentary). Offers speed and
innovation
● Emphasis on judicial deference to the legislature and concrete canon (civil code
influence)
● Assumes that judicial bias is not an issue, because rules/canon were fixed.
Legal Realism - Answer-● Karl Llewelyn
○ Critique of Formalism: Rules are outcome-determinative. Judicial bias comes into play
not in the application of canon, but in the selection of canon.
● LR changed the way we look at cases. Courts must now be more clear about the
choices they were making, bc they are setting precedent.
○ What are the legal horizons? What is the society we want to be? What should it be?
What are the norms and values that we want to promote when creating precedent?
John Locke - Answer-● Govt is primarily in place to protect property.
● Labor Theory of Property: man's purpose is to create, to "mix with labor and swfeat" in
in order to create property. There is a divine and natural right to property.
● Locke's Proviso: Rawls points to the neglect of Locke's Proviso, "Men are endowed
property by God, so long as they leave as good and enough for others"
ANSWERS ALL CORRECT
What is a tort? - Answer-a tort is the imposition of risks or costs on another individual
without either legal consent or proper cause in violation of socially defined and evolving
standard of conduct.
What is the burden of proof in torts cases? - Answer-A preponderance of the evidence
What are the elements of a tort? - Answer-○ Requisite tortuous conduct
○ Actual causation
○ Proximate causation
○ Damages
What is the egg shell thin skull doctrine? - Answer-A defendant takes the victim as they
find him
Definition of Intent (according to the 3rd Restatement) - Answer-● A person acts with
intent to produce a consequence if:
(a) the person acts with the purpose of producing the consequence; or
(b) the person acts knowing that the consequence is substantially certain to result.
● Substitution for intent: violation of rules (Vosburg)
● Insane persons and children ARE liable for intentional torts while they may not be
liable for negligent torts.
Define Battery - Answer-Acts intending to cause a harmful or offensive contact with the
person or a third person, or imminent apprehension of such a contact, and a harmful
contact with the person directly or indirectly results.
When is movement involuntary? - Answer-■ An act is a voluntary muscular contraction.
A defendant does not act if the movement is involuntary (e.g. result of a seizure/ reflex,
while sleepwalking, etc)
What are the elements of battery? - Answer-ELEMENTS:
(1) D acts intentionally
(2) to cause contact with P
(3) that is harmful or offensive
,• Objective (reasonable person) standard
• Harmful: causes physical impairment, pain, or illness
• Offensive: offends a reasonable sense of personal dignity
CONSEQUENCES: Liable for all consequences, even if they are unforeseeable
(Vosburg)
What is harmful contact? - Answer-causes physical harm to the body
What is offensive contact? - Answer-"offends a reasonable sense of personal dignity"
(Restatement 2nd § 19); causes dignitary and emotional harm (e.g. spitting in
someone's eye)
Define transferred intent - Answer-Transferred intent: substitute the intent toward a third
party
• You have to establish that there was intent running from A to B before you can transfer
it to C
• Does not apply to intentional infliction of emotional distress
Define assault - Answer-Acts intending to cause a harmful or offensive contact with the
person or a third person, or an imminent apprehension of such a contact, and the other
is thereby put in such imminent apprehension
What are the elements of assault? - Answer-(1) D acts intentionally
• Attempted battery = completed assault
(2) to cause a harmful or offensive contact
or put P in imminent apprehension of such a contact
• Words alone are not enough unless there is some contact
• Conditional threats are generally not actionable (Tuberville v. Savage)
(3) and P is reasonably placed in imminent apprehension of such a contact
• Objective (reasonable person) standard
• Imminent apprehension: believe the act is capable of immediately inflicting the contact;
have to be aware of it
Define False Imprisonment - Answer-Acts intending to confine the other within
boundaries fixed by the actor and his act directly or indirectly results in such a
confinement of the other and the other is conscious of the confinement or is harmed by
it
What are the elements of false imprisonment? - Answer-(1) D acts intentionally
(2) to confine the other within boundaries
• Does not need to be within 4 wlls
• Imminent threats are false imprisonment
• Such threats don't only have to be against D
• If movement is only restricted, P is not confined (Bird v. Jones)
(3) D's act results in confinement of P
(4) P is conscious of or harmed by the confinement
, What is the Shopkeeper's Privilege in false imprisonment? - Answer-SHOPKEEPER'S
PRIVILEGE (Coblyn v. Kennedy's, Inc.): Suspected shoplifters may be held
(1) For a reasonable time
(2) In a reasonable manner
(3) In a reasonable place
What is intentional infliction of emotional distress? - Answer-One who by extreme and
outrageous conduct intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional distress to
another is subject to liability for such emotional distress, and if bodily harm to the other
results from it, for such bodily harm. Where such conduct is directed at a third person,
the actor is subject to liability if he intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional
distress to a member of such person's immediate family who is present at the time,
whether or not such distress results in bodily harm, or to any other person who is
present at the time, if such distress results in bodily harm.
What are the elements of IIED? - Answer-(1) D's extreme and outrageous conduct
(2) intentionally or recklessly
(3) causes severe emotional distress to P
(4) D is liable for such emotional distress and any resultant bodily harm
What is formalism? - Answer-● Formalist approach was a common law attempt to
incorporate the stability of the civil code system, while keeping the advantages of the
common law approach.
○ Civil Code: law professors write codes that say concretely what will happen if certain
events occur. Offers stability and predictability
○ Common Law: legal doctrines are like onions; a system of precedent; argue by
analogy to the closest line of cases (Blackstone's Commentary). Offers speed and
innovation
● Emphasis on judicial deference to the legislature and concrete canon (civil code
influence)
● Assumes that judicial bias is not an issue, because rules/canon were fixed.
Legal Realism - Answer-● Karl Llewelyn
○ Critique of Formalism: Rules are outcome-determinative. Judicial bias comes into play
not in the application of canon, but in the selection of canon.
● LR changed the way we look at cases. Courts must now be more clear about the
choices they were making, bc they are setting precedent.
○ What are the legal horizons? What is the society we want to be? What should it be?
What are the norms and values that we want to promote when creating precedent?
John Locke - Answer-● Govt is primarily in place to protect property.
● Labor Theory of Property: man's purpose is to create, to "mix with labor and swfeat" in
in order to create property. There is a divine and natural right to property.
● Locke's Proviso: Rawls points to the neglect of Locke's Proviso, "Men are endowed
property by God, so long as they leave as good and enough for others"
