Exam 5: Negligence, Professional Liability, and Insurance

Explain under what circumstances the defence of remoteness can be used in a negligence action.

There need not be negligence or some other basis for liability on the part of the insured for the insurer to pay out on the policy.

Explain what is meant by an insurable interest and what impact the existence of this principle has on the right to collect on an insurance claim.

Explain what must be established in order to succeed in a negligence action.

Distinguish between a licensee, an invitee, and a trespasser.

An insurable interest refers to the fact that the insurance company has to have been paid a premium so that they have an interest in the contract.

To win his action in negligence against a professional person, the plaintiff must prove, among other things, that the defendant's conduct was below an acceptable standard of care. Which of the following is the legal standard of care demanded of a professional person?

Most insurance contracts require insured parties to maintain certain safety and security standards to protect themselves against the risk of fire and theft.

The director of the children's zoo, Mr. Watson, was appalled to see an employee, Jake, throwing a pitchfork like a javelin in an area where there were both animals and children. Luckily, no one was hurt. He yelled to Jake to get busy and feed the birds so that the birds would come closer to the children. Jake opened a new sealed bag of feed and threw some to the birds. It happened that the manufacturer of the feed, ordered by Watson, had accidentally mixed some caustic substance with the feed, so that later in the day Jake's hand began to blister badly. Jake sued Watson for negligence because of the burns he suffered; Watson sued Jake for negligence because of the way Jake used the pitchfork. On these facts, which of the following is true?

As a result of careless driving, Mr. Boz accidentally knocked Mr. Alder, a seventy-year-old man, off his bike. Mr. Alder broke his arm and collar bone. Because of a rare disease, there was little likelihood that the breaks would heal properly, if at all. In effect, unlike most who would suffer those breaks, he lost the use of his right arm. Mr. Alder sued Boz for negligence. The court held Boz liable. With regard to the question of the amount of damages to be paid by the defendant, which of the following is correct?

The principle that we must take our victims as we find them is often referred to as ________.

In insurance, what do comprehensive policies cover?

How are professionals treated differently under the rules of negligence?

Jack works as a financial-planning consultant for Adco Ltd., a company that provides financial advice to its clients. At a three-martini lunch with Benson, one of Adco's clients, and Carson, a friend of Benson's, Jack mistakenly advised Benson to buy shares of Moose Jaw Mining because he thought that Adco had investigated the prospects of the company. In fact, Adco had investigated Goose Jaw Mining and was recommending it to its clients. As it turned out, Benson ignored Jack's advice but Carson bought a lot of Moose Jaw shares and lost all of his money when the mining operation went broke. Which one of the following statements accurately describes Carson's legal situation?

Mary was driving down the road when Sam came out from a side road, went through a stop sign, and struck the side of her car. Upon later examination of Mary's car, it was determined that the brakes were worn down beyond the point of safety. Sam sued her for negligence. Explain the likely result.

The provincial government thought that the only way to make businesses competitive with those from other countries was to make more information available to them about market conditions, currencies, etc., around the world. It began a program of incentives that included a government office that would give people not only the business information but also advice on how the businesses could link up to the government's database that held the updated information. Mr. Su relied on some information given to him by Alex Chec, an employee of the government. The information was wrong due to a mistake made by an operator entering data. It was Mr. Chec's job to cross-check that information before it was released to the public. He forgot to do it. Mr. Su suffered a $100,000 loss because of the error. Which of the following is true?

When there is ambiguity in the meaning of a limitation clause in an insurance contract, the courts defer to the party who drafted the contract.

It is up to an insured whether the insurer repairs or replaces damaged goods.

Ms. Lam bought a lot next to a house owned by Mr. Dodson. She asked Mr. Dodson for permission to use his electricity while building a house on her property. He refused. He feared his house was too old to handle the electricity load needed. Later, a carpenter employed by Ms. Lam accidentally broke a window of Mr. Dodson's while moving lumber. Furthermore, the carpenter removed part of Dodson's fence to make room for needed materials, used Dodson' house to support the lumber and drove some nails into Dodson's tree to hold some wires. Dodson complained to Ms. Lam. Irritated by his stand on the electricity and his complaints, Lam began a civil action against him for the tort of defamation, although she had absolutely no grounds for alleging defamation. Which of the following is not supported by the facts given above?

Which of the following is correct with respect to the principle of subrogation as it relates to insurance law?