Exam 5: Negligence, Professional Liability, and Insurance Law

Two real estate agents, pressed for time, stopped at the bakery for some muffins that would suffice as lunch. John bought the muffins and gave one to Mary. They both began to eat the muffins as they hurried to the car. When Mary looked at the muffin she had just bitten, she saw that the raisins had little worms in them. John's muffins were the same with little worms. Based on these facts, which of the following possibilities is true? (Read each independently from the others.)

Some jurisdictions have instituted "no fault" insurance programs.Which of the following statements is true?

Tom was complaining about the carelessness of his neighbour and asks you if you think he could sue him for negligence and win. Explain what a plaintiff must prove in order to sue successfully for the tort of negligence and have the defendant pay 100% of his loss.

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.

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

An investor who wanted to build a duplex asked the city zoning officer whether Lot A of Plan 16, known as 1 Street, was zoned for a single-family house or a duplex. The zoning officer was distracted by a news report on the radio and accidentally gave the investor a printed copy of the zoning for the wrong lot that said "duplex," although 1 Street was only zoned for single-family houses. After the investor began building a duplex, the city stopped him for building contrary to the zoning by-laws. He lost $50 000. On these facts (assume all can be proven) which of the following is true?

Indicate why the Donoghue v. Stevenson case (the snail in the ginger beer bottle) was so important in the development of negligence law.

What test is used to determine the standard of care?

Joe was a customer in Sam's store when he carelessly dropped a very expensive vase, but he was relieved when he found that Sam had insurance to cover the loss. Explain Joe's legal position in these circumstances.

Innkeepers at common law were required to protect their guests from the wrongful acts of others, even when the innkeeper or servant was not at fault.

Which of the following statements does not describe the standard expected of experts?

Strict liability means that liability can be established even when there is no fault.

In Mueller v. Wawanesa Insurance Co. , insurance had been taken out on a house when it was being used as a residential dwelling. The building was occupied by three members of a motorcycle gang. The insurance company was not notified of the change. What was the result when the house was destroyed by fire?

How are professionals treated differently under the rules of negligence?

A person has to prove only that another caused his injury to succeed in a negligence action.

A fidelity bond is when the employee pays the employer a fee to cover themselves while they are on the job.

Creative Farming Ltd. manufactures fertilizer from organic matter, a by-product of which is explosive methane gas. During the processing, some of this gas escaped and drifted onto the adjacent property, where it caused an explosion, extensively damaging a building owned by XYZ Co. Creative Farming Ltd. would be liable for the loss under which one of the following principles?

Does liability vary with age? Explain.

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 $10,000 loss because of the error. Which of the following is true?

In Walton v. General Accident Insurance Co. of Canada, the home the Waltons lived in was destroyed by fire. The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal found that the Waltons had no legal or equitable right to the property. What was the result?