Tort Law Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. During an argument, Alex intentionally shoves Jordan in a manner an ordinary person would find offensive, but Jordan is not physically injured. Which tort is most directly supported?
Assault only, because battery always requires a bodily wound
Battery, because harmful or offensive contact can qualify without physical injury
Negligence, because every uninjured contact is evaluated under reasonable care
False imprisonment, because the shove briefly affected Jordan's movement
2. A hiker deliberately walks across privately owned land while reasonably but mistakenly believing it is a public trail. Under the general common-law rule, what is the best analysis?
There is no trespass unless the hiker intended to damage the land
There is no trespass because a reasonable mistake always defeats intent
The intended entry may be trespass even though the hiker was mistaken about ownership
Trespass applies only if the owner first asked the hiker to leave
3. A company uses explosives for blasting, takes extensive precautions, and nevertheless damages a neighboring home through the characteristic risks of blasting. Which liability theory is most directly relevant?
Defamation liability because the damage affected the home's value
Breach of contract because precautions did not prevent damage
Battery because the company intended to set off the explosives
Strict liability for an abnormally dangerous activity
4. A delivery employee negligently causes a crash while following the employer's assigned delivery route. Which doctrine may make the employer liable for the employee's negligence?
Res ipsa loquitur
Respondeat superior, because the employee was acting within the scope of employment
Contributory infringement
Transferred intent
5. A driver runs a red light and strikes a cyclist. To examine actual causation, which question would a court ordinarily ask?
Would the cyclist's injury have occurred but for the driver's conduct?
Was the driver's conduct morally blameworthy enough for punishment?
Did the driver have insurance covering the collision?
Did the cyclist have a contractual relationship with the driver?
6. Standing within striking distance, Morgan raises a fist and tells Riley, “I am going to hit you right now.” Riley reasonably anticipates an immediate blow. Which intentional tort is most directly implicated before any contact occurs?
Trespass to land
Defamation
Assault
Conversion
7. A supervisor falsely tells an employee's coworker that the employee stole company funds, and the statement harms the employee's reputation. Which feature most clearly makes this a potential defamation claim?
The statement concerned workplace conduct rather than private conduct
A false factual assertion was communicated to a third person and caused reputational harm
The employee experienced unwanted physical contact
The supervisor failed to use reasonable care while operating equipment
8. Which list states the usual elements a plaintiff must establish in a negligence claim?
Intent, offensive contact, publication, and damages
Duty, intent, reliance, and punishment
A promise, consideration, breach, and loss
Duty, breach, actual and proximate causation, and damages
9. What is the general distinction between comparative negligence and traditional contributory negligence?
Comparative negligence applies only to intentional torts, while contributory negligence applies only to contracts
Comparative negligence generally reduces recovery according to fault, while traditional contributory negligence may bar recovery
Comparative negligence creates criminal liability, while contributory negligence creates civil liability
Comparative negligence concerns employers, while contributory negligence concerns property owners
10. A barrel falls from a warehouse-controlled loading area onto a passerby. Barrels ordinarily do not fall there without negligence, but the passerby cannot identify the precise careless act. What doctrine may permit an inference of negligence?
Res ipsa loquitur
Respondeat superior
Comparative negligence
Assumption of risk
11. A store manager locks a customer in a windowless office for questioning, provides no reasonable exit, and lacks lawful authority to detain the customer. Which tort best fits these facts?
Trespass to chattels
Private nuisance
False imprisonment
Fraudulent misrepresentation
12. Two boxers voluntarily enter a regulated match. One later sues for battery based solely on an ordinary punch delivered within the agreed rules. Which defense is most relevant?
Truth as a defense to reputational injury
Comparative negligence based on the boxer's training level
Consent to contact within the scope of the match
Necessity to protect private property
13. A careful driver would slow down during dense fog, but a driver continues at the posted speed and causes a collision. Which negligence principle is most directly involved?
Conduct is compared with that of a reasonable person under the circumstances
Any violation of another person's expectations creates strict liability
A driver is negligent only when intending to cause a collision
Compliance with the posted speed automatically defeats negligence
14. What is the principal purpose of punitive damages in tort law?
To punish and deter especially egregious conduct in cases where such damages are permitted
To replace compensatory damages whenever conduct was intentional
To reimburse every financial loss proven by the plaintiff
To require the defendant to perform a contractual promise
15. A store carelessly leaves a heavy crate in a walkway, and a customer trips over it moments later. Which doctrine asks whether this type of injury was a sufficiently foreseeable consequence of the carelessness?
Transferred intent
Contractual consideration
Defamation privilege
Proximate causation
16. What is the primary function of tort law in a civil case?
To impose imprisonment for conduct that threatens the public
To determine whether legislation is constitutional
To enforce promises made in valid agreements
To provide remedies for legally recognized injuries or wrongs