Law 3220 1st Edition Lecture 9 Outline of Last Lecture I Types of White Collar Crimes II Federal Sentencing Guidelines III Tort IV Negligence and Damages Outline of Current Lecture I Negligence a Proximate Cause b Good Samaritan Law c Defenses to negligence Intentional Tort a Assault and Battery b Infliction of Emotional Distress c Defamation d Criminal Domestic Violence e Defenses to Intentional Acts II Current Lecture Negligence Law is concerned about cause ex If I push you down and you break your arm pushing you down is the cause Proximate cause liability bears a direct relationship to the cause o Ex Woman got in a car wreck claims whiplash back pain AND leaking bladder medical expert had to determine if the wreck was a proximate cause of all these problems Res Ipsa Loquitur the case speaks for itself o Don t have to prove proximate cause if there s damage it s because of negligence o Don t use this in South Carolina If someone tries to help somebody else that has been hurt the perpetrator is responsible if that person gets hurt too Good Samaritan Law if you re acting in good will to help someone and you mess up you are not liable o Held to Reasonable Person Standard if just a normal person o If doctor held to standard of care of that professional position Palsgraf vs Long Island Railroad These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute o Man carrying package runs to try and catch a leaving train man jumps on the train looks like he s gonna fall off Palsgraf tries to help him package falls and is filled with fireworks which explode which turnover the scales which hit Palsgraf first jury and appellate court rule for Palsgraf LIRR appealed again court asked it was foreseeable court found it was not so they reversed and dismissed the case Defenses to negligence o 1 Assumption of the risk party knew what the risk was Ex Bungee jumping sign waiver to not blame the other party in any situation o 2 Comparative Negligence Any damages received by my negligent act is offset by your negligence Ex Bungee jumping at a very poorly equipped place and you don t sign any kind of waiver except you sign a contract saying no drinking you drink and jump fall off the platform Both parties are negligent and the cost is offset Jodie Getsky vs Lifetime Fitness Jodie using treadmill tried to steady herself pulled sideways and broke her arm employees knew that machine was broken but there was no sign sued for negligence Lifetime said that in her membership she assumed the risk of using the machines Jodie said they had willful and wanton negligence by failing to warn her sided with Lifetime because the contract covered all types of negligence In suing you have to prove that the defendant had the knowledge of the liability o Ex If you slip and fall on a grape in the grocery store you have to prove that the grocery store knew that grape was there Intentional Torts Difference between assault and battery o Assault is an immediate threat to bodily harm receiver has immediate apprehension or fear Ex Threaten someone point a gun at someone o Battery is the actual harm if hands are placed on the body False Imprisonment Infliction of Emotional Distress o Has to be more distress than a person is expected to bear Ex Not being allowed to go to the bathroom Invasion of Privacy Defamation say bad things about someone o If you tell something about somebody that s untrue if its spoken its slander if its written its libel Criminal Domestic Violence Assault or battery against a family member o South Carolina is 1 in criminal domestic violence o If convicted lose your right to have a gun o If you plead guilty you will pay a fine and go home but if you do anything after that you re screwed Defenses to Intentional Acts o 1 Self Defense Duty to Retreat Don t have to retreat if its in your home o 2 Consent o o Ex You get hurt by someone in a game of football 3 Privilege Ex Safe about to fall on someone s head and you push them out of the way to help them they can t sue you 4 Defense of Property Cannot use deadly force