Online Quizzes and Answers for Business Law Today, Seventh Edition s3

ELE-4E PRACTICE QUIZ CHAPTER 6: TORTS AND PRODUCT LIABILITY

1. The basic purpose of tort law is to:

a. provide remedies for the invasion of protected interests. b. punish criminal wrongdoers. c. ensure that Congress does not overstep its legal authority. d. make sure that citizens follow appropriate immigration regulations.

ANS: a. Correct. The purpose of tort law is to provide remedies when legally protected interests have been invaded. b. Incorrect. This is not the basic purpose of tort law. c. Incorrect. Tort law is not primarily concerned with the scope of legal authority of Congress. d. Incorrect. Tort law does not deal with immigration regulations.

2. If you are falsely imprisoned, you are:

a. made fearful of an unwanted contact with another person. b. touched by another person in an unwanted or offensive way. c. confined or restrained by another person intentionally and without justification. d. intentionally bad-mouthed by another person.

ANS: a. Incorrect. This describes an assault, not false imprisonment. b. Incorrect. This describes a battery, not false imprisonment. c. Correct. False imprisonment does not mean that you have to be in prison, only that you must be confined or restrained by someone intentionally and without justification. d. Incorrect. Such an action may constitute slander, but not false imprisonment.

3. Which of the following is not an element of the tort of fraudulent misrepresentation?

a. A causal connection between the misrepresentation and the injury suffered. b. A lack of intent to cause reliance on the misrepresentation. c. Damages suffered as a result of reliance on the misrepresentation. d. Justifiable reliance by the party that was deceived.

ANS: a. Incorrect. This causal connection is an essential element of the tort. b. Correct. Rather than show a lack of intent, the plaintiff must show intent to cause reliance on the misrepresentation. c. Incorrect. The plaintiff must show that he or she suffered damages as a result of his or her reliance on the misrepresentation. d. Incorrect. The plaintiff must also show that he or she was justified in relying on the defendant’s misrepresentation.

4. Which of the following would not constitute trespass to land?

a. Without permission, you tunnel under your neighbor's land. b. With permission, you walk across your neighbor's land. c. Without permission you shoot an arrow across your neighbor's land. d. Without permission, your neighbor sets up a vegetable stand on your land.

ANS: a. Incorrect. This tunneling would constitute trespass to land. b. Correct. By giving you permission to walk on his or her land, your neighbor eliminates the possibility that you have committed trespass. c. Incorrect. Causing something to cross your neighbor's land, without his or her permission, is trespass to land. d. Incorrect. Your neighbor commits a trespass to land by staying on your land without your permission.

5. Which of the following is a defense to a negligence claim?

a. Self-defense. b. Defense of property. c. Assumption of risk. d. Truth.

ANS: a. Incorrect. In tort law, self-defense is a defense to assault and battery. b. Incorrect. In tort law, defense of property is a defense to assault and battery or trespass. c. Correct. If you knowingly assume the risk of engaging in a certain action, you may not sue for negligence if you are hurt while engaging in the risky behavior. d. Incorrect. Truth is a defense to defamation.

6. Res ipsa loquitur means: a. “you're on your own.” b. “buyer beware.” c. “ignorance is no excuse.” d. “the facts speak for themselves.”

ANS: a. Incorrect. The phrase does not mean "you're on your own." b. Incorrect. Caveat emptor is Latin for "buyer beware." c. Incorrect. The phrase does not mean "ignorance is no excuse." d. Correct. Res ipsa loquitur does mean "the facts speak for themselves."

7. Strict product liability is imposed by law as a matter of public policy. On which of the following assumptions does the policy rest?

a. That consumers should be protected from unsafe products. b. That defense lawyers need more work. c. That plaintiffs' attorneys had sufficient basis for bringing claims against manufacturers. d. That manufacturers would be put out of business by forcing them to bear the risk of injuries.

ANS: a. Correct. This is one of the assumptions underlying strict product liability law. b. Incorrect. This is not one of the assumptions underlying the law. c. Incorrect. This is not one of the assumptions underlying the law. d. Incorrect. This is not one of the assumptions underlying the law.

8. A court might consider a product to be unreasonably dangerous if:

a. A less dangerous alternative was commercially feasible, but was not produced. b. The product was less dangerous than was expected by the ordinary consumer. c. The product was frequently misused by consumers, despite adequate warnings about the dangers of misusing the product. d. The product was adequately labeled with warnings for the ordinary consumer.

ANS: a. Correct. In such a situation, a court might find a product to be unreasonably dangerous. b. Incorrect. In such a situation, a court would not find a product to be unreasonably dangerous. c. Incorrect. If the manufacturer adequately warned of the dangers associated with foreseeable misuses of the product, a court would not deem the product unreasonably dangerous on the basis of inadequate warnings. d. Incorrect. If the product was adequately labeled it would not be unreasonably dangerous.

9. When market-share liability is imposed:

a. The plaintiff need not prove which particular distributor of a widely distributed product caused his or her injury. b. The plaintiff must prove which distributor supplied the product that caused his or her injury. c. The plaintiff must prove which distributor supplied the product that caused his or her injury only if the product was distributed internationally. d. The defense of assumption of risk allows the defendants to avoid liability.

ANS: a. Correct. In market-share liability cases, this traditional requirement in product liability cases has been dropped. b. Incorrect. This traditional requirement in product liability need not be met in market-share liability cases. c. Incorrect. The plaintiff need not prove which distributor supplied the injury- causing product, regardless of whether the product is distributed internationally. d. Incorrect. Assumption of risk is not an issue in these cases.

10. Which of the following is a defense to product liability?

a. Assumption of risk. b. Self-defense. c. Bona fide occupational qualification. d. Justifiable ignorance of the facts.

ANS: a. Correct. This is a defense that can sometimes be raised in a product- liability case. b. Incorrect. This defense would not be raised in a product liability action. c. Incorrect. This defense would not be raised in a product liability action. d. Incorrect. This defense would not be raised in a product liability action.