Torts LongBaxter_Torts_5pp.indb 1 1/30/20 10:51 AM LongBaxter_Torts_5pp.indb 2 1/30/20 10:51 AM Torts A Modern Approach Alex B. Long Williford Gragg Distinguished Professor of Law University of Tennessee College of Law Teri Dobbins Baxter Williford Gragg Distinguished Professor of Law University of Tennessee College of Law Carolina Academic Press Durham, North Carolina LongBaxter_Torts_5pp.indb 3 1/30/20 10:51 AM Copyright © 2020 Alex B. Long and Teri Dobbins Baxter All Rights Reserved ISBN 978-1-5310-1723-1 e-ISBN 978-1-5310-1724-8 LCCN 2019953043 Carolina Academic Press 700 Kent Street Durham, North Carolina 27701 Telephone (919) 489-7486 Fax (919) 493-5668 www.cap-press.com Printed in the United States of America LongBaxter_Torts_5pp.indb 4 1/30/20 10:51 AM Contents Table of Cases xxi Authors’ Note xxv Chapter 1 • Introduction 3 A. History 4 B. Fault as the Standard Basis for Liability 5 Van Camp v. McAfoos 5 Notes 6 C. Policies Under lying Tort Law 7 Rhodes v. MacHugh 8 Notes 9 Part 1 • Intentional Torts 11 Chapter 2 • Intentional Harms to Persons 13 A. Battery 15 1. Act with Intent 15 Garratt v. Dailey 15 Polmatier v. Russ 17 Notes 20 2. Intent to Cause Harmful or Offensive Contact 21 White v. Muniz 21 Notes 23 3. Such Contact Results 23 a. Causation 23 b. Contact 23 Reynolds v. MacFarlane 23 Notes 26 c. Harmful or Offensive Contact 26 Balas v. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. 26 Fuerschbach v. Southwest Airlines Co. 27 Notes 28 v LongBaxter_Torts_5pp.indb 5 1/30/20 10:51 AM vi CONTEnts B. Assault 29 1. Act with Intent to Cause an Imminent Apprehension of a Harmful or Offensive Contact 30 Cullison v. Medley 30 Brower v. Ackerly 32 Note 34 Note 34 2. Such Apprehension Results 35 C. False Imprisonment 36 Dupler v. Seubert 36 Notes 39 D. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress 40 Agis v. Howard Johnson Co. 41 Notes 43 Costello v. Mitchell Public School Dist. 79 44 McDaniel v. Gile 47 Notes 48 Kazatsky v. King David Memorial Park 49 Notes 50 E. Defenses and Privileges 52 1. Consent 52 a. Actual Consent 53 b. Apparent Consent 53 O’Brien v. Cunard S.S. Co. 53 Note 54 c. The Special Case of Medical Battery 54 d. Capacity 56 e. Mistake, Misrepre sen ta tion, or Duress 56 Neal v. Neal 56 Notes 57 2. Self- Defense 57 Hagopian v. Fuchs 58 Notes 62 3. Defense of Others 63 4. Shop keep er’s Privilege 63 Barkley v. McKeever Enterprises, Inc. 63 Review Question 71 Chapter 3 • Intentional Harms to Property 73 A. Conversion and Trespass to Chattels 74 1. Conversion 74 Pearson v. Dodd 74 Notes 76 LongBaxter_Torts_5pp.indb 6 1/30/20 10:51 AM CONTEnts vii 2. Trespass to Chattels 77 B. Trespass to Land 78 Schwartzman, Inc. v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. 78 Notes 80 C. Defenses and Privileges 81 1. Defense of Property 81 Katko v. Briney 81 Notes 84 2. Necessity 85 a. Public Necessity 85 b. Private Necessity 86 Ploof v. Putnam 86 Vincent v. Lake Erie Transp. Co. 87 Notes 88 Review Question 89 Part 2 • Negligence 91 Chapter 4 • Duty and Breach 93 A. Duty (The Standard of Care) 94 Stewart v. Motts 94 Grotheer v. Escape Adventures, Inc. 96 Notes 97 B. Breach of Duty 98 United States v. Carroll Towing Co. 99 Indiana Consolidated Insurance Co. v. Mathew 100 Notes 102 Levi v. Southwest Louisiana Elec. Membership Co-op. (Slemco) 103 Styles v. Eblen 107 Notes 108 Frasca v. Prudential- Grace Lines, Inc. 108 Notes 111 C. Special Issues Involving Breach of Duty 111 1. Sudden Emergencies 112 Jackson v. Brown 112 Note 114 2. Negligence Per Se 114 Winger v. C.M. Holdings, L.L.C. 114 Notes 119 3. Industry Custom 120 Cruz v. New York City Transit Authority 120 LongBaxter_Torts_5pp.indb 7 1/30/20 10:51 AM viii CONTEnts The T.J. Hooper 121 Notes 122 Wal- Mart Stores, Inc. v. Wright 123 4. Minors 125 Schomp v. Wilkens by Leen 125 Notes 128 5. Other Special Characteristics of the Actor 128 a. Characteristics That Are Taken into Account 128 b. Characteristics That Are Not Taken into Account 129 6. Establishing Breach: Circumstantial Evidence and Res Ipsa Loquitur 130 a. Circumstantial Evidence 131 Byrne v. Wal- Mart Stores, Inc. 131 Evans v. Aydha 132 Note 133 b. Res Ipsa Loquitur: The Theoretical Basis for the Theory 134 Byrne v. Boadle 134 Notes 136 Deciutiis v. Six Flags Amer i ca, LP 136 Notes 138 c. Res Ipsa: The Accident Is One That Does Not Ordinarily Occur Absent Negligence 139 Eversole v. Woods Acquisition, Inc. 139 Deciutiis v. Six Flags Amer i ca, LP 141 Cox v. May Department Store Co. 143 Note 144 d. Res Ipsa: Control of the Instrumentality 144 Deciutiis v. Six Flags Amer i ca, LP 144 Niman v. Plaza House, Inc. 145 Notes 147 7. Professional Negligence 148 a. Establishing the Standard of Care and Breach 148 1. Local or National Standards 148 Gambill v. Stroud 148 Sheeley v. Memorial Hospital 149 Notes 154 2. The Role of Custom in Establishing the Standard of Care and Breach 156 Chiero v. Chicago Osteopathic Hospital 156 Hood v. Phillips 156 Notes 158 Note 158 LongBaxter_Torts_5pp.indb 8 1/30/20 10:51 AM CONTEnts ix 3. Res Ipsa Loquitur in Medical Malpractice Cases 159 Ybarra v. Spangard 159 Notes 163 b. Informed Consent 163 Matthies v. Mastromonaco 163 Notes 167 Review Question 168 Chapter 5 • The Duty Ele ment Revisited 169 A. Special Relationships 170 1. Landowner and Occupier 170 Stitt v. Holland Abundant Life Fellowship 170 Note 176 Alexander v. Medical Assoc. Clinic 176 Note 180 Bennett v. Stanley 181 Note 185 Dos Santos v. Coleta 185 2. Innkeeper and Guest 194 Gress v. Lakahani Hospitality, Inc. 194 3. Business Own er’s Duty to Ill or Injured Patron 201 Drew v. Lejay’s Sportsmen’s Café, Inc. 201 4. Social Hosts 204 Faulk v. Suzuki Motor, Co. Ltd. 204 Note 207 Martin v. Marciano 207 5. Duty of Colleges and Universities to Students 211 Regents of University of California v. Superior Court 211 6. Duty to Warn 227 Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California 227 Note 234 B. Duty When Actor Has Created Risk of Physical Harm 235 1. Duty to Act When Prior Conduct Is Dangerous 235 Robertson v. LeMaster 235 2. Negligent Entrustment 241 Hays v. Royer 241 C. Voluntarily Assumed Duties 245 O’Malley v. Hospitality Staffing Solutions 245 Jagneaux v. Louisiana Farm Bureau Cas. Ins. Co. 249 Review Question 253 Chapter 6 • Harm and Cause in Fact 255 A. Harm 256 LongBaxter_Torts_5pp.indb 9 1/30/20 10:51 AM x CONTEnts Owens- Illinois v. Armstrong 256 Notes 258 B. Cause in Fact 259 1. The Standard Test: The But- for Test 259 Jordan v. Jordan 259 Salinetro v. Nystrom 260 Notes 261 Dillon v. Twin State Gas & Electric Co. 261 2. Joint and Several Liability 262 a. Introduction to Joint and Several Liability 262 Landers v. East Texas Salt Water Disposal Co. 263 Note 265 b. The Move Away from Joint and Several Liability 266 South Carolina Code of Laws § 15-38-15 266 Arkansas Code § 16-55-201 266 Arkansas Code § 16-55-203 267 3. Alternate Tests 268 a. Increased Risk 268 Zuchowicz v. United States 268 b. Multiple Sufficient Causes 270 Anderson v. Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ry. 270 Ford Motor Co. v. Boomer 271 Notes 274 c. Alternative Liability 275 Summers v. Tice 275 Note 277 d. Market Share 277 Martin v. Abbott Laboratories 277 Note 286 e. Loss of Opportunity (Loss of Chance) 286 Lord v. Lovett 286 Notes 289 Review Question 290 Chapter 7 • Proximate Cause 291 A. The Scope of the Risk Test 292 1. The Test in General 292 Thompson v. Kaczinski 292 Notes 296 2. Scope of the Risk: Kinds of Harms Foreseeably Risked 297 Hughes (A.P.) v. Lord Advocate 297 Williams v. Stewart 299 Notes 300 LongBaxter_Torts_5pp.indb 10 1/30/20 10:51 AM CONTEnts xi 3. Scope of the Risk: Class of Persons Put at Foreseeable Risk 301 Palsgraf v. Long Island R. Co. 301 Notes 305 B. Superseding Causes 306 Watson v. Kentucky & Indiana Bridge & R. Co. 306 Britton v. Wooten 308 Fast Eddie’s v. Hall 309 Notes 312 C. Special Policy- Based Proximate Cause Rules 313 1. Legislative Rules 313 Worley v. Weigels, Inc. 313 Note 315 2. Suicide 316 3. The “Eggshell Plaintiff” Rule 316 Benn v. Thomas, K- G, Ltd. 316 Note 319 4. Rescuers, Emergency Responders, and Medical Providers 319 McCarter v. Davis 319 Notes 321 5. Fires 323 Review Question 324 Chapter 8 • Defenses 325 A. Contributory Negligence 326 Butterfield v. Forrester 326 Notes 327 B. Comparative Fault 328 1. In General 328 McIntyre v. Balentine 328 Notes 330 2. Dif fer ent Forms of Comparative Fault 331 a. Pure (or Complete) Comparative Fault 331 Alaska Statutes § 09.17.060. 331 b. Modified (or Incomplete) Comparative Fault 331 Hawaii Revised Statutes Annotated § 666-31 331 Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-21-111 332 Note 332 3. Other Issues Involved in the Comparative Fault Evaluation 332 Uniform Comparative Fault Act 333 Note 335 C. Assumption of Risk 335 1. Express Assumption of Risk 336 Thompson v. Hi Tech Motorsports, Inc. 337 LongBaxter_Torts_5pp.indb 11 1/30/20 10:51 AM xii CONTEnts Notes 341 2. Implied Primary Assumption of Risk (No Duty/No Breach of Duty) 343 Murphy v.