TORTS

PROFESSOR MARY COOMBS

DAYS M TIME 2:00-3:20 PM

T Th TIME 3:30-4:50 PM

office: g 279tel: 284-3616

ax: 284-1588

ass't: Lely Rodriguez el: 284-3996

office hours: M 4:30-5:30 pm and by appointment[1]

1. Attendance: Regular class attendance is required. If you miss four or more classes, you may be subject to sanctions, ranging from additional assignments, to grade reduction, to being involuntarily withdrawn from the course.

2. Preparation: Students should be prepared for class. Preparation includes reading the assigned materials and being prepared to participate in any assigned exercises related to these materials. Unless I indicate otherwise, you should focus on the main cases within the assignment, and any hypotheticals or questions handed out beforehand. Students should be prepared to speak in class at any time. If there are special reasons why you will not be prepared on a particular day, you may so indicate to me prior to the start of that class, and you will not be called on. This privilege may be withdrawn as to any individual if it is abused.

Material related to exercises will be posted to the class website. You should check this site regularly, since you will be irrebuttably presumed to have seen anything posted there! Exercises may be done during class, individually or as part of a group. I will divide the class, as needed, into such groups.

In addition to class performance, individually or as part of groups, there may be exercises to be prepared prior to class and turned in. These will always be assigned in a way that allows for a weekend between the day the assignment is posted and the day it is due.

There may also be short in-class quizzes. These will be posted no later than two days beforehand and will consist of a relatively small number of objective (multiple choice or short answer) questions. If you are unavoidably unable to be present during a quiz, you must let me know before the quiz (unless the reason arises too late to permit you to do so); I will work with you to arrange some kind of alternative time or alternative assignment.

3. Office hours: please feel free to come by during office hours or by appointment. I am also frequently available at other times (except for the hours before this class. Feel free to stop in if my door is open; I’ll tell you if it’s a bad time.

4. Grading: The grade will be based primarily on the final examination. Up to 20% of the grade (depending on the number of such assignments) may be based on the grades on any quizzes and any exercises which have been designated as to be graded. In addition, you will be eligible for a “bump up” for particularly good class participation [including both participation in class discussion and on exercises which are not separately graded]. Bump-ups can increase the final grade where the numerical grade is in the upper range of a particular grade (i.e. a high C+, but not a C+ barely above the C/C+ dividing line, could become a B). Grades can also be lowered at the margin for significant failures to demonstrate that you have done the needed preparation for class.

5. Cancellations and Make-up Classes: There will be no class on Monday Oct. 2 because it is Yom Kippur. I will post information on if and when there are any additional cancellations and if therewill be make up classes well ahead of the date of any such class.

6. Notices to the class will be posted to the website. Please email questions or comments about the materials to me. If these seem likely to be of interest to the group generally, I will respond and post the question/comment and response on the website. If you wish to remain anonymous, please so indicate and I will arrange to respond in a way that maintains your anonymity. Remember that you are unlikely to be the only person puzzled by a particular rule, case or hypothetical. Sharing your ignorance is a step toward shared understanding.

Syllabus Part One

(all assignments page numbers refer to Epstein, Cases and Materials on Torts (7th ed.)) Supplemental materials, as well as questions or exercises, will be posted at least four days before the class for which they are assigned. To the extent these are already available, they are included in the Supplement, posted on the website concurrently with this Syllabus and noted herein.

Note: We may cover portions of more than one listed assignment on a given day, but we will never start more than one assignment on a given day. That is to say, if we ended a class in the middle of assignment “x,” you can assume that in the next class we will ordinarily complete assignment “x” and also cover some, if not all, of assignment “x +1.” Thus, if you have read one assignment beyond whatever assignment we were discussing in the previous class, you will always be prepared. Note also that some assignments are relatively long; these are typically preceded or followed by somewhat shorter assignments: adjust your reading pace accordingly.

In addition to classes as indicated, I hope to have one or two guest speakers. More later on this!

Intentional Torts

1. 3-13, 63-65battery

2. 20-33consent

3. 33-59other defenses to intentional torts

4. 60-63, 65-79other intentional torts

Negligence: introduction

5. 143-65; S1reasonably prudent person test

(Machin)

6. 165-87calculus of risk test

7. 187-225custom (including malpractice)

8. 225-47 effect of statutes

9. 247-60judge v jury

10. 260-85res ipsa

Plaintiff’s Behavior

11. 287-318contributory negligence

12. 318-36, S2-5assumption of risk

(Raveson)

13. 336-52comparative negligence

Multiple Defendants

14. 353-75joint and several liability

15. 375-92, S.6-8vicarious liability

(Burch)

Negligence v Strict Liability: A Brief Historical Detour

16. 81-82, 90-1118, 121-37

Causation

17. 393-404, 412-35,cause in fact

S. 9-10 (Trembath)

18. 435-44, 446 n.1-449 n.3, proximate cause (2 days)

450-67, 471-80, S. 11-13(McCain)

19. 480-93, S. 14-15negligent infliction of emotional

(Gonzalez)distress

Affirmative Duties

20. 495-534, S. 16-18duty to rescue; duties of property

(Poleyeff, Youngblood)owners

21. 534-68, S. 19-23volunteers and special relationships

(Reidel, Selvin)

Strict Liability Revisited

22. 569, 581-608animals and ultra-hazardous activities

Product Liability

23. 651-74Introduction

24. 675-97ALI; torts v contracts

25. 697-731, S. 24-31manufacturing & design defects

(Cassisi, Force)

26. 731-55, S. 32-34duty to warn

(Scheman-Gonzalez)

Damages

27. 773-800, S. 35-37recoverable elements

(FS§768.76, Stanley)

28.816-24, 800-07wrongful death/ attorney fees

29. 824-42, S. 38-39punitive damages

(Fla. Standard Jury Inst. Punitive Damages)

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[1] If I’m in my office with the door open, I’m presumptively available as well.