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Strict Liability

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1-1-1987

Strict Liability for Chattel Leasing
Richard C. Ausness
University of Kentucky College of Law, rausness@uky.edu

Recommended Citation
Richard C. Ausness, Strict Liability for Chattel Leasing, 48 U. Pitt. L. Rev. 273 (1987).

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Law at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu.

ARTICLES
S TRICT LIABILITY F OR C HATTEL L EASINGt
R ichard C. Ausness*
Leasing has become an increasingly popular substitute f or outright purchases as a means o f acquiring products f or use. Few courts a nd commentators, however, have addressed the question o f whether the principles o f strict products liability which apply to sellers also apply to lessors. I n this Article, Professor Ausness reviews the historical basisfor imposing strict liability in tort on sellers a nd applies these rationales to five basic kinds o f lease transactions. H e concludes that strict liability should not apply when a product defect arises after the leased product is placed in the hands o f the lessee (as contrasted with the more typical case o f " manufacturing defects" which arise when the product is manufactured), nor when the leased product is a fixture attached to real property. I n such cases, the lessor should be held to a negligence standard o f liability. However, in a ll other cases, the rationalesfor imposing strict liability on sellers apply as well to lessors a nd support the imposition o f strict liability upon these lessors.

T ABLE OF C ONTENTS

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I. Principles o f Bailment L aw. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A. Gratuitous Bailments . .................. . . . . . . . . . . .
B. Mutual Benefit Bailments . .........................
II. Principles o f Implied Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A. The Common Law Implied Warranty o f Fitness. . . .
B. Warranties Under the Uniform Commercial C ode..
1. Restriction o f Code Warranties to S ales.........
2. Chattel Leases Treated as Analogous to a Sale. .
3. Policy-Oriented Approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
C. Limitations on Recovery for Breach o f Warranty . . .
I II. Strict Liability in T ort. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A. Historical Development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
B. Objections to Extending Strict Liability to Lease
Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1. Preemption by the Uniform Commercial C ode.. t *

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Copyright © 1987, Richard C. Ausness.
Professor o f Law, University o f Kentucky. B.A., 1966, J.D., 1968, University o f Florida;
LL.M, 1973, Yale University.

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2. Section 402A Limited to Sales. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
C. Requirements for Strict Liability . ..................
1. Defective Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2. N o Substantial C hange. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3. T he "Physical H arm" R equirement. . . . . . . . . . . . .
4. Injection Into the Stream o f C ommerce. . . . . . . . .
a. Isolated Transactions . ......................
b. Supplying Products Incident to a Sale. . . . . . .
c. F inance Leases . ............................
D. Limitations on Liability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1. C onduct o f t he P laintiff-Contributory
Negligence, Assumption o f R isk and M isuse....
2. Conduct o f A nother as a Superseding C ause. . . .
3. Disclaimers o f Liability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
When Should Strict Liability Apply to Chattel Leases? . .
A. Policy Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
B. Leases t hat F unction as Substitutes for a Sale . .....
C. R eturn Leases . ....................................
D. Licenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
E. Maintenance Leases. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F. Finance Leases. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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I NTRODUCTION

T he short-term leasing industry has grown rapidly i n t he last decade. F or example, presently, more t han 800,000 rental cars are in service, 1 a nd automobile leasing companies gross a t least $4 billion a year. 2 I n addition, between 5,000 a nd 7,000 rental centers in the
United States3 r ent everything from a rt t o zoot suits.4 Many consumers prefer short-term renting because i t is often cheaper t o lease rather than to buy a product t hat is used only infrequently.5
1. Houston, What's Denting Profits a t the Car Rental Counter, Bus. WK., May 6, 1985, at 126.
2. l d. About one half o f the short-term car rental business is done at airports. l d. Hertz,
Avis, National and Budget control the largest share o f the car rental business. Hertz has 1767 rental locations in the United States, Avis has 1204, National has 1069 and Budget has 1056. Boyer,
A irpon Rent-A-Car Bargains, FORTUNE, Feb. 4, 1985, a t 119, 120.
3. Dunn, A Recession Strategy: Renting Everything From TVs to Tractors, Bus. WK., Mar. 22,
1982, a t 95.
4. From A to Z You Can R ent It, CHANGING T iMES, Oct. 1981, a t 63, 63·64.
5. F or example, when a gardener needs to use a rotary tiller only a few days a year, it makes more sense to rent one for $25 a day than to purchase one for $400. Dunn, supra note 3, a t 98.

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The long-term leasing business is also booming. Rentals brought in revenues o f $6.5 billion in 1982.6 M otor vehicles are the most popular item.7 Ten years ago, about ten percent o f all cars were leased; now perhaps half o f all new cars manufactured are on lease. 8 Most o f these 1.7 million vehicles are leased by government and corporate clients, b ut a t least ten percent are leased by private individuals. 9 I n addition, furniture, audio-visual equipment and home appliances are now frequently leased on a long-term basis. Long-term leasing by consumers is sometimes referred to as "lifestyle financing." Even though they may ultimately pay more,1O many high-income consumers use leasing as a way to live the good life based on monthly cash flow r ather than on savings o r n et worth. II
Many business enterprises now lease motor vehicles, office equipment and other products instead o f buying them outright. Credit requirements are often less rigorous for leasing than for financing the purchase o f a product. I n addition, leasing is sometimes superior to purchase in terms o f potential tax savings. Finally, since a lease obligation is n ot characterized as a debt, leasing instead o f buying can make a company's balance sheet look better.I2
As an increasing number o f consumers and businesses I3 engage in leasing, i t is necessary to determine the extent o f t he lessor's liabil6. Blyskal, A n Expensive Way to Borrow, FORBES, J uly 18, 1983, a t 126, 126.
7. Long-term leases can be either open-end o r closed-end. I n a n open-end o r finance lease, the lessor calculates the price he expects t o get when the leased article is sold after the expiration o f t he lease. This is known as the residual o r retained value. T he consumer must pay extra a t t he end o f t he lease i f the lessor does not obtain the expected residual value when he sells the leased article. On the other hand, the consumer may get a refund i f t he leased article is sold for more than its residual value. Look Before You Lease, CHANGING TIMES, Feb. 1985, a t 59, 60. Many business leases are o f t he open-end variety, b ut most consumer leases now tend to be closed-end leases. Id. a t 60-61. I n a closed-end, net o r walkaway lease, the lessee is n ot responsible for any additional payments a t the end o f t he lease period. McNatt, The New Economics o f Leasing, MONEY, Dec. 1984, a t 96, 97.
8. O'Donnell, Leveraged Lifestyles (Young Professionals as Lessors), FORBES, May 21, 1985, a t
~li

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9. Blyskal, The Car Leasing Dream, FORBES, M ar. 14, 1983, a t 176, 176.
10. See Blyskal, supra note 6, a t 127; Look Before You Lease, supra note 7,.at 59.
11. F or example, a young white collar employee can lease a S27,000 Porsche for S380 a m onth as long as he o r she has a minimum debt-free income o f SI8,OOO a year. I f the consumer borrowed money t o purchase the c ar outright, he o r she would have to p ut u p a S5,4OO down payment. I n addition, the monthly loan payments would probably exceed the S380 monthly cost o f renting.
O'Donnell, supra n ote 8, a t 36. See also M cNatt, supra n ote 7, a t 102.
12. Henszey, Application o f Strict Liability to the Leasing Industry, 33 B us. LAW. 631, 631
(1978).
13. I n this Article, leases t o individuals for personal o r occasional business use will be referred t o as "consumer leases." The term "business lease" will be used in connection with leases by business entities.

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ity for personal injuries to lessees and others. Three areas o f law are potentially applicable: bailment law, implied warranty, and strict liability in tort. This Article will evaluate each o f these legal regimes from the viewpoint of lessor liability. P art I focuses on the law o f bailments; P art I I is concerned with the principles o f implied warranty; and P art III examines the concept o f strict liability in tort.
Part IV examines a variety o f chattel leases, including sale substitutes, return leases, licenses, maintenance leases and finance leases, to determine where strict liability is appropriate. This Article concludes that strict liability in tort should not apply to some types o f licenses o r to maintenance leases. Instead, the lessor's duty in such cases is better expressed through negligence o r warranty law.
1.

P RINCIPLES OF B AILMENT L AW

The law o f bailments provides one set o f liability principles for lessors.14 U nder the traditional approach,15 the bailee is required to exercise only slight care where the bailment is for the benefit o f the bailor. 16 In the case o f a m utual benefit bailment, the bailee must
14. A bailment is defined as the "delivery o f personalty for the accomplishment o f some purpose upon a contract, express o r implied, t hat after the purpose has been fulfilled, it shall be redelivered to the person who delivered it, otherwise dealt with according to his directions o r kept until h e reclaims it." Smalich v. Westfall, 440 Pa. 409, 269 A.2d 476, 480 (1970). See also American Enka
Co. v. Wicaco Mach. Corp., 686 F.2d 1050, 1053 (3d Cir. 1982); Garfield v. F urniture Fair-Hanover,
113 N.J. Super. 509,274 A.2d 325, 326 (1971); Wright v. Sterling Land Co., 157 Pa. Super. 625, 43
A.2d 614, 615 (1945).
The word "bailment" is derived from the French term "bailler," which means " to deliver." See
Tashima v. People, 58 Colo. 98, 144 P . 200, 202 (1915); State v. Carr, 118 N.J.L. 233, 192 A. 36, 37
(1937); Hogan v. O'Brien, 123 Misc. 805,206 N.Y.S. 831, 833 (Sup. Ct. 1924); Rudolph v. Riverdale
Management, 202 Misc. 586,113 N.Y.S.2d 524, 529 (N.Y. Mun. Ct. 1952); Merritt v. Nationwide
Warehouse Co., 605 S.W.2d 250, 253 (Tenn. App. 1980); 2 W. BLACKSTONE, COMMENTARIES *451;
J. STORY, CoMMENTARIES ON THE LAW OF BAILMENTS § 2, a t 1 (5th ed. 1851).
A bailment requires: (1) an agreement by the parties to transfer possession o f personal property for a specified purpose; (2) actual delivery o r transfer o f actual possession o f t he property from the bailor to the bailee; and (3) acceptance o f exclusive possession by the bailee. Kirby v. Chicago City
Bank & T rust Co., 82 III. App. 3d 1113,403 N.E.2d 720, 723 (1980). I t may be established by express contract o r by implication. Id.; Berglund v. Roosevelt Univ., 18 Ill. App. 3d 842, 310
N.E.2d 773, 776 (1974). In the latter case, the court must consider the surrounding facts, such as benefits received by the parties, the parties' intentions, the kind o f property involved and the opportunity o f each party to exercise control over the property. Kirby, 403 N.E.2d a t 723; Berglund, 310
N.E.2d a t 776; Wall v. Airport Parking Co., 41 Ill. 2d 506, 244 N.E.2d 190, 192-93 (1969).
15. A number o f states have done away with these distinctions and impose a duty o f ordinary care on the bailee, regardless o f the nature o f the bailment. See 8 AM. JUR. 2 0 B ailments § 219
(1980). See also Kubli v. F irst Nat'l Bank, 199 Iowa 194, 200 N.W. 434, 436 (1924).
16. See, e.g., Thomas v. Hackney, 192 Ala. 27, 68 So. 296, 296 (1915); Maddock v. Riggs, 106
Kan. 808, 190 P. 12, 15 (1920); Hargis v. Spencer, 254 Ky. 297, 71 S.W.2d 666, 669 (1934); Cadwell

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exercise ordinary care,I7 and great care is necessary when the bailment is exclusively for the bailee's benefit. IS
A similar approach is followed with respect to the duty o f care owed by a bailor to his bailee. I n t he case o f a gratuitous bailment, the bailor is merely required to warn the bailee o f latent defects known to h im a t the time the property left his possession.19 However, when a mutual benefit bailment is involved, the bailor must exercise ordinary care to ensure t hat t he bailed property is safe for its intended use. 20 This distinction rests on the notion t hat a bailor who receives no benefit from the bailment should not be required to p ut t he property into usable condition solely for the convenience o f t he bailee. A rguably, imposing such an obligation on the bailor would unduly restrict the transfer o f property by discouraging gratuitous loans. On the other hand, i t seems more appropriate to impose a greater duty on the bailor when both he and the bailee profit from the transaction. 21

A.

Gratuitous Bailments

P rior to the mid-nineteenth century, judges and commentators concentrated almost exclusively on the bailee's duty to protect the bailed property and paid little attention to the bailor's duty o f care. 22
T hat issue was not considered judicially until 1858 when the English
v. Peninsular State Bank, 195 Mich. 407, 162 N.W. 89, 91 (1917); Dalton v. Hamilton Hotel Operating Co., 242 N.Y. 481, 152 N.E. 268, 270 (1926).
17. See, e.g., Levasseur v. Field, 332 A.2d 765, 767 (Me. 1975); David v. Lose, 7 Ohio St. 2d
9 7,218 N .E.2d 442, 444 (1966); Insurance Co. o fN. Am. v. K rieck Furriers, Inc., 36 Wis. 2d 563,
153 N.W.2d 532, 535 (1967).
18. See, e.g., G lenn v. Blackman, 33 Ala. App. 571, 35 So. 2 d 698, 701, cert. denied, 250 Ala.
664, 35 So. 2d 702 (1948); Hall v. Osell, 102 Cal. App. 2d 849, 228 P.2d 293, 296 (1951); Raines v.
Rice, 65 G a. App. 68, 15 S.E.2d 246, 250 (1941); C arr v. Evans, 189 Mo. App. 282, 176 S.W. 298,
299 (1915).
19. See, e.g., Johnson v. H .M. Bullard Co., 95 Conn. 251, 111 A. 70 (1920); Butler v. Shirah,
154 Ga. App. 1 11,267 S.E.2d 647, 649 (1980); Gagnon v. D ana, 69 N .H. 264, 39 A. 982 (1896);
K napp v. G ould A uto Co., 252 A.D. 430, 299 N.Y.S. 688 (1937); Miller v. H and F ord Sales, Inc.,
216 Or. 567, 340 P.2d 181 (1959).
20. See, e.g., Milestone Sys., Inc. v. Gasior, 160 Md. 131, 152 A. 810, 812 (1931); Hilleary v.
Bromley, 146 Ohio St. 212, 64 N.E.2d 832, 835 (1946).
21. Hilleary, 64 N.E.2d a t 835.
22. Joseph Story, in his treatise on t he law o f bailments, declared t hat u nder Roman law a lender was obligated to inform t he b orrower o f defects in t he property loaned. According to Story,
" The g round o f this doctrine is, t hat when we lend we ought to confer a benefit, and not do a mischief." J. STORY, supra note 14, § 275, a t 287. Story also cited a hypothetical case from Roman sources where one who gratuitously lends another defective casks would be liable for harm to oil o r wine placed in them by t he borrower. ( "Qui sciens vasa vitiosa commodavit, s i i bi infusum vinun, vel oleum corruptum effusumve, condemnandus eo nomine est.") 2 CORPUS JURIS CIVILIS, Digest bk.
13, tit. 6, 1.18(3), a t 185 (S. Scott ed. 1973).

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c ourt o f Queen's Bench decided Blakemore v. Bristol & E xeter Railway C O.23 T he defendant in t hat case, a railroad, maintained a crane a t its station in Weston Super Mare to enable its customers to unload their goods. 24 T he plaintiff's husband, who was helping to unload a cargo o f stone, was killed when a chain gave way causing the crane's beam to strike him in the head. The trial judge directed a verdict for the defendant and the plaintiff appealed.
Acknowledging the dearth o f authority on the subject,25 the court i n Blakemore invoked the principle o f correlative obligations enunciated by Lord Holt in Coggs v. Bernard. 26 I t then characterized
23. 120 Eng. Rep. 385 (K.B. 1858).
24. [d. a t 387. T he railroad had two rate schedules, tonnage and mileage. The railroad would unload the goods i f the customer paid the tonnage rate, but the customer was responsible for unloading the goods i f h e only paid the mileage rate. However, the railroad made its crane available a t no charge to those customers who elected to unload their own goods. [d.
25. T he court stated: " It is surprising how little in the way o f decision in o ur Courts is to be found in o ur books upon the obligations which the mere lender o f a chattel for use contracts toward the borrower." [d. a t 391.
26. The court in Blakemore declared:
I t may however, we think, be safely laid down that the duties o f the borrower and lender are in some degree correlative. The lender must be taken to lend for the purpose o f a beneficial use by the borrower; the borrower therefore is not responsible for reasonable wear and tear; but he is for negligence, for misuse, for gross want o f skill in the use, above al1, for any thing which may be qualified as legal fraud. So, on the other hand, as the lender lends for beneficial use, he must be responsible for defects in the chattel with reference t o the uses for which he knows the loan is accepted, o f which he is aware, and owing to which directly the borrower is injured.
[d.
These principles were first set forth in Coggs v. Bernard, 92 Eng. Rep. 107 (K.B. 1704), which is discussed in detail in Elliott, Degrees 0/ Negligence, 6 S. CAL. L. REV. 91, 107-10 (1933). The defendant in Coggs transported several casks o f brandy, belonging to the plaintiff, from one cellar to another. As the goods were being transferred one o f t he casks was staved and most o f t he brandy was lost. The plaintiff claimed that the defendant's employees were responsible for the accident and the assize court agreed. The defendant moved in arrest o f judgment, arguing that as a gratuitous bailee he should not be have been held liable for mere negligence. 92 Eng. Rep. at 107. Nevertheless, Chief Justice Holt, speaking for the Court o f King's Bench, upheld the verdict. [d. a t 114.
Lord Holt declared t hat t he respective duties owed by bailor and bailee depended on the nature o f the bailment. Relying on the writings o f R oman jurists, Holt identified six types o f bailment: (1) depositum, (2) c ommodatum, (3) locatio et conductio, (4) pignori acceptum, (5) delivery o f chattels to be transported by the bailee, and (6) m andatum. [d. a t 109.
Depositum o r deposits are bailments o f personal property to be kept for the bailor without recompense and to be returned when the bailor shal1 require them. J. STORY, supra note 14, § 4;
Weinstein v. Sheer, 98 N.J.L. 511, 120 A. 679, 681 (1923). I n ordinary deposits, the bailee, in the absence o f a special undertaking to keep the goods as he would his own, is liable only for gross neglect. Coggs, 92 Eng. Rep. at 110-11.
Commodatum are bailments o f goods to be used gratuitously by the bailee temporarily o r for a certain time. Slack v. Bryan, 299 Ky. 132, 184 S.W.2d 873, 875-76 (1945); Viers v. Webb, 26 Mont.
38, 245 P. 257, 258 (1926); Lowney v. Knott, 83 R.I. 505, 120 A.2d 552, 554 (1956). In the case o f

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A Comparison Between Strict and Absolute Liability

...COMPARISON BETWEEN STRICT AND ABSOLUTE LIABILITY THE CONCEPT OF STRICT LIABILITY There are many activities which are so dangerous that they constitute constant danger to person and property to others. The law may deal with them in two ways. It may prohibit them altogether. It may allow them to be carried on for the sake of social utility but only in accordance with statutory provisions laying down safety measures and providing for sanctions for non-compliance through the doctrine of strict liability. The undertakers of the activities have to compensate for the damage caused irrespective of any carelessness on their part. The basis of liability is the foreseeable risk inherent in the very nature of the activities. In this aspect, the principle of strict liability resembles negligence which is also based on foreseeable harm. But the difference lies in that the concept of negligence comprehends that the foreseeable harm could be avoided by taking reasonable precautions and so if the defendant did all that which could be done for avoiding the harm, he cannot be held liable except possibly in those cases where he should have closed down the undertaking. Such a consideration is not relevant in cases of strict liability where the defendant is held liable irrespective of whether he could have avoided the particular harm by taking precautions. The rationale behind strict liability is that the activities coming within its fold are those entailing extraordinary risk to others, either in...

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“a Satisfactory Justification for Strict Liability in Tort Law Has Yet to Be Found.”

...“A satisfactory justification for strict liability in tort law has yet to be found.” It is generally recognised that being responsible at law or in ordinary life are very different concepts: one is based on blame while the other focuses on fault. This imbalance is embedded in the tension between the two bases of liability recognised in the law of torts. On the one hand, as stressed in Hoffman v Jones, ‘the most equitable result that can ever be reached by a court is the equation of liability with fault’. Courts have energetically defended the view that fault is crucial in establishing responsibility. On the other hand, the same jurisdictions have operated a shift since Rylands v Fletcher from this doctrinal claim to adopt a strict liability standard in particular circumstances. Despite its appearance in statutes, many claim that a satisfactory justification for strict liability in tort law has yet to be found. This essay will nevertheless argue that this stand is unsupported and untrue: it is nonsensical to call for one unique explanation for this area of the law. The law on strict liability responds to a social demand which should not be reduced to one ‘metatheory’. The first two parts of this essay will be dedicated to the analysis the ‘social and economic benefits’ of strict liability mentioned in Chavez v Southern Pacific Transportation Co. We shall then argue that these justifications are best understood when interrelated with a broader moral justification. I] Social...

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Strict Liability

...Strict Liability Strict liability is basically being guilty of something when you didn’t set out to intentionally cause harm to someone. According to Samaha, “it is not necessary for mens rea to be present, in other words you do not have to have a guilty mind to be guilty of strict liability (Samaha, 2011).” Due to strict liability you can be found guilty of a crime when you did not purposely participate in any criminal act. The problem with strict liability is that due to others actions you can be guilty of something you would have never voluntarily participated in. According to Cornell, “crimes related to possession of property and statutory rape charges are big areas of concern in criminal law strict liability charges (Strict Liability).” Can you imagine if you were a guy that was 25 and you met a girl that told you she was 19 and you started dating her? During your relationship you had consensual sexual relations with the girl on multiple occasions, and then the police show up at your door with a warrant for your arrest. It seems the girl’s parents have found out about your relationship with their daughter and they are having you charged with statutory rape because their daughter is only 16 years old. In the state of Florida, “someone that is at least the age of 16 but is not yet 18 years old can in no way consent to participating in any type of sexual activity if the other participate is aged 24 or older (Statutory Rape).” In today’s world it is not uncommon...

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Law 421

...cause damage to someone. Liability and negligence are two of the main portions and apply to just about all tort cases in some way or another. Taking a look at a few different cases we can see both negligence and liability on both parties of each case and the decision can be yours to make. Keep in mind that negligence is the failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances ("Negligence", 2011). Strict liability is a standard for liability which may exist in either a criminal or civil context. A rule specifying strict liability makes a person legally responsible for the damage and loss caused by his or her acts and omissions ("Strict Liability", 2011). The first case deals with vehicles and keyless entry and remote start. The video tells the story about owners of keyless start vehicles that were driven and then parked inside of their garage where they were left running and ended up either injuring the owners or in some cases killing them, five (5) in just a few years. Keyless entry and remote start vehicles use a key fob that allows the owner to start and drive the vehicles without ever putting an actual key into an ignition and also allows them to stop driving without having to turn the car off manually. What is happening are the drivers are parking and getting out without pressing the engine stop button. This is filling to home up with toxic gas and injuring the owners. Negligence and liability come into play on both sides...

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Encountering Risks and Reducing Exposure

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Bugusa, Inc. Worksheet Law/421 Version 2

...In the case of WIRETIME, Inc., tort has been committed. Per the reading, “a tort is when one party has acted, or in some cases failed to act, and that action or inaction triggered a loss to be grieved by another party” (Melvin, 2011). WIRETIME, Inc., made a defamatory statement about Bugusa, Inc.’s reputation. WIRETIME, Inc., also enlisted an ad in a well-known magazine that enclosed a statement alleging BUGusa for having bad merchandise. BUGusa doubtfully will undergo reputation or loss of clients due to the negative hoarding that WIRETIME, Inc., bashed. Scenario: WIRETIME, Inc. (Janet) Has WIRETIME, Inc. committed any torts? If so, explain. Scenario: WIRETIME, Inc. (Steve and Walter) Discuss any liability BUGusa, Inc., may have for Walter’s actions. In this case, the liability BUGusa, Inc., may encounter for Walter’s actions is that he committed a tort when locking Steve inside a soundproof room and threatened him with physical harm. Keeping Steve in a soundproof room can be defined as false imprisonment. False imprisonment prohibits wrongful restraining, confining or detaining a person without that person’s consent (Penal Code 236). Criminal threatening sometimes known as the terrorist threat, malicious harassment, or by other terms, occurs when someone threatens to kill or physically harm someone else. BUGusa, Inc., has the right and free will to sue Steve for intentionally and willfully spying on the companies’ confidential background. Bugusa, Inc. Worksheet LAW/421...

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Bug Usa 5 and 6

...(Melvin, 2011, p. 208), “negligence is an accidental (without willful intent) event that caused harm to another party.” BugUSA would be able to state that if Randy would have yielded properly at the intersection there would not have been an accident. It would come down to if BugUSA would be able to prove that Randy’s negligence was at fault for the accident. Scenario 6: This would as well be a hard case. Sally would be able to use the tort strict liability and possibly negligence. According to (Melvin, 2011, 208), strict liability is when the tortfeasor may be held liable for an act regardless of intent or willfulness, applies primarily in cases of defective products and abnormal dangerous activities. In this case, BugUSA was aware that an insulator could have prevented the short circuiting which lead to her injury. Yet BugUSA would be able to say that they are not the ones at fault because there is a newer version of the same product and that it is the police department that should be taking on the negligence and strict liability cases because they had not yet purchased the newer equipment or insulators for the older versions. In order for her to have a successful case, she would have to prove that BugUSA had known of the dangerous and did not offer a solution ot the police...

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Rawlsian Arguments

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Fault Essay

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