Question

BUSINESS LAW 1

9 . Under the doctrine of transferred intent:

a) liability for an intentional tort committed by one defendant can be

transferred to another defendant

b) one plaintiff’s right to sue a defendant for an intentional tort can be

transferred to another plaintiff

c) a defendant can be held liable for intentionally causing a certain harm

(harm A) even though he actually intended to cause a different harm

(harm B)

d) a defendant who commits a n act with gross negligence can be liable

for an intentional tort ____

1 0 . A contractual promise not supported by consideration may be enforceable under

the doctrine of:

a) quid pro quo

b) judicial estoppel

c) collateral estoppel

d) promissory estoppel ____

1 1 . In the products liability context, a manufacturing defect involves :

a) a product that is so dangerous it can’t be manufactured safely

b) a defective version of a product, meaning that it doesn’t meet the

manufacturer’s own specifications or standards for the product

c) a product that is badly designed

d) a product that injures someone working on the assembly line while

it is being manufactured ____

1 2 . An employer may be vicariously liable for the tort of his employee

under the doctrine of respondeat superior if:

a) the employee’s job did not requi re him to exercise independent

judgment

b) the employee was not qualified for the job

c) the employer did not adequately train and supervise the employee

d) the employee committed the tortious act within the scope of his

employment ____

1 3.The parol evidence rule applies:

a) when the parties have agreed to a liquidated damages amount

b) when the parties have reduced their agreement to a writing that completely

and accurately expresses all of its terms

c) when the parties have agr eed that their contract can only be modified in writing

d) when the parties have satisfied any conditions precedent ____

Answer 1

Ans. 9. b. One plaintiff’s right to sue a defendant for an intentional tort can be transferred to another plaintiff.

The legal doctrine of transferred intent (or transferred malaise) holds that when the intention of the defendant to harm a party or individual causes harm to another or second person (or party) the perpetrator will be still held responsible. Therefore, the right of one party/plaintiff to sue the defendant will be transferred to another party or plaintiff when there is an intentional tort. The courts however should be demonstrating that the party or the person had the criminal intent. In tort law, transferred intent applies to assault, battery, trespass to land, false imprisonment and trespass to chattels.

Ans. 10.d. promissory estoppel

A court may enforce a promise even in the absence of considerations. Some of these promises may be governed by UCC or Uniform Commercial Court while others can be established by common law. Under promissory estoppel (considered an alternative to consideration), the court will not allowed a claim that there is no consideration. This doctrine may be involved after the below given conditions are met.

a. The nature of the promise is such that the promisor will reasonably expect to induce action (or its forbearance) of substantive and definite character on the promise. Hence the promise is definite and clear.

b. The action (or its forbearance) is taken.

c. Justice can only be provided when the promise is fulfilled.

Ans. 11. B. A defective vision of a product, meaning that it doesn’t meet the manufacturer’s own specifications or standards for the product.

Product liability law (Section 2 of the Restatement of Torts: Product Liability) distinguishes between 3 different and major types of product liabilities.

Manufacturing defect- these defects occur while the product is manufactured and in the manufacturing process. The defects may occur often due to low quality materials used or due to shoddy workmanship. The defective products do not meet the manufacturer’s own standards and specifications.

Design defects- the product design itself may be useless, defective and/or dangerous. No matter how carefully and properly the product is produced, it will carry certain defects that will turn it to be unsafe, unlikable by the customer, and/or the benefits will be lesser than the risks.

Failure-to-warn defects- some products may carry non-obvious and hidden dangers. Users should be provided related warnings for it. The inherent dangers will be there no matter how carefully the product is used.

Ans. 12. d. the employee committed the tortious act within the scope of his employment.

Vicarious liabilities are secondary liabilities, which may arise in common law doctrine of the respondeat superior, agency and employer. Under the doctrine there is a responsibility of superior/employer for the actions of employees and subordinates.

Employers are vicariously liable according to respondeat superior doctrine for all the omissions or negligent acts of their employees during the course of their employment and professional work. Even when the employee does an authorized act in an unauthorized way, the employer will be held responsible. However, when the employees commit a wrong intentionally, they are acting beyond the scope of employment and the employer is not liable in these cases. Employers can also have policies to escape the liability and/or insurance to cover for the losses.

Ans. 13. b. when the parties have reduced their agreement to a writing that completely and accurately expresses all of its terms.

The “parole evidence rule” is used for governing the different kinds of evidences that parties to a given contract dispute can produce when they are trying to determine the specific contract terms. Parties should have reduced the agreement in the form of a final written document that explains and provide specifics of all the terms and conditions accurately. The rule does not allow the parties to introduce any other evidence later on (for instance content related to the oral discussions that took place during the negotiation process).