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Question 1
Amity is an island city just off the coast of Massachusetts. Because the weather is good all year round, the island is always crowded with surfers, beach goers and sun worshipers. Because so many people spend so much time in the water, the government has recently passed a statute making it a civil offense for anybody to knowingly withhold help to anybody who is in distress in the water. In other words, the statute requires that you make a rescue attempt if you see someone in trouble in the water. At common law, there is no duty of rescue. Hooper is lounging in his rowboat when he hears Martin begin to scream. Hooper looks out and sees that Martin is drowning. Hooper does nothing. Luckily, Quint is also in a boat nearby and he rows over and saves Martin. If Martin sues Hooper, he will most likely:
Correct
Incorrect!
Correct Where a statute provides a civil remedy for its violation, the plaintiff can sue directly under the statute without having to prove common law negligence. That being the case, Martin does not have to prove the four elements of negligence in order to recover against Hooper. All Martin has to do is prove that Hooper violated the statute. Thus, B is the correct answer.
Incorrect! Where a statute provides a civil remedy for its violation, the plaintiff can sue directly under the statute without having to prove common law negligence. That being the case, Martin does not have to prove the four elements of negligence in order to recover against Hooper. All Martin has to do is prove that Hooper violated the statute. Thus, B is the correct answer.
Correct
Incorrect!
Correct
Incorrect!
Question 2
Amity is an island city just off the coast of Massachusetts. Because the weather is good all year round, the island is always crowded with surfers, beach goers and sun worshipers. Because so many people spend so much time in the water, the government has recently passed a statute making it a criminal offense for anybody to knowingly withhold help to anybody who is in distress in the water. At common law, there is no duty of rescue. Hooper is lounging in his rowboat when he hears Martin begin to scream. Hooper looks out and sees that Martin is drowning. Hooper does nothing. Luckily, Quint is also in a boat nearby and he rows over and saves Martin. Hooper is prosecuted criminally and found guilty of violating the statute. Once the criminal trial is over, Martin can sue Hooper civilly and recover damages:
Correct
Incorrect!
Correct Where criminal statutes are involved, courts will rely on them only to make a pre-existing duty more precise. If there is no pre-existing duty, the courts will not use the criminal statute to create a new duty. That being the case, while Hooper can be prosecuted criminally for violating the statute, there is no civil duty that Martin can sue under. Therefore, he will not be able to recover from Hooper and False is the correct answer.
Incorrect! Where criminal statutes are involved, courts will rely on them only to make a pre-existing duty more precise. If there is no pre-existing duty, the courts will not use the criminal statute to create a new duty. That being the case, while Hooper can be prosecuted criminally for violating the statute, there is no civil duty that Martin can sue under. Therefore, he will not be able to recover from Hooper and False is the correct answer.
Question 3
Amity is an island city just off the coast of Massachusetts. Because the weather is good all year round, the island is always crowded with surfers, beach goers and sun worshipers. Because so many people spend so much time in the water, the government has recently passed a statute making it a criminal offense for anybody to knowingly withhold help to anybody who is in distress in the water. Assume that, at common law, there is a duty of rescue. Hooper is lounging in his rowboat when he hears Martin begin to scream. Hooper looks out and sees that Martin is drowning. Hooper does nothing. Luckily, Quint is also in a boat nearby and he rows over and saves Martin. Hooper is prosecuted criminally and found guilty of violating the statute. Once the criminal trial is over, Martin sues Hooper civilly. Martin will most likely:
Correct
Incorrect!
Correct
Incorrect!
Correct
Incorrect!
Correct In a situation like this, the court may use the violation of the criminal statute to establish breach of the civil duty. The negligence that is established is called 'negligence per se'. In order to establish 'negligence per se', Martin must prove that 1) the statutory duty was clear, 2) that Hooper's violation of the statute must be within the statutory purpose (the 'class of person/class of harm' test), and, 3) that Hooper had no excuse for his behavior. Here, the statutory duty was clear, Martin (a swimmer) was the class of person the statute was trying to protect and the risk of drowning was the class of harm the statute was trying to prevent, and Hooper offered up no excuse for his actions. Therefore, Martin can establish 'negligence per se' and D is the correct answer.
Incorrect! In a situation like this, the court may use the violation of the criminal statute to establish breach of the civil duty. The negligence that is established is called 'negligence per se'. In order to establish 'negligence per se', Martin must prove that 1) the statutory duty was clear, 2) that Hooper's violation of the statute must be within the statutory purpose (the 'class of person/class of harm' test), and, 3) that Hooper had no excuse for his behavior. Here, the statutory duty was clear, Martin (a swimmer) was the class of person the statute was trying to protect and the risk of drowning was the class of harm the statute was trying to prevent, and Hooper offered up no excuse for his actions. Therefore, Martin can establish 'negligence per se' and D is the correct answer.
Question 4
Amity is an island city just off the coast of Massachusetts. Because the weather is good all year round, the island is always crowded with surfers, beach goers and sun worshipers. Because so many people spend so much time in the water, the government has recently passed a statute making it a criminal offense for anybody to knowingly withhold help to anybody who is in distress in the water. Assume that, at common law, there is a duty of rescue. Hooper is lounging in his rowboat when he hears Martin begin to scream. Hooper looks out and sees that Martin is drowning. Hooper does nothing. Luckily, Quint is also in a boat nearby and he rows over and saves Martin. After Hooper is prosecuted criminally for violating the statute, Martin sues him civilly. During the civil trial, Hooper claims that he didn't help Martin because one of his oars was broken and he doesn't know how to swim. Martin will most likely:
Correct Where the defendant does attempt to excuse his violation of the criminal statute, the majority view states that the judge will determine the validity of the excuse. If the excuse is valid and supported by the facts of the case the judge will rule for the defendant. Therefore, if it turns out that Hooper's explanations for why he didn't help Martin are true and valid, Martin will lose and A is the correct answer.
Incorrect! Where the defendant does attempt to excuse his violation of the criminal statute, the majority view states that the judge will determine the validity of the excuse. If the excuse is valid and supported by the facts of the case the judge will rule for the defendant. Therefore, if it turns out that Hooper's explanations for why he didn't help Martin are true and valid, Martin will lose and A is the correct answer.