Week 10 - Ch. 10
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Maccormac College *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
1800
Subject
Law
Date
Jan 9, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
2
Uploaded by UltraHawk4071
Ashlee Moran
David F. Grassi, J.D., M.A
Law 1800
Week 10 Ch. 10
Due: 11/12/2023
1.
What is the reason our legal system has absolute, or strict liability?
i.
Society determined that individuals participating in specified dangerous actions,
that resulted in unintentional harm to another, should be held responsible to
compensate the individual(s).
2.
Give at least four examples of animals
ferae naturae
?
i.
Snakes
ii.
Bees
iii.
Coyotes
iv.
Opossums
b.
Which tort does this term apply to?
i.
Strict (absolute) liability of animal owners.
3.
Name and describe at least four abnormally dangerous activities?
i.
The transportation of combustible gases such as methane pose a significant risk
to the population. The gas is a hazardous material already and when being
transported, it increases the risk of harm, including possible death, to others
and/or their property. Methane is not a substance of common usage. If a
company did not regularly inspect the tanks and failed to identify a leak in one
of them, this gas would escape into the environment which constitutes
inappropriate use in certain places. Despite the amount of reasonable care
exercised, the potential danger remains establishing an abnormally dangerous
activity.
ii.
The demolition of a building using explosives is another abnormally dangerous
activity. Demolishing buildings is usually reserved for old or dilapidated
structures in cities, towns, and neighborhoods. In a populated area, the use of
explosives is not an item that is commonly used regularly and pose a significant
risk of harm to people and property surrounding the structure being
demolished. Even if all precautions are taken and followed the risks are not
minimized establishing the act as inherently dangerous meeting the elements of
being an abnormally dangerous activity.
iii.
A residential neighborhood obtains their water supply from wells on their
property. A chemical plant that borders the neighborhood has established
retention ponds on their property where they have been illegally dumping
hazardous waste. The dangerous chemicals have now absorbed into the soil of
the shared grounds contaminating the natural water supply provided by the
wells. There is a serious risk of harm or illness to the residents of the
neighborhood created when the chemical plant illegally dumps chemical waste
on their property contaminating the ground water.
iv.
Tom wants to burn his leaves that have fallen from the trees surrounding his
property. He rakes them into a pile, adds lighter fluid, and ignites it around 2
p.m. when he returned home from work. There is currently a burn ban in effect
restricting open air fires before 4 p.m. within 300 ft of woods or dry grass.
Approximately 150ft exists between Tom’s house and the neighbor’s property
line where the trees are located. An ember is blown out of the fire and lands on
a pile of fallen leaves underneath the trees causing a fire to erupt that quickly
spread amongst the neighbor’s trees destroying the property as well as their
house. Tom was in violation of the burn ban by burning an open-air fire prior to
4 p.m. despite the knowledge of the risk of injury that could occur. He did not
take precautions by using an alternate method of disposal the same as his
neighbors. The igniting of a pile of lighter fluid-soaked fallen leaves without
containing them and is the action that can be described as abnormally
dangerous.
4.
What is a class action?
i.
A class action is a lawsuit brought on behalf of oneself as well as other
individuals with similar experiences that the courts may deem the lawsuit a
group claim instead of multiple individual claims if their interest align with each
other rendering the primary filer qualified to sufficiently represent everyone.
b.
Describe a situation which might give rise to such an action.
i.
The situation involving the illegal dumping of chemicals contaminating the
ground water of an adjoining residential neighborhood by a chemical plant
would give rise to a class action. After the establishment that illness and cancer
rates were twice as high as normal, water was discovered as a contaminated
substance causing multiple residents to be varying degrees of sickness. The
residents all experienced the same harm from the same source and were
seeking the same type of compensation. This would make one resident a
satisfactory representative of the whole community.
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help