Citation222 F.2d 604 (1st Cir. 1955) Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiff was traveling in a car and was involved in a car accident. The truck driver, who almost caused the collision, stopped the truck on the road and offered to help push plaintiff’s car back to the road. To warn oncoming vehicles about the accident, plaintiff went up the hill. Defendant was driving another car on the road. To avoid hitting the truck, defendant went into a skid and hit plaintiff. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The primary test for proximate cause focuses on whether the natu ...
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In re NCAA Student-Athlete Names & Likeness Licensing Litigation
Citation724 F.3d 1268 (9th Cir. 2013) Brief Fact Summary. The defendant makes video games using the likenesses of college football players. The plaintiff, one such football player representing a class of other players, filed a lawsuit objecting to the use of his likeness in the games. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A work must have significant transformative elements under the five factor analysis to avoid liability for using a plaintiff’s likeness. ...
Howell v. Hamilton Meats & Provisions, Inc.
Citation139 Cal. Rptr.3d 325 (2011) Brief Fact Summary. The plaintiff was injured in a car accident caused by the defendant’s negligence. Her medical costs incurred by the accident were negotiated down substantially by her insurance company and the medical team that treated her. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Economic damages must be reasonable and incurred, even when the collateral source rule applies. In cases where damages have been reduced and the higher cost never incurred by the plaintiff, the defendant need only pay the reduced cost. ...
Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.
Citation418 U.S. 323 (1974) Brief Fact Summary. The defendant’s magazine published an article about the plaintiff, an attorney, containing falsehoods and claiming he was a Communist and part of Marxist groups. Synopsis of Rule of Law. States can define for themselves the appropriate standards of liability for a publisher or broadcaster of defamatory falsehoods injurious to a private individual without free speech concerns. That being said, presumed or punitive damages may not be recovered without a showing of knowledge of falsity or reckl ...
Foster v. Preston Mill Co.
Citation44 Wash. 2d 440, 268 P.2d 645 (1954) Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiff operated a mink ranch located in a rural area. Defendant company conducted blastings near plaintiff’s ranch and the vibrations from the blasting operations caused mother minks to kill her kittens. Plaintiff brought an action against defendant claiming strict liability. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Strict liability should be confined to consequences which lie within the extraordinary risk whose existence calls for such responsibility. ...
Escola v. Coca Cola Bottling Co.
Citation24 Cal. 2d 453, 150 P.2d 436 (Cal. 1944) Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiff is a waitress. A bottles of carbonated Coca Cola exploded and hurt her hand. Plaintiff sued the manufacturer. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur does not apply unless defendant had exclusive control of the thing causing the injury and the accident is of such a nature that it ordinarily would not occur in the absence of negligence by defendant. ...
Crisci v. Security Insurance Co.
Citation426 P.2d 173 (Cal. 1967) Brief Fact Summary. One of the plaintiff’s tenants was injured due to her negligence, but her insurance company refused to settle. The tenant won in court and was awarded a much higher damage amount than the settlement had proposed. This caused the plaintiff’s financial situation to drastically change, leading to a decline in her health. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Insurers are liable for the consequences of refusing to settle if they knew there was considerable risk of substantial recovery beyond the policy l ...
Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co.
Citation433 U.S. 562, 97 S.Ct. 2849, 53 L.Ed.2d 965 (1977) Brief Fact Summary. A news reporter filmed Zacchini’s 15-second cannonball act without Zacchini’s consent and broadcast the entire act on a routine news program. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The First and Fourteenth Amendments do not immunize the media when they broadcast a performer’s entire act without compensation and without his consent. ...
Yonaty v. Mincolla
Citation945 N.Y.S.2d 774 (N.Y. App. Div. 2012) Brief Fact Summary. A nonparty allegedly told Mincolla that Yonaty was gay or bisexual, and then Mincolla told a close family friend of Yonaty’s long-time girlfriend with the hope that Yonaty’s girlfriend would be told. Yonaty and his girlfriend thereafter broke up. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Statements falsely describing a person as lesbian, gay or bisexual do not constitute slander per se. ...
Womack v. Eldridge
Citation215 Va. 338, 210 S.E.2d 145 (Va. 1974) Brief Fact Summary. Eldridge was hired to get a photo of Womack to use in a sexual molestation case, so she posed as a news reporter writing an article on Womack’s place of employment. The photograph was unsuccessful at trial and resulted in dragging Womack into the case when his only nexus to the case was that he worked at the same place where Seifert was arrested. Womack suffered great shock, distress, and nervousness because of Eldridge’s fraud and deceit and how his community might perceive him as a child molester. & ...
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell
Citation538 U.S. 408, 123 S.Ct. 1513, 155 L.Ed.2d 585 (2003) Brief Fact Summary. In overtaking six vans on a two-lane highway, Campbell caused the death of one man and the permanent disability of another. State Farm, his insurance company, persuaded him to go to trial, where they lost and received a judgment that was $135,849 more than the settlement offer. State Farm initially refused to pay the excess, so Campbell joined forces with the two injured men to pursue a bad faith action against State Farm in which the two injured men would receive 90% of any verdict against Sta ...
Ollerman v. O’Rourke Co., Inc.
Citation94 Wis.2d 17, 288 N.W.D 95 (Wis. 1980) Brief Fact Summary. Ollerman bought a vacant lot to build a house. While excavating, a well was uncapped and water was released. Ollerman sued O’Rourke, alleging he would not have bought the property had he known about the defective well (or at least he would have paid less for the property). Synopsis of Rule of Law. A subdivider-vendor of a residential lot has a duty to a “non-commercial” purchaser to disclose facts which are known to the vendor, which are material to the transaction, and which are not re ...
Medico v. Time, Inc.
Citation643 F.2d 134, cert. denied, 454 U.S. 836, 102 S.Ct. 139, 70 L.Ed 2d 116 (3d Cir. 1981) Brief Fact Summary. Times published an article on suspected criminal activities between then-Congressman Flood and Medico based on confidential FBI documents that Time was allegedly unauthorized to receive. Medico sued for defamation. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Confidential FBI reports concern official proceedings and therefore fall under the fair report privilege, which protects the press from liability for defamatory statements so long as the account p ...
McDougald v. Garber
Citation73 N.Y.2d 246, 536 N.E.2d 372, 538 N.Y.S.2d 937 (N.Y. 1989) Brief Fact Summary. Garber’s malpractice left McDougald permanently comatose. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Cognitive awareness is a prerequisite to recovery for loss of enjoyment of life. ...
Martin v. Reynolds Metals Co.
Citation221 Or. 86, 342 P.2d 790 (Or. 1959) Brief Fact Summary. Reynolds’ nearby aluminum eduction plant damaged Martin’s land and poisoned his cattle. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Trespass is any intrusion which invades the possessor’s protected interest in exclusive possession, whether that intrusion is by visible or invisible pieces of matter or by energy which can be measured only by the mathematical language of the physicist. ...
Liberman v. Gelstein
Citation:80 N.Y.2d 429, 605 N.E.2d 344, 590 N.Y.S.2d 857 (N.Y. 1992) Brief Fact Summary. Liberman sued Gelstein for slander after Gelstein: (1) told a fellow tenants’ board of governors member that Liberman may be bribing police officers not to ticket cars parked outside of the building and (2) told employees that Liberman had threw a punch at him and threatened his wife and kids. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A conditional privilege protects defamatory statements that are made between two persons who share a common interest. ...
Hymowitz v. Eli Lilly & Co.
Citation73 N.Y.2d 487, 539 N.E.2d 1069, 541 N.Y.S.2d 941 (N.Y. 1989) Brief Fact Summary. Over 500 individuals sued for injuries resulting from the latent effects of a drug their mothers used as a miscarriage preventative but found it difficult to link the specific manufacturer to a particular case and were often barred by the statute of limitations. The legislature amended the statute of limitations rule to permit cases that had been previously banned for one year. Synopsis of Rule of Law. When causation cannot be determined for a defendant in a DES ca ...
Hustler Magazine v. Falwell
Citation485 U.S. 46, 108 S.Ct. 876, 99 L.Ed.2d 41 (1988) Brief Fact Summary. Hustler Magazine published a parody ad of Falwell having incestuous relations with his mother. A small-print disclaimer said that the ad was not to be taken seriously. Falwell sued Hustler Magazine for libel, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Public figures and public officials may not recover for the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress by reason of publications without showing in addition t ...
Hammontree v. Jenner
Citation20 Cal.App.3d 528, 97 Cal.Rptr. 739 (Cal. Ct. App. 1971) Brief Fact Summary. Jenner’s car crashed through the wall of the Hammontrees’ bicycle shop, striking Maxine Hammontree and causing personal injuries and damage to the bicycle shop. Jenner testified to a medical history of epilepsy and cited numerous examples of how he had attempted to avoid future epileptic attacks. The Hammontrees argued that Jenner should be held to an absolute liability standard, as in products liability cases, instead of a negligence standard. Synopsis of Rule ...
Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.
Citation418 U.S. 323, 94 S.Ct. 2997, 41 L.Ed.2d 789 (1974) Brief Fact Summary. Robert Welch’s outlet alleged that Gertz orchestrated a frame-up against the police officer and falsely asserted that Gertz had a long police record, was an official of the Marxist League for Industrial Democracy, and was a Communist. The editor said he had no reason to doubt the charges and made no effort to verify them. Synopsis of Rule of Law. So long as liability is not imposed without fault, a State may define its own appropriate standard for liability for a publisher or br ...
Flamm v. American Association of University Women
Citation201 F.3d 144 (2d Cir. 2000) Brief Fact Summary. American Association of University Women had a referral service for women in higher education to bring gender discrimination actions. Its directory included participating attorneys and other professionals and was distributed to its membership and anyone who requested a copy. Flamm’s entry was the only one out of approximately 275 that contained a negative comment, claiming Flamm was an ambulance chaser with interest only in slam dunk cases. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Whether a publication addresses a ma ...
Escola v. Coca Cola Bottling Co. of Fresno
Citation24 Cal.2d 453, 150 P.2d 436 (Cal. 1944) Brief Fact Summary. Escola was injured when a soda bottle broke in her hand as she moved it from the case to the fridge despite handling the bottle carefully. A Coca Cola engineer testified that the bottles undergo “pretty near” infallible tests. Synopsis of Rule of Law. When a defendant produces evidence to rebut the inference of negligence based on res ipsa loquitur, it is ordinarily a question of fact for the jury to determine whether the inference has been rebutted. ...
Desnick v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
Citation44 F.3d 1345 (7th Cir. 1995) Brief Fact Summary. Despite promising no ambush interviews or undercover surveillance, TV program Entine sent fake patients to Desnick centers with concealed cameras. Synopsis of Rule of Law. No trespass or invasion of privacy claim arise when a defendant procures consent to enter an owner’s property through fraud if the harm to the plaintiff is not one that the tort’s cause of action intended to protect. ...
Della Penna v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
Citation11 Cal.4th 376, 906 P.2d 740, 45 Cal.Rptr.2d 436 (Cal. 1995) Brief Fact Summary. Toyota threatened sanctions on its dealers who re-exported Lexus autos into Japan. Synopsis of Rule of Law. In an action for intentional interference of prospective economic relations, the plaintiff bears the burden of proving that the defendant’s interference was wrongful by some measure beyond the fact of the interference itself. ...
Boomer v. Atlantic Cement Co.
Citation26 N.Y.2d 219, 257 N.E.2d 870, 309 N.Y.S.2d 312 (N.Y. 1970) Brief Fact Summary. Cement waste from Atlantic Cement Co.’s cement plant (worth over $45 million) polluted the air of the area, damaging the nearby properties of Boomer. Synopsis of Rule of Law. While an injunction must be granted where a nuisance is found resulting in substantial damages to a plaintiff, the injunction may be vacated conditional on payment of permanent damages where a single recovery can include the whole damage and the loss recoverable would be small compared to the cost ...