SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS

18. Portentia Lardo, circus fat lady, visits the U-Pik-M Meat Market. She browses for a while in the Beef Department. As she leaves, not having purchased anything, a store detective runs up behind her yelling, in front of other shoppers, “Stop! Thief! She has a side of beef under her coat!” She is, indeed, so large that she looks like she’s hiding something. Portentia stops, mortified, and the detective catches up to her, saying, “Come with me.” She follows him to the store office, where he asks her to take off her coat. She does so. When it’s obvious she’s only fat and not a thief, he says, “I’m sorry. You can go.” Does Portentia have a valid claim against the store?

19. The Minnow, a tiny ship, sets sail from a tropical port for a three-hour tour. Shortly thereafter a fearsome storm kicks up, the tiny ship is tossed, and the crew seeks refuge at a private dock belonging to Snively. If Snively sues for trespass, will he win?

20. Shakespeare, a playwright, is walking down the street. As he passes a doorway, he sees a woman, Lady Macbeth, standing there. She has a glazed look in her eyes, she’s holding a cleaver dripping with blood, and her hands are covered with blood as well. Shakespeare slips surreptitiously into a phone booth, calls the police, and emerges, brandishing a gun. He tells Lady Macbeth that if she moves an inch he’ll blow her head off. In fact, Lady Macbeth works at the Titus Andronicus Butcher Shop, and she didn’t have a chance to wash her hands before she left work. However, when she tries to tell Shakespeare this, he thinks it’s a pile of baloney, and doesn’t let her go until the police arrive. She sues Shakespeare for false imprisonment. Can he defend on grounds of legal authority?

21. King’s Man catapults a styrofoam ball at Humpty Dumpty’s forehead, intending only to embarrass him. In fact, Humpty falls and cracks his skull, where a normal person would have been unhurt. Will King’s Man be liable for Humpty’s injuries?

22. Arthur Fonzarelli is a bored teenager. He rides all over Mayberry on his Harley Davidson just to kill time. Arthur is very concerned about damage to his spotless Harley, so he is always watchful when he rides. One day, however, he runs over Aunt Bea when he is momentarily blinded by the sun. Aunt Bea sues Arthur for negligence on the grounds that there is no social utility in riding around merely to kill time. Will she win?

23. Batman’s son, Batboy, is thirteen. One night, while Batman is playing poker with the Commissioner, Batboy sneaks into the Batcave, stuffs a chaw of chewing tobacco in his cheek, jumps into the Batmobile, and takes off like a bat out of hell. Robin is walking his bike across the street at a crosswalk, and Batboy negligently hits him, ruining the bike and injuring Robin. When Robin sues Batboy for negligence, what standard of care will Batboy be held to?