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. ...
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Henningsen v. Bloomfield Motors, Inc.
Citation161 A.2d 69 (N.J. 1960) Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiffs were injured due to a car defect. The car was manufactured by defendant Chrysler Corporation. Plaintiffs sued for negligence and breach of implied warranty. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The old rule of privity requirement could not be applied strictly in the context of modern commerce. Car manufacturer was bound by the implied warranties to the same extent as the car dealer ...
Fisher v. Carrousel Motor Hotel
Citation424 S.W.2d 627 (Tex. 1967) Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiff was holding his plate and waiting to be served at a luncheon. The manager of the hotel, Flynn, snatched the plate from plaintiff’s hand and shouted a racial slur at plaintiff. Plaintiff sued the hotel, the manager, and the club where the hotel was located for assault and battery. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Actual physical contact is not necessary to constitute a battery, so long as there is contact with clothing or an object closely identified with the body as to be customarily regar ...
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. ...
Coblyn v. Kennedy’s, Inc.
Citation359 Mass. 319, 286 N.E.2d 860 (1971) Brief Fact Summary. The plaintiff, a small elderly man, was falsely accused of shoplifting from the defendant. He was taken back into the store from which he had just purchased a sport coat, and he began to feel ill. He was ultimately hospitalized for a myocardial infarct caused by the emotional distress of the incident. Synopsis of Rule of Law. One must be reasonably justified, using the standard of a reasonable person, in believing that someone was shoplifting in order to detain them without liability ...
Barton v. Bee Line, Inc.
Citation238 App. Div. 501, 265 N.Y.S. 284 (1933) Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiff was a 15 year old girl. She filed an action against defendant, alleging that a chauffeur from defendant company raped her while she was a passenger on the bus. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Plaintiff, even under the age of eighteen, has no cause of action against a male with whom she willingly consorts, if she knows the nature and quality of her act. ...
Wells v. Liddy
Citation186 F.3d 505 (4th Cir. 1999) Brief Fact Summary. Wells worked as secretary to a DNC executive director during the Watergate scandal. A key to her desk was found in the burglars’ possession after they were arrested. Liddy, bolstered by media speculations, repeated a conspiracy theory that Nixon’s legal counsel had ordered the break-in to see whether the DNC was arranging call girls for visiting dignitaries. According to the theory, Wells’ stolen key led to a drawer of a list or photos of such call girls. Synopsis of Rule of Law. An individual is ...
Vincent v. Lake Erie Transportation Co.
Citation109 Minn. 456, 124 N.W. 221 (Minn. 1910) Brief Fact Summary. While cargo from a steamship owned by Lake Erie Transportation Co. was being unloaded on Vincent’s dock, a violent storm struck, causing the steamship to damage the dock. Synopsis of Rule of Law. While public necessity may require the taking of private property for public purposes, a plaintiff will be entitled to compensation for injury done by a defendant who has prudently and advisedly availed itself of the plaintiffs’ property for the purpose of preserving its own more valuable pro ...
The Florida Star v. B.J.F.
Citation491 U.S. 524, 109 S.Ct. 2603, 105 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989) Brief Fact Summary. The Florida Star published a one-paragraph article on B.J.F.’s robbery and rape and included her full name. The newspaper got the information lawfully from an inadvertent mistake by the police department when it prepared a report with B.J.F.’s full name and placed the report in its publicly accessible press room. The publication of B.J.F.’s full name was in violation of The Florida Star’s own policy not to publish the names of sexual offense victims. Synopsis of Rule of La ...
Shulman v. Group W Productions, Inc.
Citation18 Cal.4th 200, 955 P.2d 469, 74 Cal.Rptr.2d 843 (Cal. 1998) Brief Fact Summary. Group W recorded and broadcast the helicopter rescue of the Shulmans without their consent. Synopsis of Rule of Law. While a person has no objective, reasonable expectation of privacy at the accident scene itself generally, a patient’s conversation with a provider of medical care in the course of treatment including emergency treatment carries a traditional and legally well-established expectation of privacy. ...
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan
Citation376 U.S. 254, 84 S.Ct. 710, 11 L.Ed.2d 686 (1964) Brief Fact Summary. The New York Times ran a full-page advertisement for people and groups protesting police treatment of anti-Black sentiment in the South. Sullivan, a commissioner who represented Alabama’s police department, demanded a retraction and sued the Times for libel. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, a public official should be prohibited from recovering damages for a defamatory falsehood relating to her official conduct unless she proves that the statem ...
Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co.
Citation497 U.S. 1, 110 S.Ct. 2695, 111 L.Ed.2d 1 (1990) Brief Fact Summary. Milkovich’s high school wrestling team was put on probation after a brawl with a competing team. The judge granted the parents’ restraining order after Milkovich testified at a judicial hearing denying that he incited the brawl. A sports columnist who attended the meet where the brawl occurred but did not attend the judicial hearing published a column alleging that Milkovich had perjured himself in downplaying his role in the brawl.. Synopsis of Rule of Law. An opinion may be ac ...
Lopez v. Winchell’s Donut House
Citation126 Ill.App.3d 46, 466 N.E.2d 1309 (Ill. App. Ct. 1984) Brief Fact Summary. Employees accused Lopez of stealing money from the donut shop by sequestering her off to a backdoor room of the shop. Lopez said that the employees never threatened her or made her feel unsafe, nor did they make her feel like she couldn’t leave. Instead, in her false imprisonment, Lopez claimed that her wrongful termination greatly injured her reputation and caused her great mental distress. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Moral pressure alone does not lend to a claim o ...
Khawar v. Globe International, Inc.
Citation19 Cal.4th 254, 965 P.2d 696, 79 Cal.Rptr.2d 178, cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1114, 119 S.Ct. 1760, 143 L.Ed.2d 791 (Cal. 1998) Brief Fact Summary. Khawar was a freelance photographer who was photographed near Kennedy by a friend shortly before Kennedy was assassinated. Twenty years later, publisher Roundtable Press alleged a conspiracy theory that the assassination was caused by the Iranian Shah working with the Mafia. Globe International republished the same photograph in articles on the conspiracy, incorrectly identifying the purported assassin as Khawar. Khawar re ...
Kenney v. Liston
Citation760 S.E.2d 434 (W. Va. 2014) Brief Fact Summary. Liston drove while intoxicated, badly injuring Kenney. Kenney’s medical bills were $70,000. Liston admitted liability but argued damages should be limited to what Kenney actually paid because his medical bills were discounted. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A tort victim who incurs medical expenses, suffers lost wages, or experiences other compensable loss may sue the tortfeasor for the entire amount of the victim’s injuries even if those losses have been neutralized by first-party insurance, by the vict ...
Imperial Ice Co. v. Rossier
Citation18 Cal.2d 33, 112 P.2d 631 (Cal. 1941) Brief Fact Summary. California Consumers purchased an ice distributing business from S.L. Coker via a contract that contained a non-compete provision for the Santa Monica area so long as the California Consumers were engaged in the same business. When Imperial Ice acquired California Consumers’ interest in the ice distributing business, Coker began selling ice in the area via a deal with Rossier in violation of the contract. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Competitive freedom is sufficiently important to justify o ...
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 ...
Haynes v. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Citation8 F.3d 1222 (7th Cir. 1993) Brief Fact Summary. Haynes was negatively featured in a book following his ex-wife’s life. Haynes admitted to many of the incidents described in the book but argued that he had since turned his life around in the past 25 years. Synopsis of Rule of Law. An involuntary loss of privacy is not a proper cause of action under the privacy tort unless the private facts published would make a reasonable person deeply offended by such publicity (offensiveness) and the facts must be those in which the public has no legitimate int ...
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 ...
Galella v. Onassis
Citation487 F.2d 986 (2d. 1973) Brief Fact Summary. Galella jumped out in front of John Kennedy’s bike, causing him to swerve. Secret Service agents arrested him for his subsequent actions against the agents. Galella sued Jackie Kennedy for false arrest and malicious prosecution, and Jackie Kennedy counterclaimed for injunctive relief against Galella’s continuous efforts to harass her and her children with paparazzi photographs. Synopsis of Rule of Law. There is no scope to the First Amendment right that provides absolute immunity to newspersons ...
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 ...
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. ...
Cantrell v. Forest City Publishing Co.
Citation419 U.S. 245, 95 S.Ct. 465, 42 L.Ed.2d 419 (1974) Brief Fact Summary. Forest City Publishing covered Cantrell’s death in a bridge collapse accident. Five months later, they published a follow-up story riddled with inaccuracies and false statements about the depraved condition of the Cantrell family in the aftermath of the accident. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The First and Fourteenth Amendments do not preclude a plaintiff from suing a defendant for invasion of privacy under a false light theory when the defendant uses false statements ...
Brown v. Kendall
Citation. 6 Cush. (60 Mass.) 292 (Mass. 1850) Brief Fact Summary. While attempting to separate their dogs from fighting, Kendall accidentally poked Brown in the eye with a stick. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Though what constitutes ordinary care will vary based on the circumstances, ordinary care generally means the degree of care that a prudent man would use, as required by the exigency of the situation and as necessary to guard against probable danger. ...