CitationSpengler v. ADT Sec. Servs., 505 F.3d 456 (6th Cir. Mich. Oct. 4, 2007) Synopsis of Rule of Law. Â Where an actor’s only violation is that of a broken promise to perform a contract, and there exists no independent duty outside the contract to perform, liability, if any, must rest solely upon the breach of the contract and a tort cause of action is not available. ...
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Vaughn v. Ruoff
CitationVaughn v. Ruoff, 253 F.3d 1124 (8th Cir. Mo. June 22, 2001) Synopsis of Rule of Law. Qualified immunity from due process claims analysis asks two questions: (1) Was there a deprivation of a constitutional right, and if so, (2) Was the right clearly established at the time of the deprivation? As for (1), before the State may deprive someone of a protected liberty interest, it must provide certain procedural protections such as notice and opportunity to be heard. As for (2), to be a clearly established constitutional right, the right’s contours â&# ...
Minnich v. Med-Waste, Inc.
CitationMinnich v. Med-Waste, Inc., 349 S.C. 567 (S.C. May 20, 2002) Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiff public safety officer was helping load medical waste onto a truck when the unoccupied truck started rolling towards a public street. He ran to catch it, jumped in, then stopped it and claimed he was injured in the process. He sued the Defendant truck company. The Defendant contended that his claim was barred by the firefighter’s rule but they were unsuccessful in that argument as the court held South Carolina does not follow that rule. Synopsis of R ...
States v. Lourdes Hospital
CitationStates v. Lourdes Hosp., 100 N.Y.2d 208 (N.Y. May 6, 2003) Synopsis of Rule of Law. Res ipsa loquitur is a doctrine of ancient origin which means “the thing speaks for itself.â€Â It derives from the understanding that according to common knowledge, some events ordinarily do not occur in the absence of negligence, and thus negligence may be inferred from the mere happening of an event. Expert testimony is frequently necessary in a medical malpractice case brought on a res ipsa loquitur theory.  ...
Wakulich v. Mraz
CitationWakulich v. Mraz, 322 Ill. App. 3d 768, 751 N.E.2d 1, 2001 Ill. App. LEXIS 215, 255 Ill. Dec. 907 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. Mar. 30, 2001) Synopsis of Rule of Law. One who voluntarily undertakes to render services to another is liable for bodily harm caused by his failure to perform such services with due care or with such competence and skill as he possesses. ...
Whisnant v. United States
CitationWhisnant v. United States, 400 F.3d 1177, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 4113 (9th Cir. Wash. Mar. 11, 2005) Synopsis of Rule of Law. Courts apply a two-part test for determining the applicability of the discretionary function exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCAâ€). Courts must ask: (1) Whether the challenged action was a discretionary one—i.e., governed by mandatory statute, policy, or regulation. If not, it is not excepted. (2) Whether the challenged action is of the type Congress meant to p ...
Bennett v. Stanley
CitationBennett v. Stanley, 748 N.E.2d 41, 92 Ohio St. 3d 35, 2001 Ohio LEXIS 1524, 2001-Ohio-128 (Ohio June 13, 2001) Brief Fact Summary. A five-year-old boy trespassed into his neighbor’s yard to play by their unkempt, pond-like pool, fell in, and drowned. His mother also drowned trying to save him. The father sued the neighbors in negligence. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Synopsis Rule of Law: A possessor of land is subject to liability for physical harm to children trespassing thereon caused by an artificial condition upon land if:(a) the possesso ...
Puckrein v. ATI Transport, Inc.
CitationPuckrein v. ATI Transport, Inc., 186 N.J. 563 (N.J. May 22, 2006) Synopsis of Rule of Law. Although an employer is generally not liable for the negligent acts of an independent contractor, there is an exception to this rule where an independent contractor is incompetent. To prevail against the principal for hiring an incompetent contractor, a plaintiff must show that the contractor was, in fact, incompetent or unskilled to perform the job for which he was hired, that the harm that resulted arose out of that incompetence, and that the principal knew or should have known o ...
Hoery v. United States
CitationHoery v. United States, 64 P.3d 214, 2003 Colo. LEXIS 116 (Colo. Feb. 24, 2003) Synopsis of Rule of Law. A tort is considered “permanent†where it would continue indefinitely absent extraordinary measures, and its permanency is encouraged because it would benefit state development, such as irrigation ditches or railway lines. If the tort is deemed permanent, the claim accrues when the plaintiff learned or should have learned of the injury. A tort is considered “continuing†where a defendant ...
Chaffee v. Seslar
CitationChaffee v. Seslar, 2002 Ind. LEXIS 271 (Ind. Apr. 5, 2002) Synopsis of Rule of Law. There are three views regarding whether a plaintiff may recover child-rearing costs for a failed sterilization procedure that results in an unplanned child: (1) the full recovery rule (the parent may recover all child rearing costs); (2) the benefit rule (the parent may recover child rearing costs offset by the benefits incurred by having the child); and (3) the no recovery rule (the parent may not recover any costs). Â ...
Weigel v. Lee
CitationWeigel v. Lee, 2008 ND 147 (N.D. July 21, 2008) Synopsis of Rule of Law.  Children may not bring loss of consortium claims arising out of personal injury to a parent in North Dakota, but a loss of consortium claim may be brought by a spouse. If the parent dies, however, the deceased’s heirs at law may recover for loss of consortium and emotional distress under the wrongful death act. ...
Honda of America Mfg., Inc. v. Norman
CitationHonda of Am. Mfg. v. Norman, 104 S.W.3d 600 (Tex. App. Houston 1st Dist. Feb. 6, 2003) Synopsis of Rule of Law. To prove a design defect, plaintiffs must show that (1) there was a safer alternative; (2) the safer alternative would have prevented or significantly reduced the risk of injury, without substantially impairing the product’s utility; (3) the safer alternative was both technologically and economically feasible when the product left the control of the manufacturer. ...
Doyle v. Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft
CitationDoyle v. Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft, 267 Ga. 574 (Ga. Mar. 3, 1997) Synopsis of Rule of Law. Compliance with a statute is not a complete defense to a products liability claim. Risk-utility balancing is the standard for whether a product is manufactured or designed reasonably. Under the risk-utility test, compliance with federal standards is a factor for the jury to consider in deciding the question of reasonableness, but it does not render the manufacturer’s choices immune from liability.  ...
Wait v. Travelers Indemnity Co. of Illinois
CitationWait v. Travelers Indem. Co., 240 S.W.3d 220 (Tenn. Nov. 16, 2007) Synopsis of Rule of Law. For an injury to be compensable under the Workers’ Compensation Act, it must both arise out of and occur in the course of employment. An injury occurs in the course of employment when it takes place within the period of the employment, at a place where the employee reasonably may be, and while the employee is fulfilling work duties. To arise out of employment requires a causal connection between the employment conditions and the resulting injury. ...
Merck & Co. v. Garza
Citation2008 WL 5169577 Brief Fact Summary. Mr. Garza complained of numbness and left arm pain to his doctor who prescribed him Vioxx. After allegedly taking Vioxx for approximately three weeks, two blood clots formed and he died. His wife and children sued Merck for defective design and marketing of the drug. Plaintiffs lost their design defect claim on appeal. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Under product defect strict liability claims, plaintiffs are required to prove both general and specific causation on the defendant’s part. General causation asks whether a substance is capabl ...
D’Amario v. Ford Motor Co.
CitationD’Amario v. Ford Motor Co., 806 So. 2d 424 (Fla. Nov. 21, 2001) Synopsis of Rule of Law. Crashworthiness cases involve separate and distinct injuries—those caused by the initial collision and those subsequently caused by a second collision from a defective product. Under the majority view, the fault of the plaintiff or a third party in causing the initial accident is recognized as a defense because that is what created the circumstances in which the second accident occurred. The minority view rejects the application of comparative f ...
Harris v. Board of Education of Howard County
CitationHarris v. Bd. of Educ., 375 Md. 21 (Md. June 6, 2003) Synopsis of Rule of Law. For an injury to be compensable under the Workers’ Compensation Act, it must both “arise out of†and occur “in the course of†employment. There is no additional requirement that the injury arise out of “unusual activityâ€.  ...
Solano v. Playgirl, Inc.
CitationSolano v. Playgirl, Inc., 292 F.3d 1078, 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 11437, 2002 Cal. Daily Op. Service 5227, 2002 Daily Journal DAR 6636, 30 Media L. Rep. 1878 (9th Cir. Cal. June 13, 2002) Synopsis of Rule of Law. To prevail on a false light claim, the plaintiff must show (1) Defendant disclosed to one or more persons information about or concerning plaintiff that was presented as factual but that was actually false or created a false impression about him, (2) the information was understood by one or more persons to whom is was disclosed as stating or implying something highly off ...
Brunson Communications, Inc. v. Arbitron, Inc.
CitationBrunson Communs., Inc. v. Arbitron, Inc., 266 F. Supp. 2d 377, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17636 (E.D. Pa. June 10, 2003) Synopsis of Rule of Law. To sustain a claim for commercial disparagement, plaintiff must allege (1) that defendant made a false statement, which caused pecuniary loss to the plaintiff, (2) that defendant intended for publication of the statement to result in harm to Plaintiff’s pecuniary interests, or recognized or should have recognized that it was likely to do so, and (3) that defendant knew that the statement was false or acted in reckless disregard of its trut ...
Remy v. MacDonald
CitationRemy v. MacDonald, 440 Mass. 675 (Mass. Jan. 12, 2004) Synopsis of Rule of Law. Â Due to a unique symbiotic relationship between a mother and her unborn child, a pregnant woman does not owe a duty of care to her unborn child to refrain from negligent conduct that may result in physical harm. ...
Iseberg v. Gross
CitationIseberg v. Gross, 879 N.E.2d 278, 227 Ill. 2d 78, 2007 Ill. LEXIS 1160, 316 Ill. Dec. 211 (Ill. Sept. 20, 2007) Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiff Iseberg and defendants were in a partnership that eventually dissolved. One of the partners, Mr. Slavin, lost his entire investment and told two partners that he wanted to harm Iseberg as a result. A few years later, Slavin rang Iseberg’s doorbell and shot him four times when he answered the door. The two partners had never warned Iseberg. Synopsis of Rule of Law. When a special relationships exists between ...
Carafano v. Metrosplash.com, Inc.
CitationCarafano v. Metrosplash.com, Inc., 339 F.3d 1119, 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 16548, 37 Media L. Rep. 1572, 2003 Cal. Daily Op. Service 7254, 2003 Daily Journal DAR 9674 (9th Cir. Cal. Aug. 13, 2003) Brief Fact Summary. A stranger posted a profile of a popular actress on a dating service website, including vulgar and embarrassing information, and the actress had no knowledge of the profile.  Synopsis of Rule of Law. An “’interactive computer service†qualifies for immunity so long as it does not also function as an “inf ...
Carafano v. Metrosplash.com, Inc.
Citation339 F.3d 1119, 14 ILRD 1, 2003 ILRC 2415, 37 Med. L. Rptr. 1572 (9th Cir. 2003) Synopsis of Rule of Law.An “'interactive computer service” qualifies for immunity so long as it does not also function as an “information content provider” for the portion of the statement or publication claimed to be false, misleading or defamatory. ...