First-Year Law Students' Examination (FYLSX / Baby Bar) Torts Syllabus

Torts syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Torts in First-Year Law Students' Examination (FYLSX / Baby Bar), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Intentional Torts and Defenses

   4 topics

   • Intent and Transferred Intent
   • Harms to the Person
     • Battery
     • Assault
     • False imprisonment
     • Intentional infliction of emotional distress
   • Harms to Property
     • Trespass to land
     • Trespass to chattels
     • Conversion
   • Defenses to Intentional Torts
     • Consent
     • Self-defense and defense of others
     • Defense of property and recapture of chattels
     • Necessity (public and private)
2. 2

   Negligence

   5 topics

   • Duty of Care
     • Reasonable person standard
     • Foreseeable plaintiffs (Palsgraf: Cardozo vs. Andrews)
     • Special standards: children, professionals, common carriers
     • Affirmative duties and special relationships
   • Premises Liability
     • Invitees, licensees, and trespassers
     • Attractive nuisance doctrine
   • Breach
     • Risk-utility (Hand) formula
     • Negligence per se
     • Res ipsa loquitur
   • Causation
     • Actual cause: but-for and substantial factor
     • Proximate cause and foreseeability
     • Intervening and superseding causes
   • Damages and Defenses
     • Eggshell-plaintiff rule
     • Negligent infliction of emotional distress
     • Contributory and comparative negligence
     • Assumption of risk
3. 3

   Strict Liability and Products Liability

   5 topics

   • Abnormally Dangerous Activities
   • Liability for Animals
     • Wild animals
     • Domestic animals with known propensities
   • Products Liability Theories
     • Negligence
     • Strict products liability
     • Breach of warranty
   • Types of Defect
     • Manufacturing defect
     • Design defect (consumer expectation and risk-utility)
     • Warning defect
   • Defenses in Strict and Products Liability
4. 4

   Other Torts and Multiple Defendants

   5 topics

   • Defamation
     • Libel vs. slander and special damages
     • Public figures and actual malice
     • Defenses and privileges
   • Invasion of Privacy
     • Intrusion upon seclusion
     • Public disclosure of private facts
     • False light
     • Appropriation of likeness
   • Misrepresentation and Business Torts
     • Intentional misrepresentation (fraud)
     • Negligent misrepresentation
     • Interference with contract and prospective advantage
   • Nuisance
     • Private nuisance
     • Public nuisance
   • Vicarious Liability and Apportionment
     • Respondeat superior and scope of employment
     • Independent contractors and nondelegable duties
     • Joint and several liability, contribution, and indemnity

Torts flashcards for First-Year Law Students' Examination (FYLSX / Baby Bar)

23 of 51 cards from the Torts deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What are the two ways the intent element of an intentional tort can be satisfied?

   Intent exists when the defendant acts (1) with the purpose of causing the consequence, or (2) with knowledge to a substantial certainty that the consequence will result.

2. Explain the doctrine of transferred intent and the five torts it applies to.

   If a defendant intends to commit one tort but instead commits a different tort, or harms a different victim, the intent transfers. It applies among: battery, assault, false imprisonment, trespass to land, and trespass to chattels.

3. State the elements of battery.

   (1) A harmful or offensive contact (2) with the plaintiff's person, (3) caused by the defendant's intentional act, and (4) causation. Contact is offensive if it would offend a reasonable person's sense of dignity; the plaintiff need not be aware at the time.

4. State the elements of assault.

   (1) An act creating a reasonable apprehension in the plaintiff (2) of an imminent harmful or offensive contact, (3) intent, and (4) causation. Words alone are usually insufficient; apparent present ability suffices.

5. State the elements of false imprisonment.

   (1) An act or omission that confines or restrains the plaintiff to a bounded area, (2) intent, and (3) causation. The plaintiff must be aware of the confinement or harmed by it; a bounded area has no reasonable means of escape known to the plaintiff.

6. State the elements of intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED).

   (1) Extreme and outrageous conduct, (2) intent or recklessness, (3) causation, and (4) severe emotional distress. Damages (severe distress) are required; nominal damages are unavailable.

7. What are the special bystander rules for recovering on an IIED claim?

   A bystander may recover by showing the prima facie elements, OR by showing: (1) presence when the injury occurred, (2) the plaintiff is a close relative of the injured person, and (3) the defendant knew of the presence and relationship (knowledge not required for prima facie route).

8. Distinguish trespass to chattels from conversion.

   Both involve intentional interference with the plaintiff's personal property. Trespass to chattels is a minor interference (damages = cost of repair/loss of use). Conversion is so serious it warrants forced sale; damages = full fair market value at the time of conversion.

9. State the elements of trespass to land.

   (1) Physical invasion of the plaintiff's real property, (2) by an intentional act (intent to enter the land, not intent to trespass), and (3) causation. The invasion can be by a person or a physical object; no actual damages required.

10. What are the requirements for valid consent as a defense to intentional torts?

    Plaintiff must have capacity, and consent may be express or implied (by custom/conduct). Consent is invalid if induced by fraud, duress, or mistake known to the defendant, or if the defendant exceeds the scope of consent.

11. Compare the rules for using deadly force in self-defense versus defense of property.

    Self-defense allows reasonable force, including deadly force, when one reasonably believes they face imminent serious bodily harm. Defense of property never allows deadly force (or deadly mechanical devices) to protect mere property.

12. Explain the privileges of necessity (public vs. private) as defenses to property torts.

    Public necessity (acting for the public good) is an absolute defense, no compensation owed. Private necessity (protecting one's own/few persons' interests) is a qualified defense: the actor is not liable for the trespass but must pay for actual damage caused.

13. What is the shopkeeper's privilege?

    A merchant may detain a suspected shoplifter for a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner if there is a reasonable belief that theft occurred. It is a defense to false imprisonment.

14. State the four elements of a negligence cause of action.

    (1) Duty, (2) breach, (3) causation (actual and proximate), and (4) damages.

15. To whom is a duty of care owed, and what are the two competing views?

    A duty is owed to foreseeable plaintiffs. Under the majority Cardozo (Palsgraf) view, duty is owed only to those in the foreseeable zone of danger. Under the minority Andrews view, a duty is owed to everyone if anyone is foreseeably harmed.

16. What is the standard of care for the reasonably prudent person, and how do physical and mental characteristics factor in?

    The objective reasonably prudent person under like circumstances. Physical characteristics (e.g., blindness) ARE considered; mental deficiencies and low intelligence are NOT (the defendant is held to the standard despite them).

17. State the duty owed by a common carrier and innkeeper.

    Common carriers and innkeepers owe a high duty of care to their passengers/guests and are liable for even slight negligence (under traditional/majority rule).

18. Under traditional rules, what duties does a land possessor owe to undiscovered trespassers, discovered/anticipated trespassers, licensees, and invitees?

    Undiscovered trespasser: no duty. Discovered/anticipated trespasser: warn of/make safe known, hidden, artificial death-or-serious-injury conditions. Licensee: warn of known concealed dangers (no duty to inspect). Invitee: reasonable care including duty to inspect and make safe.

19. State the attractive nuisance doctrine.

    A land possessor may be liable for injuries to trespassing children caused by an artificial condition if: (1) the condition exists where children are likely to trespass, (2) the possessor knows/should know it poses an unreasonable risk, (3) children can't appreciate the danger due to youth, and (4) the magnitude of risk outweighs the utility/burden of remedy.

20. What is negligence per se and what two elements must the plaintiff satisfy?

    A statute's specific duty replaces the common-law standard, establishing duty and breach. The plaintiff must show (1) she is within the class of persons the statute was designed to protect, and (2) the harm is the type the statute was designed to prevent.

21. State the formula (Learned Hand) for determining breach of duty.

    A defendant breaches when the burden of taking precautions (B) is less than the probability of harm (P) multiplied by the gravity/loss of injury (L): breach exists if B < P × L.

22. What is res ipsa loquitur and its effect?

    Res ipsa loquitur lets the plaintiff prove breach circumstantially by showing: (1) the accident is the type that normally doesn't occur without negligence, and (2) the instrumentality was in the defendant's exclusive control. Effect: it creates an inference of negligence that survives a directed verdict motion.

23. State the test for actual cause (cause in fact), including when multiple causes exist.

    The 'but-for' test: the injury would not have occurred but for the defendant's act. With multiple sufficient causes (e.g., two fires), use the 'substantial factor' test. With multiple defendants and unknown causation, use alternative causation (Summers v. Tice), shifting the burden to defendants.

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