Period 2, Negligence, Day 2 - Class Recap

The view from the top of Diamond Head, Oahu, Hawaii, in 2011. To get to this stunning vista point, you have to climb up a very steep set of stairs and tunnels - one with all sorts of warning signs. I think one of the reasons that the signs are there is that the park service is hoping they will not be liable for any damages as a result of neglecting to warn visitors.

Hi everyone,

We are SO close to being done with book work! I think just a little more time next class, then we will go over Chapter 21 answers and a Strict Liability PowerPoint, before I give out a final torts test review.

Soundtrack: “Who Let The Dogs Out?” by Baha Men. Selected because an easy example of strict liability is animals that are so dangerous that they injure others, without the owner having anything to do with it. In those sorts of cases, the owner is always liable for damages. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/29/13:
Tort Report
Blog Recap
Chapter 20 Review
Strict Liability: Chapter 21 (Not 21.4 or 21.6)

Homework: Study for upcoming unit final test! Turn in missing work. Read the blog! Next tort reports assigned to: Luke/Marsuk.

Tort Report: Jaxon brought in this article (which is over a decade old, but I guess I will take it, mostly because it is a ridiculous example of a lawsuit): TheSmokingGun.com - Another Ass Sues Viacom.

Bertina selected this article, which is directly related to a unit I did last year in Economics here: ChicagoTribune.com - Bank of America liable for Countrywide mortgages fraud.

Finally, Tommy chose this article about a lawsuit from July against Delta Air Lines: DailyMail.co.uk - Paralyzed man sues Delta Airlines claiming he was forced to crawl from plane while wearing his 'best suit'

Thank you, everyone! As always, I always like hearing about various different lawsuits and what your takes on them are.

Blog Recap: I showed the class the blog entry for last time, making sure to note that the PowerPoint could be downloaded for help in preparing for the upcoming test.

Chapter 20 Review: I gave everyone more time to try and finish up Chapter 20 in the textbook. If students were able to complete this before I went over it, I gave out a Chapter 19/20 worksheet and assigned Chapter 21 (except answers to 21.4 or 21.6).

I had fun going through the book answers with everyone here! Such great responses and questions. Hopefully, the concepts of the four elements of negligence are getting clearer: duty, breach, causation, and damages.

Strict Liability: Chapter 21: The rest of class (after the review time) was devoted to working on Chapter 21. If you were able to finish, congratulations! No more book work for me the rest of my time as your long term substitute. If not, I will give you more time to work at the start of next class.

Let me know if you have any questions in the comments or by email. See you on Thursday!

Period 2: Negligence, Class Recap

This is me in pre-school. If I had kicked over an elderly lady's chair and caused her to fall and break her hip (like in the book), yes, I could be held liable for damages in a civil court, if the plaintiff could prove a reasonable person at my age would know that my act was wrong.

Hello everyone,

Shockingly, today was my last Friday class with you all before my tenure as your long term substitute is over! I hope you are enjoying the class as much as I am. Here's what we did today:

Soundtrack: “Brain Damage” by Pink Floyd. Selected because sometimes, brain damage can be a result of negligence. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/25/13:
Tort Report
Chapter 19 Answers
Negligence PowerPoint
Finish Chapter 20

Homework: Turn in missing work. Check the blog! Review for unit final. Next tort reports assigned to: Jaxon, Bertina, and Tommy.
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Tort Report: We did not have this section today, as it was "neglected" to be remembered by a student. Next class! :-)

Chapter 19 Answers: Yeah, there were a lot of questions that I asked you to do in Chapter 19. This is a fact. We reviewed most of them as a class and talked about what makes a tort intentional. Hopefully, this sort of stuff is becoming really obvious.

Negligence PowerPoint: Next, we started moving on to the concept of negligence, which is Chapter 20 in the Street Law textbook. Here is the PowerPoint that I went over in class, which should help explain many of the concepts.

Google Drive - Negligence PowerPoint

Please be reviewing this material for your upcoming unit final, which is November 6.

Finish Chapter 20: The rest of class was devoted to trying to finish the answers in Chapter 20, so we can go over them and then complete our book work by doing Chapter 21 next week. 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Period 2: Intentional Torts and Negligence, Class Recap

This is me in front of the Grand Canyon in 2007 (I was a junior in college). If my parents (who I made the road trip with) had just left without me from here, that could be considered a negligent action.

Hey everyone,

Yeah, as I explained in class, it seems like we are getting a bit behind schedule with everything, just with the amount of book work needed to be done as we are talking about these important concepts. As such, be ready to just work on finishing and discussing Chapters 19 and 20 next class, along with a PowerPoint on Negligence/Chapter 20. If you are already almost done with both chapters, bring

Soundtrack: “The District Sleeps Alone” by Postal Service. Selected because "the district" refers to Washington, DC (where our federal government is based), and again, being left alone could be considered to be a negligent action. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/23/13:
Tort Report
Quiz
Chapters 19 and 20
Review

Homework: Turn in missing work, retake the unit one test if needed. Study vocabulary for upcoming torts test. Read the blog! Next tort report assigned to: Tommy.

Tort Report: Tim brought in this article about various lawsuits against Tylenol that have been filed in federal court: ClassAction.org - Tylenol Lawsuits Claim Drug Caused Liver Failure. Interesting case, as always. It looks like this website is also helping people who believe they have a similar claim to join in with the case - creating a "class action" lawsuit.

Quiz: Hopefully, this wasn't too difficult (it was 16 questions related to intentional torts). I will have these entered in the grade book and back to you on Friday. If you missed class, expect to take this (make sure to ask me) when you get back.

Chapters 19 and 20: As I wrote above, since we are so behind on our work calendar, I gave the rest of class for work time in the book. I think most people will be ready to talk about Chapter 19 on Friday. I will also give more time to do answers to Chapter 20 and talk about those, as well. I will probably start off class with a PowerPoint on Chapter 20/Negligence. It is unfortunate that I can't assign the book work as homework due to just having a class set of textbooks, but we will make it work. Thank you for staying with it!