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Customs & Statutes
Negligence as a Cause of Action
Plaintiff must prove four elements:
- Duty
- Breach
- Causation
- Harm
Proving Negligence
To establish that the defendant’s conduct fell below standard of reasonable care, plaintiff needs to prove:
What defendant did or did not do.
What defendant should have done.
Ways to determine reasonable care under the circumstances include:
- Foreseeability - The Reasonable Person - Custom - Statute
Special Considerations - Judge and jury relationship
Judges & Juries
Rules vs. Standards
Rules are rigid, bright-line tests that are easily applied to facts
Standards offer guidance for decisions but allow discretion
Tradeoffs
Rules Promote predictability, certainty, consistency Helpful for guiding future behavior
Standards Promote fairness, flexibility, sensitivity to circumstances Helpful for individualized judging of past behavior
The T.J. Hooper
“Tugboats and Radios”
Martin v. Herzog
“The Buggy Without Lights”
Legal jargon
Prima facie case of negligence
Negligence per se
Negligence per se
- Actor violates a statute that is designed to protect against this type of accident and harm
AND
- the accident victim is within the class of persons the statute is designed to protect.
Tedla v. Ellman
“Walking on the Side of the Highway”
How to use customs and statutes
Sword for proving negligence Prove two things:
- Custom or statute = reasonable care - Defendant failed to comply with custom or statute -————————————————— Shield for disproving negligence Prove two things:
- Custom or statute = reasonable care - Defendant complied with custom or statute
Outlining example
Under the topic of using statutes to establish reasonable care:
— Did the defendant violate a statute? —– Was statute intended to prevent this kind of harm? —– To this class of people? —– BUT consider: ——– Absurd results? ——– Really about safety? ——– Exceptions or unusual circumstances?
Short exercise
Write the dissent in Tedla v. Ellman.
Explain why Martin v. Herzog controls and therefore plaintiffs were negligent as a matter of law.
