Welcome to Torts!
Welcome to Torts!
Please find your seat according to the seating chart available at the front of the room.
Agenda
- Syllabus highlights
- What is a tort?
- Small group exercise: Litigating your first torts case
Syllabus highlights
Logistics
Contact information
Colin.Doyle@lls.edu Office: Burns 315 Telephone: 213-736-1148
Class schedule
Monday, 10:10am - 11:50am Robinson Moot Courtroon
Wednesday, 10:10am - 11:50am Robinson Moot Courtoom
Friday, 10:10am - 11:50am Robinson Moot Courtroom
Open office hours
Tentative Schedule: Fridays from 12:00pm to 1:30pm Outside the Robinson Moot Courtroom
Reading Assignments
Class Policies
Attendance
Preparation and participation
No laptops or electronics
Recordings & Slides & Notes
Video
Audio with transcripts
Slides
Designated notetakers
Classroom Norms
Professionalism
Generosity
We can give each other the opportunity to be wrong.
We can disagree with ideas, not with people.
Accommodations
Contact Student Accessibility Services in the Office of Student Affairs.
I want this class to be accessible for you.
Exams and Grading
Midterm Exam: 25%
Final Exam: 75%
Questions about the syllabus
What is a tort?
And why do I have to take this class?
In-Class Exercise
On a Tuesday afternoon, Thomas Jenner lost control of the car he was driving and crashed into the side of a bicycle shop. His car went through the wall of the bicycle shop, injuring the owner of the bicycle shop, Maxine Hammontree. It turns out that Thomas Jenner had a history of epilepsy. On this day, he lost control of his car because he had an epileptic seizure and became unconscious. Jenner has no memory of the incident. He remembers driving, and then he remembers being pulled from the vehicle by EMT’s. Jenner reports that prior to the accident there were no warning signs that he was about to have a seizure.
Jenner first began receiving treatment for epilepsy fifteen years ago. He regularly takes anti-seizure medication and has done everything his doctors have advised him to do to address his epilepsy. As a result of his condition, he needs a doctor to sign off yearly with the DMV for him to have a license. His doctor has signed off with the DMV. Many new cars have automatic collision avoidance systems that can help prevent these kinds of accidents from occurring. The car will automatically brake to prevent a forward collision from happening. Thomas Jenner was driving a 2020 GM Spark that did not have this anti-collision system as an available feature.
The Questions
Why should this defendant be held liable or not held liable?
What remedy does the defendant owe Ms. Hammontree?
What would you like to know that wasn’t in the fact pattern? Why?
The Driver
Why should this defendant be held liable or not held liable?
What remedy does the defendant owe Ms. Hammontree?
What would you like to know that wasn’t in the fact pattern? Why?
The Doctor
Why should this defendant be held liable or not held liable?
What remedy does the defendant owe Ms. Hammontree?
What would you like to know that wasn’t in the fact pattern? Why?
The Car Manufacturer
Why should this defendant be held liable or not held liable?
What remedy does the defendant owe Ms. Hammontree?
What would you like to know that wasn’t in the fact pattern? Why?