...individual or citizen in a given society at a given time. Seemingly easy to understand, we must not fool ourselves to think that law is simple by nature. It is filled with nuances, definitions, interpretations, jurisdictions that often warrant separate applications to different people, thus challenging the very foundation of the above mentioned guiding principles. One legal principle that seems to fall within this general predicament is that of retribution and compensation. The idea is that when an individual or entity causes harm or damage to another, the former is obliged to restitute and compensate the latter for the damages that were caused. For example, in civil law, article 1457 of the Quebec Civil Code[3] states clearly that “where he is endowed with reason and fails in this duty, he is responsible for any injury he causes to another person by such fault and is liable to reparation for the injury…” More precisely stated in Common Law, “damages for any tort are or ought to be fixed at a sum which will compensate the plaintiff so far as money can do it, for all the injury he has suffered.”[4] The design here is simple and...
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...granted to the defendants for breach of warranty, negligent infliction of emotion, and premises liability. Later the judgment on product liability was reversed because of punitive damages because of the difficulty to prove that the coffee was defective and that the coffee was the reason that the child suffered burns. Question #2 – According to the case, what must a party establish to prevail on a motion for summary judgment? Questions #3 – Briefly state the facts of this case, using the information found in the case in LexisNexis. A child was burned A breach of warranty did not occur The spilled coffee was unforeseeable An adequate warning did not exist in regard to the coffee’s temperature Unable to determine if the coffee’s temperature was served too hot Unable to apply negligence resulting in emotional damage Question #4 – According to the case, why was this not a case of negligent infliction of emotional distress, and what tort did the court approve? According to the case, this was not a case of negligent infliction of emotional distress because the coffee was not actually spilled on the child by Burger King itself and the company did not take part in how the coffee was spilled on the child. The tort that was approved by the court was punitive damages. Punitive damages were approved because it could not be proven that the coffee’s temperature was too hot when it was...
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...victim of sex discrimination and that Teddy's reasons for firing her were pretext, and awarded her back wages and damages. Teddy's appealed to the circuit court, including in their case that Pollard had committed several infractions, including participating in the spanking incident. They reported that Pollard had failed to report any sexual harassment and included a copy of their sexual harassment policy as part of their defense case. The Circuit Court found that Teddy did have good reason to discipline Pollard but that firing her was in fact disparate treatment when compared with the utter lack of discipline given to King. The circuit court reversed the Commission's award of damages because it believed that Teddy had been right to discipline Pollard, but they ordered Teddy's to reinstate Pollard to her old position. Pollard appealed to the New Jersey Court of Appeals and refused to accept her job back. My memo to the CEO follows: This memo is in regards to the case that has been brought against Teddy’s Supplies (Teddy’s) by Ms. Virginia Pollard, a former employee of Teddy’s. I have been asked to review the case and determine if Teddy’s has any liability issues and what particular points I feel are relevant. To review, Teddy's has been found guilty of sexual harassment in her case by the New Jersey Commission on Human Rights, and awarded her back wages and damages. Teddy's appealed to Circuit Court, and the original decision was overturned, but Teddy's was ordered to reinstate...
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...incident: The accident took place on 27th February, 1992, in Albuquerque, when Stella Lei beck along with her grandson ordered a McBreakfast at McDonald’s drive-thru on the way home. She was in the passenger’s seat, during her attempt to add cream and sugar in the coffee, inside stationary car, the scalding coffee spilled onto her lap. McDonald’s coffee was exceedingly hot, around 170 degree against the industry standard of 120-130 degree, within three seconds it caused third-degree burns on Stella’s groin area. She suffered numerous torments both physical and mental in the course of recuperation which took almost two years. After two years Stella sent a letter explaining the incident to McDonalds, her intent was not to claim for compensatory damage or filing a lawsuit for it, but to admonish them against the repercussions of their dangerously hot coffee posed. Her polite request to lower the coffee temperature was in the public interest. Past Action: The accident was not first of its kind for the McDonalds and the management was well aware of the fact that the incident is in the capacity to produce a potential lawsuit. They’ve faced 700 instances of burns between 1982-1991 and many lawsuits which were settled out of court. They’ve even paid $30,000 compensation in a lawsuit (1988), where the plaintiff suffered the burns of similar intensity. Therefore it can be inferred...
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...2/11/16 Copyright 2016 Bianca Prado BMW V GORE: 517 U.S. 559, 116 S. Ct. 1589, 134 L. Ed. 2d 809 (1996) When I was first looking through the list of cases, the letters BMW stood out to me. The reason for this is because I am person who’s always been into luxury high class vehicles and never in my mind did I believe BMW had a case with a buyer. This is when I immediately knew I had to look further into the case and find the main key points that made me find this case so intriguing. In this particular case BMW V GORE the petitioner who is BMW, was selling slightly damaged cars for their full price values and never reported the damages to the buyers as they purchased their cars. The respondent Dr. Gore, was one of many who had purchased one of these damaged BMW and was then awarded actual damages, from the 4 million dollars on punitive damage he was given, it was later reduced to 2 million dollars by the Alabama Supreme Court. In BMW V GORE, it began in 1990 when Gore had purchased a black two door BMW from an Alabama franchise of BMW of North America which happens to be the Plaintiff. Gore went nine months driving the car with no problems. He even mentioned that he wanted this car to make him feel “Young and alive” again like his teenage years. After having the car for nine months, Gore decided it was time for his car to get detailed which led him to take it to an independent detailer that goes by the name “Slick Finish.’’ The detailer Mr. Slick, the proprietor had noticed...
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...stress disorder and other problems related to the attack eventually hampered her ability to perform her duties. Ultimately, she resigned from the US Navy. Coughlin brought action against the Hilton Hotels Corporation (HCC), the Las Vegas Hilton Corporation (LVHC) and the Tailhook Association for negligence seeking both compensatory and punitive damages. “Her complaint alleged that LVHC and HHC had acted with conscious disregard for known safety standards and measures.” (Retrieved from www.ca9.uscourts.gov on December 5, 2007) The Tailhook Association settled out of court for a sum of $400,000.00.The jury found LVHC and HHC negligent and awarded Coughlin $1.7 million in compensatory damages, punitive damages of $2.62 million against LVHC, and $2.3 million against HHC. HCC and LVHC appeal. Issue: What showing of malice is sufficient to uphold a punitive damage award under Nevada Statute? What constitutes “malice in fact, expressly or implied”? Holding: The verdict and judgment in Coughlin’s favor is affirmed. Summary of the Court’s Reasoning: Under Nevada State Law, punitive damages may be awarded in addition to compensatory damages for the sake of example and by way of punishing the defendant “where it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant has been guilty of oppression, fraud or malice, express or implied …” The court refers to rulings in Granite Constr. Co. v Rhyne, 817 P.2d 711 (Nev. 1991) and Craigo v. Circus-Circus Enterprises, Inc...
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...Rachelle Wardle Justin Clark Yolanda Larrymore April 11, 2011 Group 5 Tort Reform As a society in today’s economy we are constantly being bombarded with news about law suits of one kind or another. It seems whenever we turn on the news there is a new high profile case of malpractice lawsuits and individuals are being sued left and right. We live in a lawsuit happy society that only continues to intensify as the economy continues to recover and citizens continue to seek employment. Often the main bulk of the law suits that make the news and that occur in today’s society are medical malpractice suits. One can find themselves hard pressed to watch T.V. without seeing a commercial or advertisement from an attorney offering to sue someone for something. In the realm of medical law suits the possibilities are seemingly endless. Patients are willing to sue anyone over anything including drug manufacturers, doctors, pharmacists, anesthesiologist and so forth. Malpractice insurance has reached an alarming high and physicians continue to fight for a cap to be placed on money awarded to plaintiffs. Physicians fear their jobs and lives may be in jeopardy if something is not done about these outrageous costs while patients worry that their medical care will suffer if such limits are awarded. In the 1990s there was a famous lawsuit that awarded a woman several million dollars in a law suit against McDonalds when she spilled hot coffee on her lap. Many of the details of the...
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...took place prior to his assault in his cell. Wade argued that Smith or the other guards did not bother to see if there was another cell that the third inmate could go in before placing him in Wade’s cell. There was also a recent incident of another inmate being beat to death just a few weeks prior to Wade’s assault during the same hours that Smith and the other guards served. “During trial, the District Judge entered a directed verdict for two of the defendants. He instructed the jury that Wade could make out an Eighth Amendment violation only by showing "physical abuse of such base, inhumane and barbaric proportions as to shock the sensibilities.” (Smith v Wade). The judge also informed the jury that Wade was able to receive punitive damages if the guards were guilty of egregious failure to protect “a flagrant or remarkably bad failure to protect” (Smith v Wade). The courts ruled in favor of Wade, stating that Smith and the other guards were indeed...
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...Punitive damges also known as exemplary damages are commonly awarded in product liability or civil suit cases were the defendant is ordered to pay to the plaintiffs a sum of money for their acts of reckless and or willful conduct. The ideas of punitive damages was imposed as a deterrent from reckless,willful conduct. However, the amount of punitive damages awarded have been the topic of my debates leaving some to criticize, that plaintiffs are overly compensated specifically voicing opinions or concerns that a limit should be imposed on punitive damages. Circumstances justifying the recognition of punitive damages based upon the defendant acting intentionally, maliciously, or without regard to the rights of the plaintiff and interests of the claimant. Punitive damages first established in England in 1763. Civil law in the United States recognized punitive damages in 1850. (5) "According to the U.S. Supreme Court, three factors guide a decision to award enhanced damages (punitive damages)": The action of the defendant was willful or deliberate, "whether the infringer had a good faith belief that the patent was invalid", and litigants conduct during the litigation. (4) A jury verdict to impose an amount of punitive damages may be over-turned by the trial judge, if the award is considered to be excessive or inadequate. (6) "A fundamental goal of a punitive damage award is to punish but not bankrupt the wrongdoer." (9) Five States do not recognize or award punitive damages in any...
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...Introduction The most basic definition of tort law is a “civil wrong which can be redressed by awarding damages” (Cornell University, 2010). Through the following paper, this basis definition will be used to decide whether two cases, Haimes v. Temple University Hospital and Vandevender v. Sheetz, Inc. were frivolous and whether the outcomes were appropriate. Throughout this paper, eight questions will be applied to determine the merit of the two lawsuits. The eight questions are as follows: 1. What are the facts? 2. What are the issues? 3. What laws apply? 4. What did the judge and jury decide? 5. Did the judge and jury make the appropriate decision based on the applicable laws controlling the case? 6. What are the ethical issues in the cases? Do the ethical issues differ from the legal issues? 7. Based on the research could either one or both of these cases be considered frivolous? 8. How could the business owners have prevented the lawsuits? What advice can you give them for the future? Furthermore, by apply the eight questions above I will attempt to determine whether the two lawsuits were perfect examples of the issues facing the United States legal system and whether they characterize the ability to people to bring frivolous claims to light or whether they two lawsuits were unfairly made poster children for excessive rewards without full understanding of the facts of the case. What are the facts? Vandevender The facts presented in the Vandevender...
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...MANDATES Piec vs. Caisse d’economie polonaise (p. 59) 01-Jul-92 Date of Bad Boy’s forged mandate 15-May-92 Bad Boy gets mandate from Grandma 03-Jul-92 Grandma dies 11-Aug-92 Bad Boy gives forged mandate to bank Bad Boy comes to Canada 18-Aug-92 Bad Boy withdraws $26k payable too cash Grandma = Stephania Wojcicka Bad Boy = nephew Tadeusz Wojcicki Niece (Margaret Wojcicka) is executor of will Facts | * Three mandates: 1. Gma goes on extended trip, gives power of attorney for banking matters to Bad Boy 2. Niece has mandate as executor of the will (mandate only kicks in when Gma dies) 3. Bank has mandate for Gma’s finances * Grandma’s bank account summary: $5 membership, $1k term deposit, $26k term deposit (can’t take out until 26-Oct-92 or wil receive no interest) * Bank didn’t k6now Gma was dead when Bad Boy removed funds | Question | 1. Was bank guilty of not [2138] exercising prudence and diligence for its [2130] mandate? 2. Does the valid mandate authorize the bank to give the term deposits (no) 3. What effect should be given to the letter of july 1st (none) 4. Did the bank owe obligation to grandma, and not rely on the letter (yes, 2138) | Ratio | 1. Argument: Bank is a special type of agent, v. strong fiduciary duties; if they’ve been defrauded they are 100% liable. Answer: Bank should have been more [2138] prudent and diligent; it wasn’t prudent cash out the account, and the bank wasn’t diligent in its duty...
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...TCO A. It is discovered that Robins & Robins knew about the tainted medication 2 months earlier than they announced the recall. They hid it and, in fact, sent out contract buyers to try to buy up all of the medication off the shelves. Their “fake” recall failed. Using the Laura Nash method of analyzing ethical dilemmas, analyze the ethical dilemma faced by the CEO of Robins & Robins for the fact that they saved 35 cents/package and are now in the middle of a major, life-threatening recall. Analyze their “fake” recall as well. Show all of the steps of the model and give a recommendation to the CEO of what to do now that the deaths are escalating. What is the “right” thing for the CEO to do in this case? Did the model help you come to this conclusion, or did you use some other method? Explain. I think the Laura Nash method is a good method to use in this example, as it is an ethical and very emotional concern that the company is now facing. When using the Laura Nash method and asking "How would I view the issue if I stood on the other side of the fence?" I have the following opinions. 35 cents a package cannot bring back the lives of those who have died from taking their medication. Saving 35 cents a package does not take back the medical problems each of these individuals and their families have went though, even after they did survive. Saving 35 cents a package will also not help Robins & Robins reputation for doing future business nor did it save them in the legal fees and...
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...a statement on the side of the cup that warns consumers that the coffee is hot. Customers buy coffee on their way to work or home, intending to consume it there. They should know that there are risks while consuming beverages in vehicles. Overall, Liebeck is at fault in this case for being negligent. She knew that coffee was hot yet she took the risk of opening it on an uneven surface. She should be responsible for burning herself, not the company who warned her of the risks. In conclusion, there are many ridiculous examples of Frivolous Lawsuits. The case I discussed, Liebeck v. McDonald's, is a perfect example of this. Liebeck sued McDonald’s over something which was not their fault, yet was awarded $2.7 million. The injuries and damages were a result of her own negligence. McDonald’s was not at fault for her accident as spilling the hot coffee was her own doing. It is unbelievable that someone would win a lawsuit over something this absurd when they were the one at...
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...remaining on the note was $402. Mr. Kopp wrote to L & M on behalf of the defendant stating that the business account had been charged the remaining $402 owed by Martinez. The following Monday, both plaintiffs met with Mr. Kopp to explain that the $402 was the personal indebtedness of Martinez rather than a partnership obligation. Mr. Kopp failed to re-credit the business account and with a remaining balance of $3.66, the account was closed. The defendant failed honor nine or ten checks written in the month of March that would have been honored had the defendant not debited the business account $402. A jury awarded the plaintiffs $402, but the plaintiffs appealed claiming the trial court erred in taking from the jury certain questions regarding damages. Issues: (1) Was the trial court proper in taking from the...
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...A sum of money awarded in a civil action by a court to indemnify a person for the particular loss, detriment, or injury suffered as a result of the unlawful conduct of another. Compensatory damages provide a plaintiff with the monetary amount necessary to replace what was lost, and nothing more. They differ from Punitive Damages, which punish a defendant for his or her conduct as a deterrent to the future commission of such acts. In order to be awarded compensatory damages, the plaintiff must prove that he or she has suffered a legally recognizable harm that is compensable by a certain amount of money that can be objectively determined by a judge or jury. One of the more heated issues facing the U.S. legal system during the past quarter century has been the call for reform of states' tort laws. health care providers and other organizations have sought to limit the amount of damages a plaintiff can receive for pain and suffering because they claim that large jury awards in Medical Malpractice cases cause premiums on medical insurance policies to rise, thus raising the overall costs of medical services. California took the lead in addressing concerns with rising medical costs when it enacted the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, Cal. Civ. Code § 3333.2 (1997). The act limits the recoverable amount for non-economic loss, such as pain and suffering, to $250,000 in actions based on professional Negligence against certain health care providers. Although the statute has been...
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