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Paper Instructions;

Objectives:              

To demonstrate an understanding of tort law. To demonstrate an understanding of the role of precedent in reaching legal decisions

Task: 

Discuss the following problems.  Your answers should be in paragraph form.  Identify the relevant tort and apply the law to the fact situation.  Reach a conclusion.  If the tort is one of negligence, identify each of the steps of a negligence action and discuss whether those steps have been achieved.

Grading:    Each problem is worth six (6) marks.  An excellent answer will correctly identify and explain the law; apply the law to the fact situation and reach a reasonable conclusion. For problems 1 and 5 you should also refer to a relevant case, as identified in the textbook, and explain its relevance to the fact situation.  The cases should be cited correctly.  Your ideas should be expressed clearly and without serious errors of spelling/grammar.

1.            Henry Jones is the sole shareholder of Happy Go Lucky Company (HGLC). Henry, needing a loan from his bank, went to his accountant, Bob Wallice, and asked him to prepare a financial statement of the company that Henry could give to the bank to get the loan. Unfortunately, Mr. Wallice included certain property that did not belong to the company, which increased its value. When Henry took the financial statement to the bank, the bank caught the error, but made Henry guarantee the loan. The bank then told Mr. Wallice, who forgot to correct the error in the financial statement. A few days later, Henry decided he needed to invest more money in his company and began negotiations with a business associate, Carol Hill. When Carol asked for the financial statement of the company, Henry told her she could get it from the bank or from his accountant. Carol decided to go to the bank, which gave her the financial statement with the error in it. Based on the financial statement, Carol invested $50 000.00 in the company, only to realize a month later the problem with the financial statement the bank had given to her.  If Carol suffers a financial loss as a result, does she have  cases against Henry, Bob Wallice or the bank?  Explain.

2.            Mary is employed in administration at George Brown College, where she is paid $3500.00 a month. The administrative staff have gone on strike and blocked access to the College buildings. Mary wants no part of the strike, so she decides that she will cross the picket line. As she does this, an employee named Ralph says, "Unless you want a black eye, lady, you better not cross the picket line." John, another employee, pushes Mary back. Unknown to Mary, there is a hole in the pavement, that is on College property, that the College has been aware of for quite some time, but has done nothing about, and as Mary falls back, her shoe catches in the hole and she falls down, breaking her leg and spraining her right arm. Identify and explain the tort actions which occurred and the damages to which Mary may be entitled.

3.            Mr. and Mrs. Hampton went to a restaurant and ordered a roast duck dinner for two. When they began their dinners, they found that the duck was frozen in the middle. They ate what they could of the dinner but complained to the waiter. The waiter listened but merely gave them the bill for the entire cost of the dinner. Mr. Hampton put half of that amount on the table and began to leave. The waiter and the manager caught up to him before he reached the front door, and although they allowed Mrs. Hampton to leave, they restrained Mr. Hampton. Furthermore, the manager called the police, who, after listening to the waiter and Mr. Hampton explain just what happened, arrested Hampton and took him to jail. Mrs. Hampton bailed him out within three hours.  Discuss any tort actions which Mr Hamptom may be able to bring.  Assess the liklihood of success.

4.            Following an account broadcast on the TV station the night before about a particular city councillor having been pulled over for drunk driving, Joe, a political cartoonist, drew a political cartoon of the councillor, obviously drunk and with his clothes in disarray, having difficulty walking down a straight line on the road with a sober police officer looking on. This was published the next day in the paper for which Joe works. The city councillor involved had disagreements with Joe in the past and intensely disliked him. It turned out that the story published on TV was an error, but the city councillor chose not to sue the TV reporter and the station; rather he sued Joe for defamation. What would Joe's best defence be? Indicate the likely outcome.

5.              Explain the distinctions between an action in negligence and an action for breach of fiduciary duty.  Your answer should include an explanation of when a fiduciary duty will arise.