James Lee,while leaving a shopping mall accidentally backs his car into a parked car owned by Barbara Faustino.Several parts of Faustino's car are damaged: the radiator, the front of the engine, and one fender. The body shop and the garage both estimate repair cost at $1,200. What tort did Lee commit? How much money will Faustino be able to recover in court? PLEASE HELP! its important
2007-02-05 05:08:28 · 6 answers · asked by circusgirl322 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
First - and I say this gently, if you are a law student and you really need help on this question...you NEED to talk to your professor.
Seriously, it only gets harder.
With *ANY* Tort question, you need to have the following 4 elements.
1 - Duty
2 - Breach
3 - Causation
4 - Damages
Did Party A have a Duty to Party B?
YES - there is a duty to operate your vehicle in a reasonable manner. We can assume, that the "reasonable man" would not go about hitting other people's cars.
If Yes to duty, did Party A breach their duty to Party B?
YES - He hit the car.
If yes, was that breach of duty the Cause of the damages alleged by Pary B?
YES - at the simplest level - "But for A's breach (backing into the car), B's car would not have been damaged." Note however, that in a more complex fact situation there may be other factors that supercede causation.
If yes, was Party B injured by Party A's breach of their duty?
YES - B's car was damaged by A's negligent conduct. (Assuming the car wasn't damaged before hand...)
Technically, you could classify this as a Trespass to Chattels, but, in the real world, we generally just call this Negligence.
If you are having problems with this level of question, you need to get some help. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm being honest. Go talk to your prof, get a study group, buy the "Law in a Flash" series of flash cards for torts, go get Gilbert's summaries on Torts...do something, because this is as easy as Tort law gets.
2007-02-05 07:19:22 · answer #1 · answered by esquirewinters 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
James Lee damaged Barbara's vehicle by negligence.
Faustino should be able to recover either the entire cost of repair (unless the vehicle costs less than the repair bill) the cost of having to rent a supplimental vehicle while hers is being fixed, and the court costs. Or whatever her insurance didn't cover (such as deductable).
2007-02-05 05:16:58 · answer #2 · answered by mamasquirrel 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A "tort" is damage, injury, or a wrongful act done willfully, negligently, or in circumstances involving strict liability, but not involving breach of contract, for which a civil suit can be brought.
Therefore, Faustino should be able to recover the cost of repairs and possibly any payment of time for loss due to the loss of his vehicle while he was without transportation IF the vehicle is used in his business!
Best wishes!
2007-02-05 05:13:48 · answer #3 · answered by KC V ™ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lee had a duty to operate his vehicle with reasonalble care. Lee breached his duty when he backed into Faustino's car. Lee's breach of this duty caused Faustino's damages. Therefore, Lee was negligent. He owes her compensatory damages of $1,200 in order to make her whole.
2007-02-05 05:14:58 · answer #4 · answered by Jesus Jones 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a trespass of a chattel (non-real property).
2007-02-05 08:05:54 · answer #5 · answered by Scott J 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
are you sitting in torts class?
2007-02-05 05:11:09 · answer #6 · answered by squeegie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋