Monday, December 05, 2005

Torts Final

The Torts final is at 6:30 tonight. This is my first law school final. I usually don't have anxiety before a bit event, but right when the thing is about to start, I'll get some butterflies in my stomach and wonder what the heck I'm doing subjecting myself to such stress in this wonderful life. This is what I signed up for so I'm okay with it.

Here's my plan for writing my essay. For the intentional torts of battery, assualt and intentional infliction of emotional distress, I'll disucuss the claim/issue, the rule, and then apply the fact pattern to the rule. Depending on the fact pattern, I'll state some deficiencies in the argument and then state a conclustion. I'll then have a section where I discuss defenses to the claim: consent, self-defense, defense of others, or defense of property.

For negligence claims, I'll discuss Duty, Breach, Cause, and Damages. I'll point out weaknesses int he argument like intervening/supersceding causes, whether the act was really a proximate cause, whether there was really a duty. After that I'll discuss the defenses to negligence: comparative negligence of the plaintiff, assumption of the risk, failure to mitigate damages or protect against risks, and possible immunities depending on the fact pattern.

I'm almost sure the essay will have some combination of intentional torts and negligence claims. It may also involve strict liability, recklessness, and a whole bunch of other stuff that we'll have no time to address. I think I'll dedicate a section to unaddressed issues and briefly state them all in the last paragraph of the essay portion. It may be worth a point or two.

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