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If a court is satisfied that a legal duty of care exists in particular circumstances, the questions then turn to the applicable standard of care. Though determining the standard of care can sometimes be a complicated matter, lately it has been less controversial than other topics in tort law. We'll spend 2 full classes tackling this issue.
An analysis of the standard of care is really all about reasonableness. An introduction to the idea of reasonableness is contained at 167-82. Pages 183-201 build on this material by discussing the impact of customary and statutory standards. I realize that is a lot to read for a single class, and apologize for the workload. However, it is necessary. If you have read these pages in advance, we can spend our class time highlighting important issues, discussing nuances and addressing questions rather than covering the basics.
The following class will be spend exploring variations in the reasonable person standard. Exceptions to the norm are (sometimes) made to account for youth or disability. In those circumstances, a lower than usual standard of care might apply. Professionals, on the other hand, might be held to a higher standard than the rest of society. I've asked you to read pages 201-22 and 237-41 at this stage. There's a chunk of materials between those segments that we'll come back to in November. Skip those materials for now.
On Thursday, October 25, we will hear from Jane Doe at 11:30. I had planned not to hold class prior to that, at 10:00 in FTX 351 as scheduled, but have since changed my mind. I think we should take this opportunity to do a mid-term recap of the materials covered so far. So I'll prepare a brief review of the policies and doctrines we've already studied, and more importantly, give you an opportunity to present questions. The bulk of our time will be spent with Q&A, so come prepared with questions and I'll see if I can help you answer them.
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Last Updated on Monday, 22 October 2007 |
