22. Axiam Inquisition (Inquisition) magazine published a news article about Paul Prude, a famous TV talk show host. The article said that Prude was a vengeful man who once kept actor Xavier Tiger off his program for ten years because Prude thought (falsely) that Tiger had leered at Prude’s wife. Inquisition’s source for this news item was Stan, a servant of Prude. Ed, the editor of Inquisition, knew that Stan was a crack addict and that the money Inquisition was paying him was important to Stan so that he could maintain his drug habit. A journalist of average professionalism would not have believed Stan’s report, but Ed had the unusual habit of believing people quickly and in fact believed Stan implicitly. Prude has brought a libel action against Inquisition, in which he has proved decisively that he never tried to keep Tiger off his show. May Prude recover?

13.  A man was visiting his investment counselor on the 20th floor of an office building. After the meeting, he got on the elevator going down and pressed the button for the lobby. When the elevator got to the second floor, it lost its momentum to stop and instead went into a free-fall to the basement. The man sustained a broken back and is permanently disabled. Assume that the injured man was unable to uncover any evidence proving what caused the collapse of the elevator. He sues the building owner on a negligence theory. In order to survive a motion for summary judgment, what legal principle can he turn to for assistance?

29.  Senator Bloviate was speaking at a public rally when Sandra stood and shouted, “You are a tool of the oppressive capitalist infrastructure, a puppet in the hands of the real ruling class, a running dog for the WTO—the World Totalitarian Oligarchy!”  Although security personnel quickly put an end to Sandra’s rant, Bloviate took offense and sued Sandra for defamation. Did defamation occur?

PART II: ESSAYS (RECOMMENDED: ONE HOUR EACH)This section contains two essays. Essay 1 Due to the long quarantine, Happy Co. wanted to provide its employees with something fun and memorable and decided to go on a retreat.  Happy Co. also decided to hire Indris Elba to make a surprise appearance at the retreat to further boost morale. Elba is a famous British actor who has starred in many movies and shows in the U.S., especially one about the city of Baltimore. He was supposed to enter the conference room during the first night of the retreat and provide an inspirational speech.  Everyone was excited. However, on the first night of the retreat, as everyone eagerly waited, Elba was a no-show and everyone became upset. Also, Elba was paid up front by Happy Co. for his appearance but none of the employees knew this. One employee, Phil, who was particularly upset at Elba’s no-show decided to create a custom T-shirt design that he immediately offered for sale on the internet.  The design was an instantly recognizable likeness of Indris Elba. Underneath his face it said, “STRINGER: BECAUSE THIS THIEF WILL STRING YOU ALONG”— with the asterisk referring to a footnote in small print on the T-shirt that said, “He’s not even from Baltimore!” Of course, this statement had no basis in fact. But given Elba’s popularity from the show The Wire Tap and his character in that show, Stringer Ball, the design struck many people as very funny. In fact, in just 24 hours, Phil had sold 100 t-shirts. Elba saw the t-shirt one day and became upset by it.  Discuss any claim or claims that Elba has against Phil and defenses, if any.

4. An industrial truck sales and service center had a wide variety of vehicles, such as rigs, trucks and tractors, in its multi-acre gated main parking lot. There was a set number of keys in each vehicle. The parking lot gate was intentionally left open during the day for convenient entrance and exit of vehicles. A gang member from a nearby gang headquarters walked into the parking lot during work hours, and drove off with a very large state-of-the-art industrial tow truck. He had difficulty managing the gear shifts and other knobs while accelerating, and was so distracted that within a few minutes, he ran over and killed an elderly woman who was crossing the street on a crosswalk. The woman’s estate sued the sales and service center for negligence. The sales and service center filed a motion to dismiss, in which it asserted that it had no duty to third persons to protect them from truck thieves. It argued that even if it had a duty, the interceding act of the thief was a superseding cause of the accident. Will the court allow the plaintiff’s wrongful death negligence action against the truck center to go forward?

15.  Two union representatives got into an argument at work. The male representative told the female representative that he was running for president of the local union in the next election. The female representative told him that she had been planning to run. The male representative told her, while pointing a finger in her face, “I can beat you in an election any time, just like I can beat you silly right here and now.” The female representative walked away, feeling very apprehensive about the male representative’s threat. The next day, they discussed union politics again, and the male representative once again stated that he could beat her “by votes or by beating you up, whichever you prefer.” She became very upset, and a few days later, brought a civil action against the male representative for assault. Has the male representative likely committed an actionable assault?

Questions 19 and 20 are based on the following fact pattern. Parker sold his business, Little Corp, to Big Corp, in return for Big Corp stock. Shortly thereafter, some irregularities in Big Corp’s published financial information came to light, and Big Corp’s stock dropped sharply (making the payment effectively received by Parker for Little Corp less than he expected). At a meeting of Big Corp’s board of directors (to which Parker had been elected), Parker said, “If you don’t sell Little Corp back to me in return for the Big Corp stock I received, I will bring a suit against Big Corp and all of you directors, charging securities law violations.” Denise, one of the board members, responded, “Parker, you’re a blackmailer, and I vote that we tell this blackmailer to shove it.” The board refused Parker’s request. Parker then brought a slander action against Denise for calling him a blackmailer.20.  Assume all the facts in the fact pattern occurred and that after Denise called Parker a blackmailer and gave her vote, another director, Dan, stood up and said, “I agree with Denise. Anyways, I’ve watched Parker’s behavior for a number of years, and I think he’s a thief, so let’s expel him from the board.” Assuming that Parker is able to demonstrate that he has not engaged in any conduct that would be punishable as theft, embezzlement, larceny, etc., under criminal law, may Parker recover for slander against Dan? (Assume that Dan’s mental state is not at issue in the case.)

14.  A consumer purchases a lawn mower from a retail store. It contains a tag that says the purchaser should read the instruction book that is included. He reads the book, which contains a warning not to use the mower over gravel, stones or grassy areas mixed with rock or stone. The consumer remembers the warning, but when he sees how smoothly the mower operates and how effortlessly it goes over a few small stones mixed in the grass, he decides to continue using the mower in areas filled with loose stones and rocks. One day, as the consumer uses the mower in an area filled with loose stones and rocks, a rock hits the consumer’s face with great force, causing him to lose sight in one eye and to suffer a broken nose and jawbone. He sues the manufacturer for putting out a defective product that is unreasonably dangerous to the consumer. What defense may give the manufacturer the best chance of having the case dismissed?

9.  A customer was shopping at a large retail mall. She slipped and broke her hip on a patch of clear oily residue. The patch had accumulated over a two-day period in front of a massage kiosk, and spread several feet onto the main walking area for customers. There was a small sign as a part of the massage kiosk display on the front counter that said, “Beware of slippery floors.” When the customer had broken her hip, she had been looking ahead while walking, yet her feet slid wildly off of the floor to the extent that she partially somersaulted into the air and fell down hard onto the concrete. After learning that she would be disabled permanently, the customer sued the mall and the massage kiosk company. Will she likely prevail in her negligence claim against the mall?

17.  Shopkeeper, the owner of a small dress shop, fired Cashier, saying to other people in the store, “I just saw Cashier steal $100 by taking $200 in payment for a dress and ringing up the dress as if it were a $100 item.” Cashier sued Shopkeeper for slander. Evidence at trial shows that the dress in question cost $178, that Cashier rang up a $98 tab on the register, and that Cashier thus stole $80. Assuming that Shopkeeper is shown to have had the required mental state, may Cashier recover?