Strict Liability: Abnormally Dangerous Activities - Next Generation Bar Exam
- What factors determine whether an activity is abnormally dangerous?
- A highly significant risk of physical harm that reasonable care cannot eliminate, and the activity is not one of common usage. Courts may also weigh the activity's location and its value to the community.
- What is the rule of liability for harm by domestic animals?
- Strict liability only if the owner knew or had reason to know of the animal's abnormally dangerous propensity. Otherwise, liability requires negligence.
- What is the general rule of liability for abnormally dangerous activities?
- Strict liability for harm resulting from the activity's characteristic risk. Liability is imposed even if the defendant exercised the utmost care. Harm unrelated to that risk requires proof of negligence.
- What is the rule of liability for harm by wild animals?
- Strict liability for harm resulting from the animal's dangerous propensities. A wild animal is one not customarily domesticated in the area.
- Which activities are classic examples of abnormally dangerous activities?
- Blasting with explosives, storing large quantities of explosives, and crop dusting. Ordinary driving is not abnormally dangerous because it is in common usage.
- What is the rule of liability for trespassing livestock?
- Strict liability for reasonably foreseeable harm caused by the trespass. Statutes in some jurisdictions modify the rule in open-range areas.
- A construction company uses dynamite with all possible care, but the blast cracks a neighbor's foundation. What is the company's liability?
- It is strictly liable for the damage. Blasting is abnormally dangerous, and the harm resulted from its characteristic risk.
- Under the prevailing view, what is the effect of a plaintiff's contributory negligence on strict liability for an abnormally dangerous activity?
- It is generally not a defense, though knowing assumption of risk is, and comparative fault statutes may reduce damages. Jurisdictions differ under comparative fault regimes.
- Who bears strict liability for an abnormally dangerous activity?
- The person who carries on the activity. A landowner who hires an independent contractor for blasting is also liable under the nondelegable duty rule.