Tort law worksheet with answers

Under the Defamation Act 2013, the defence of truth requires the defendant to show that:

1. AThe statement was on a matter of public interest
2. BThe defendant honestly and reasonably believed the statement was true
3. CThe imputation conveyed by the statement is substantially true
4. DEvery single word of the statement is accurate

When two tortfeasors cause the same indivisible damage, the claimant can usually:

1. ASue only if both are joined in one claim
2. BRecover only half from each of them
3. CSue only the one who acted first
4. DRecover the full damages from either of them

Exemplary (punitive) damages in English tort law aim to:

1. ACompensate the claimant's financial loss
2. BReflect the claimant's injured feelings
3. CReturn any profit the claimant has lost
4. DPunish the defendant for outrageous conduct

Auditors negligently certify a company's accounts. An investor relies on them to buy more shares and suffers loss. In Caparo v Dickman, the auditors:

1. AWere strictly liable for errors in the accounts
2. BOwed no duty to the investor for this purpose
3. COwed a duty to anyone relying on the accounts
4. DOwed a duty because the investor was a shareholder

A surgeon fails to warn a patient of a small risk of a serious complication. The patient would have had the operation anyway, but later. The risk materialises. In Chester v Afshar, the House of Lords held:

1. AThe surgeon was not liable, as the "but for" test failed
2. BThe surgeon was liable only for the cost of the operation
3. CThe surgeon was liable, modifying normal causation principles
4. DThe patient consented, so there was no claim

A five-year-old falls into a trench on open land while playing without an adult. In Phipps v Rochester Corporation, the occupier was:

1. ANot liable, because it could expect parents to supervise very young children
2. BNot liable, because the child was a trespasser
3. CLiable, because young children must be protected from every danger on the land
4. DLiable, because the trench was not fenced

For a public authority, a negligence claim about how it exercised a statutory power often fails because:

1. AAuthorities are always immune from all claims
2. BStatutory powers automatically create a private law duty to use them carefully for each citizen
3. CCourts are reluctant to impose duties for failing to confer benefits or for policy decisions
4. DThe authority must be sued in a criminal court

A police officer, without arresting her, takes hold of a woman's arm to stop her walking away so she can be questioned. In Collins v Wilcock:

1. AThis was lawful, as police may restrain anyone they wish to question
2. BThis was a battery, as it went beyond acceptable everyday contact
3. CThis was only an assault, as no harm was done
4. DThis was lawful, because she was suspected