BLAW 3301 Negligence Exercise

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Texas A&M University *

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3301

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Law

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Apr 3, 2024

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docx

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BLAW 3301 Premises Liability Exercise (Copyright © 2023 Jeff Todd) Directions : Before doing this exercise, make sure you have completed all readings about negligence and defenses to negligence. Assume you are the manager of a retail store open to the public, the San Marcos Lawn & Garden Center. Please read the following two documents: an incident report about a customer who fell and suffered an injury and a demand letter from his attorney to the store. As a manager, your primary concern would be whether you should settle (and if so, for what amount)? To make those decisions (and to speak knowledgeably with your attorney), however, you need a basic understanding of several issues: 1. What is the cause of action? 2. Will the customer likely be able to prove the tort? 3. Even if the customer prevails, are you likely to win any affirmative defenses? 4. What other information do you need to know? To gauge your understanding, this packet also contains seven practice multiple-choice questions based on the documents. San Marcos Lawn & Garden Center Incident Report Directions : An incident report must be filed immediately for injury or harm to persons or property or for criminal activity, such as employee or customer injuries, shoplifting / theft, property damage / vandalism. Please provide as much detail as necessary. Reporter Steve Rogers Date of incident 08/16/2022 Time of incident Approximately 1:20 pm Person(s) involved Steve Rogers (Assistant Manager); Clint Barker (store associate); Tony Stark (injured customer); Pepper Potts (customer’s wife); Sam Wilson (customer and witness); Natasha Romanov (customer and witness) Brief description Mr. Stark stepped on to a low shelf to reach an item on a higher shelf. He was injured when he fell backward after the shelves collapsed. There was a loud “pop” in his right leg, and he complained of extreme pain. Action(s) taken in response I called an ambulance. Mr. Stark took the ambulance to Christus Santa Rosa Hospital in San Marcos. Other comments When cleaning up the collapsed shelving, Mr. Barker and I determined that the shelves did not have the diagonal support brackets that the other shelves have. Those shelves were installed a few months ago. One of the store signs reading “Please do not stand on shelves. Ask store associates for assistance retrieving items on upper shelves” was next to the shelves where the incident occurred. Date and time report filed 08/16/2022 at 3:15 pm

Boies Schiller Flexner LLP Attorneys & Counselors at Law 123 Main Street | San Marcos, Texas 78666 Office: (512) 123-4567 | Fax: (512) 123-8910 www.bsfllp.com September 9, 2022 Manager, San Marcos Lawn & Garden Center 321 N. LBJ Drive San Marcos, TX 78666 Dear Manager: My name is David Boies, an attorney representing Anthony Stark. On August 16, 2022, Mr. Stark sustained a serious injury while shopping at the San Marcos Lawn & Garden Center when a heavy shelf filled with items collapsed on him, causing him to fall and suffer a broken leg that has required extensive medical treatment. Mr. Stark’s injuries and losses are all a result of your negligence in maintaining an unreasonably dangerous condition on your premises. Accordingly, he is entitled to compensation from you. Mr. Stark’s medical expenses are $50,000 because of the surgery required to repair his leg as well as other costs like physical therapy, medication, and the ambulance. Because he is a truck driver who cannot drive while he rehabilitates the broken leg, he has lost and will lose wages in the amount of $50,000. Mr. Stark has suffered other injuries as well. For example, he has endured physical pain and suffering, and with the pins in his legs, he will continue to endure this pain and suffering. The surgery has resulted in scarring and thus permanent disfigurement. The injury to his leg has also impaired and will continue to impair his ability to participate in activities he enjoys like bowling and hiking. The injury has also resulted in Mr. Stark suffering mental anguish. Accordingly, we are making a demand of $500,000 to settle any and all legal claims against the San Marcos Lawn & Garden Center related to this incident. We are willing to negotiate and discuss this further, so please contact me by September 23, 2022. Be aware that, if you are not willing to discuss a fair settlement by this reasonable deadline, then Mr. Stark intends to file a lawsuit. You would then incur attorney’s fees and court and other costs like depositions and expert fees, and we would also increase our demand. Thank you. Very truly yours, David Boies David Boies, Esq.

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