PLGL 1700: Torts Section 30i Fall 2015 Course Syllabus

Transcription

1 PLGL 1700: Torts Section 30i Fall 2015 Course Syllabus Instructor: Christine Taylor, J.D. Phone: 435/ ; Fax: 435/ Office: General Classroom Building Office Hours: Monday/Wednesday, 12:30 pm - 3 pm; other times by apment Note: The best way to contact the instructor at any time is through Canvas messaging. Credit and lecture hours: 3 Course Description: This course provides a study of the law relating to personal injury and damages to persons and property. Topics covered include negligence, intentional torts, strict liability, misrepresentation, bad faith, malpractice, and various miscellaneous torts and workers compensation with emphasis on the role and skills of the paralegal in tort litigation. Required Text: Personal Injury and the Law of Torts for Paralegals, 3rd Edition, Wolters Kuwer Publishing, by Emily Lynch Morissette Course Goals: 1. To introduce students to tort law its sources and related statutory and case law; 2. To understand tort categories of negligence, intentional tort, and strict liability as well as their underlying elements and possible defenses; 3. To familiarize students with ethical principles and evidence issues regarding tort law; 4. To develop skills needed by paralegals and law support personal working within a legal environment that deals with tort litigation including document preparation and legal analysis; 5. To understand court proceedings regarding matters involving tort allegations and defenses.

2 After completing this course, students should experience the following learning outcomes as they relate to the listed activities and assessment methods below: LEARNING OUTCOMES 1. Understand the sources of tort law and how it differs from, and is related to, other categories of law. 2. Understand procedural issues relating to torts such as standard of proof, court jurisdiction, etc. 3. Understand legal ethical principles that are of special importance in tort law. 4. Perform legal analysis of tort law regarding identification of the issue and rule of law, application of the issue to the facts of the tort, and drawing of the related legal conclusion per hypothetical scenarios and actual court opinions. LEARNING ACTIVITIES presentation presentation presentation presentation, paper ASSESSMENT METHODS exam exam exam exam, Project One: Legal Memorandum 5. Describe and understand the following torts and related defenses to them: Negligence. presentation, exam, Projects Two & Three: Tort Pleadings and Discovery Plan

3 Intentional Torts to Persons. Intentional Torts to Property. Torts involving Strict Liability and Products Liability. 6. Understand an overview of law regarding Workers Compensation and Nuisance law. 7. Understand the basics of court proceedings regarding tort litigation and the skills required of paralegal in support thereof including pretrial discovery, witness preparation, trial notebook formation, trial preparation and support, research and support during the appeals process. video, group work, project presentation presentation, video, group work, project exam exam, Project Three: Moot Court Computer Systems Requirements: SUU Online lists computer systems requirements for students who are taking Canvas classes at Thus, you should check your home computer to be sure you have the proper systems. Of course, you may use computers on campus including those in the library. Public libraries also have computers but may not have needed systems and may have limited availability. It is up to each student to be sure he or she has adequate computer availability for this course. Computer related questions should be posed to the SUU Help Desk at Canvas issues may be posted to CANVAS Support by SUU Online (M-F 8am-5pm (435) ED 338). Do not wait to report problems. Note: Students must have technical skills to be successful in an online class using Canvas such as the ability to use with attachments, copying and pasting, using Word and PDF. Please let the instructor know immediately if you are deficient in such technical skills. Attendance/Late Work/Method of Instruction: This course is offered online through Canvas. Students are expected to spend the same amount of time in their Canvas classroom, with their studies, etc. as is expected of students in an in-person classroom environment. Each week students will be assigned s, studies,

4 homework/ project work, etc. and they are to complete such matters in a timely fashion. All projects, homework, and the like are due and must be received online on or before the matter s due date. Late submissions will not be accepted. In the event of an emergency or exceptional circumstance, an allowance may be made at the instructor s discretion if requested by the student to the instructor as soon as possible after the emergency. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Scholastic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent. You are expected to have read and understood the current issue of the student handbook (published by Student Services) regarding student responsibilities and rights, and the intellectual property policy, for information about procedures and about what constitutes acceptable on-campus behavior. PLAGIARISM: All student writing should be the original work of the student. SUU has a license agreement with Turnitin.com, a service that detects plagiarism by comparing student papers against billions of pages of Internet resources, databases, and other student papers from around the world. Your work in this class may, thus, be checked for originality and plagiarism using Turnitin. Additional information about the Turnitin plagiarism prevention tool is available at ( ADA STATEMENT: Students with medical, psychological, learning or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Southern Utah University Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD), in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or phone (435) SSD determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT STATEMENT: In case of emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mysuu portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at HEOA COMPLIANCE STATEMENT: The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-topeer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law. Detailed information can be found at FINAL DISCLAIMER: This course is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor. If such a change occurs, the class will be notified by Announcement in the Canvas classroom. Course Grading Policy: Your grade will be determined in the following way: Homework & Discussion 20% Project One: Legal Memorandum 15% Project Two: Tort Pleadings 15%

5 Project Three: Moot Court Argument 15% Mid-Term Exam 15% Final Exam 20% The final average is calculated by averaging all the grades per the above formula and deriving a composite score. The final grade is arrived at by the following: A B C D F 59 0 MODULE ONE TENTATIVE CALENDAR (subject to change upon notice) first day of class (Introductions; Syllabus/Assignments/Exams/Projects/Paper/ Discussion) Beginning a Study of Tort Law with an Overview of a High Profile Case: Reading and Videos Reading: Chapter One. Introduction to Torts and Negligence definitions, categories of torts, public policy objectives behind the law of torts, relationship between torts and other areas of law, sources of tort law, prima facie case of negligence, unavoidable accidents, gross negligence, ethics MODULE TWO Reading: Legal Analysis in Tort Law; Chapter Two First Element of Negligence: Duty structure of legal analysis: IRAC Method (identification of issue, rule, application of facts to law, and conclusion of law); first element of negligence:scope of duty, duty to act or failure to act, negligence per se, ethics ASSIGNMENT: Project One: Legal Memorandum (Due Date: September 16, 2014) MODULE THREE Reading: Chapter Three Second Element of Negligence: Breach of Duty and Chapter Four Third Element of Negligence: Causation of Injury

6 second element of negligence: reasonableness, Learned Hand Formula, Risk-Utility Test, Good Samaritan Law, ethics; third element of negligence: causation of Injury: causation, cause-in-fact, proximate cause, res ipsa loquitur, ethics Work on Project One: Law Office Memorandum MODULE FOUR Reading: Chapter Five Fourth Element of Negligence: Damages fourth element of negligence: damages, compensatory damages, punitive damages, nominal damages, mitigation of damages, Collateral Source Rule, wrongful death, survival actions, wrongful birth, ethics MODULE FIVE Reading/Discussion: Chapter Six Special Issues Related to Negligence premises liability, vicarious liability, negligent infliction of emotional distress, ethics ASSIGNMENT: Project Two: Tort Pleadings MODULE SIX Reading: Chapter Seven -- The Defenses to Negligence contributory negligence, comparative negligence, assumption of the risk, statute of limitations, ethics MODULE SEVEN Reading: Chapter Eight Medical Malpractice types of medical malpractice, cases against different types of medical professionals/groups, cases against health care facilities, medical malpractice statutes, elements of medical malpractice, arbitration, informed consent, defenses to medical malpractice, ethics

7 DISCUSSION MODULE EIGHT Review and Mid-Term Examination MODULE NINE Reading: Chapter Fifteen Discovery and Review of Medical Records discovery of medical records, access to medical records by the patient, access by third parties in light of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, obtaining medical records, dealing with confidentiality of medical records, review of medical records and their different components, analyzing medical records by chronology or topic, medical records at trial, ethics : Discovery Plan MODULE TEN Reading: Chapter Nine Intentional Torts to Persons elements of all intentional torts to persons, assault, battery, false imprisonment and false arrest, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud misrepresentation, invasion of privacy, defamation, malicious prosecution, ethics MODULE ELEVEN Reading: Chapter Ten -- Intentional Torts to Property and Chapter Eleven - The Defenses to Intentional Torts and Immunities Intentional torts to property: trespass to land, trespass to chattel, bailment, conversion, ethics; defenses and immunities: consent, privilege, duress, statute of limitations, intoxication, immunities, ethics DISCUSSION MODULE TWELVE Reading: Chapter Twelve Strict Liability and Products Liability

8 strict liability caused by abnormally dangerous activities, the rule of strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities, strict liability applied to owners of animals, defenses to strict liability, origin of products liability, parties in products liability, theories of recovery, torts approach to products liability, Consumer Product Safety Act, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, defenses to products liability, ethics DISCUSSION MODULE THIRTEEN Reading: Chapter Sixteen -- The Tort Litigation Process Before Trial and Chapter Seventeen - The Tort Litigation Process During Trial; the Appeals Process tort litigation process before trial: insurance, complaints, answers, discovery, ethics; tort litigation process during trial: evidence, witness preparation, other pre-trial matters, trial, trial notebooks, ethics; the appeals process: research, analysis, writing, presentation, argument skills ASSIGNMENT: Project Three: Moot Court Argument MODULE FOURTEEN Reading: Tort Litigation (continued); Chapter Thirteen -- Nuisance and Chapter Fourteen - Workers Compensation Nuisance: public nuisance, remedies to nuisance, ethics; workers compensation: coverage, exclusion, specific benefits, exclusive rememdy, claim filing, third party as cause of injury, ethics MODULE FIFTEEN Moot Court Project Due examination review & FINAL EXAMINATION