Torts Course Syllabus
Law A 504
Spring Quarter 2014
William Covington, Senior Lecturer
Class Times/Location: Tuesdays and Thursdays 5:30-6:55 pm; Room 133, William H. Gates Hall
Overview
Welcome to torts. We will spend the next eight weeks examining American tort law with
a special emphasis on intentional torts and negligence. Time permitting, I shall discuss
the major principles of strict liability. Read this syllabus with care and do not hesitate to
contact me with your questions.
Who I Am
My name is William Covington; I hold the rank of senior lecturer and have been teaching
at this law school since 2003. I direct the Technology Law and Public Policy Clinic and
normally teach the General Externship Perspectives course for public service externs.
Prior to coming to UW Law my work was as in-house regulatory counsel for a cable
television (and subsequently a cellular telephone) company.
How to Contact Me
William Covington, Senior Lecturer
Room 242, William H. Gates Hall
(206) 616-4481(Office), (206) 661-6293 (Cellular)
covinw@u.washington.edu
Assistant: Harold Daniels (206) 543-3434
When I Can Be Found in My Office
My office hours are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9:30-11:30 a.m. I am
available at other times by appointment. There may be occasions when outside
commitments prevent me from being present during normally scheduled office hours. I
encourage you to come by my office and talk with me about the course any time you feel
the need. I welcome telephone calls.
Torts A504--A Description of the Course and What I Hope to Achieve
We have sixteen class meetings scheduled twice weekly. The class meets on Tuesdays
and Thursdays from 5:30 to 6:55; p.m. in room 133 of William H. Gates Hall. I do not
think eight weeks is sufficient time to adequately cover all elements of tort law. I plan to
focus on the areas which are more frequently tested on bar examinations; these are:
 Intentional torts;
 Negligence; and
 Strict liability
My goal is to describe and explain the major rules and principles covering these areas of
law. If I am successful you will be able to look at a fact situation and spot those areas
where tort law applies. I also want the course to be interesting, open, and if possible,
enjoyable. For me success is teaching and learning in an enjoyable atmosphere.
Torts
Syllabus-Spring ‘14
Page Two
The Way the Individual Classes Will Operate
We are scheduled to meet twice weekly for 1 hour and 25 minutes. My plan is to spend
the first 50 minutes lecturing, answering questions and engaging in discussion; we will
then take a 10 minute break. The remaining 25 minutes shall be spent in the same
manner; though periodically I plan on presenting and reviewing a series of questions
similar to those found on the bar examination. This is my plan but it may change based
on how well it works for us. On two or three occasions a guest lecturer may appear to
discuss bar examination strategies.
I lecture using PowerPoint slides. The slides will be posted on the course web site after
the class. I do this because I double check the slides and often make adjustments in the
week leading up to the class. I do not share my lecture notes and currently I have no plans
to podcast the class.
I Am Not Infallible
Like most, if not all, instructors at this law school I work very hard to make certain you
are provided with the best possible information; however, no instructor is infallible. If
you disagree with my analysis feel free to share your thoughts and/or ask a question.
Please point out any mistakes you uncover in the materials (hopefully there will be few, if
any).
The Course Materials
The required text for this class is Cases and Materials on Torts, Second Edition, John
L. Diamond. I’ve requested that the University Bookstore stock copies, but you might
find it cheaper online. If you are purchasing the text online keep in mind there are
several different editions of this book; be sure to buy the correct edition.
The Course Web Site
The course web site may be accessed via the following link:
K:\CovingtonW\A504abcd_Sp14\default.html
Once on that web page, click on “CANVAS” in the left column. This syllabus, the
PowerPoint slides used in the class and other materials will be posted there. I may post
supplemental materials to the course website; these materials are not required reading.
If You Want to Know More About Tort Law
If you want to know more about torts, I recommend consulting one or more of the
following publications:
 The Second and Third Restatements of Torts, The American Law Institute (the
Restatements are in hard copy at the library and can be found on line through
Lexis-Nexis or Westlaw);
 Washington Practice Series, Tort Law and Practice (this series can also be found
in hard copy at the library and on line through Lexis-Nexis or Westlaw); and
Torts
Syllabus-Spring ‘14
Page Three

New York Practice Series, New York Law of Torts (I do not think we have this
series in hard copy but it is available online through Westlaw).
Requirements and Grading
Students are expected to complete all the assigned readings. Your assignments and the
week in which they will be covered appear below. Your grade will be determined by a
final examination which shall be in the multiple choice format. Note--I will never
penalize you for offering a “wrong” answer in class; there is seldom one “right” answer
in torts anyway; that is part of what makes the field interesting.
Attending Class and Laptop Use
As mentioned above all classes will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Room 133 of
William H. Gates Hall. Students are expected to attend the entire class session;
prolonged absence from the classroom may result in penalization. During class, please
only use your laptop for activities that are directly related to our discussion. Using your
laptop to surf the web or answer email distracts other students--please do not do this.
Miscellaneous
If something in class is making you uncomfortable, please let me know. The other person
you can talk to is Dean Hotchkiss, Associate Dean for Students, whom you can reach at
hotchma@uw.edu or in her office, Room 373.
To request accommodations due to a disability, please contact Disability Resources for
Students at (206) 543-8924 or (206) 543-8925 (TTY).
Torts
Syllabus-Spring ‘14
Page Four
Assigned Readings/Homework
Course Schedule
First Session, Week of March 31st (pages 1-42)
Topic
Case
Notes
The Concept of Intent
Garratt v. Dailey
Williams v. Kearbey
Leichtman v. WLW Jacor
Communications Inc.
Bohrmann v. Maine Yankee
Atomic Power Co.
Do not read I De S Et Ux v. W De S
Castro v. Local 1199, National
Health & Human Services
Employees Union
Alteiri v. Colasso
Dupler v. Seubert
1, 2 and 5
1
Maniaci v. Marquette University
1-10
Battery
Assault
The Concept of Transferred Intent
False Imprisonment; Malicious
Prosecution; Abuse of Process
1,3 and 4-7
1 and 3-6
1, 2, 4 and 5
1-5
Second Session, Week of April 7th (pages 42-62; 582-603; 695-705, 712-14)
Topic
Case
Notes
Intentional Infliction of Mental
Distress
Slocum v. Food Fair Stores of
Florida; Inc.
Rulon-Miller v. International
Business Machines Corporation
Clinton v. Jones
Hustler v. Falwell
Hannabalson v. Sessions
Brown v. County Commissioners
of Scioto County
Commonwealth v. Danny’s New
Adam and Eve Bookstore
Impellizerri v. Janesville
Federated Church
Boomer v. Atlantic Cement Co.
1, 3 and 4
Kaplan v. Newsweek Magazine,
Inc.
Bindrim v. Mitchell
1-4
Weidman v. Ketcham
1-2
Trespass and Nuisance
Defamation
Defamatory Assertion of Fact
1-4
1-3
Do not read Notes
1-4
1
1
1
1-5
Skip Section B pps 706-712
Third Session, Week of April 14th (pages 714-770, 74-97, 115-25)
Topic
Case
Notes
Defamation-Constitutional
Culpability Requirement
New York Times Company v.
Sullivan
Gertz v. Robert Welch Inc.
Dun & Bradstreet Inc.
v.Greenmoss Builders Inc.
Hutchinson v. Proxmire
Brown v. Kelly Broadcasting Co.
Pearson v. Dodd
Dietemann v. Time Inc.
Neff v. Time Inc.
1-4
Sipple v. Chronicle Publishing
Co.
Cantrell v. Forest City Publishing
Co.
Calbom v. Knudtzon
1-5
Do not read Lowell v. Mother’s
Cake & Cookie Company.
Texaco v. Pennzoil Co.
Do not read notes following the
Lowell case
Do not read notes following the
Texaco case
Do not read notes following the
Planning and Information
Council case
Defamation-Privileges
Privacy-Intrusion Upon Seclusion
Privacy-Appropriation of Name
or Likeness and Publicity of
Private Life
Privacy-False Light
Intentional Interference With
Contractual and Economic
Relations
Intentional Misrepresentation
Do not read Environmental
Planning and Information Council
of Western El Dorado County
Inc., Superior Court
Nader v. Allegheny Airlines
Do not read New Jersey
Carpenters Health Fund v. Phillip
Morris Inc.
1-2
1
1-2
1-4
1-4
1-3
1-3
1-3
Read materials on pages 79-82
and Notes 1-2
2, 6-8
Do not read notes following the
New Jersey Carpenters case
Fourth Session, Week of April 21st (pages 62-74,133-89, 194-200 )
Topic
Case
Defenses to Intentional Torts
See attachment Morinaga v. Vue
85 W. App. 822
See attachment Dupre v.
Maryland Management Co. 127
NYS 2d 615.
Drabek v. Sibley.
Vincent v. Lake Erie
Transportation Co.
Pitre v. Employers Liability
Assurance Corporation
Do not read United States Fidelity
& Guaranty Co. v. Plovidba
See attachment Unites States v.
Carroll Towing Co. 159 F2d 169
Negligence-Overview
Negligence-Standard of Conduct
Cordas v. Peerless Transportation
Co.
Breuning v. American Family
Notes
1-3, 6-7, 10-11
1-3
1-3, 5
Do not read note following the
United States Fidelity case
Starting on page 147 read notes
1, 3-6 and Peter Fimrite, Cables
to Plug Fatal Bridge Gap
1-3
1-3
Do not read Section C. Rules of
Law pps. 189-94
Negligence-Negligence Per Se
Insurance Company.
Neumann v. Shlansky
Melville v. Southward
Cobbs v. Grant
Calbom v. Knudtzon
Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co.
v. Matlock.
Stachniewicz v. Mar-Cam
Corporation.
1-4, 6-9
1-2, 4-6, 8-9
1-3,5
Read materials on pages 79-82
and Notes 1-2
1-3, 6-7
Fifth Session, Week of April 28th (pages 271-6, 200-220, 231-7, 241-270)
Topic
Res ipsa loquitur
Cause-in-fact
Duty and Proximate Cause
Case
Krebs v. Corrigan
East Texas Theatres, Inc. v.
Rutledge
Anderson v. Minneapolis,
St. P. & S. S. M. Ry. Co.
Northington v. Marin
Herskovits v. Group Health
Cooperative of Puget Sound
Summers v. Tice
Do not read
Sindell v.
Abbott Laboratories
Ayers v. Township of
Jackson
Palsgraf v. Long Island R.
Co.
Overseas Tankship (U.K.)
Ltd. v. Morts Dock &
Engineering
Co.
(The
Wagon Mound)
Thomas v. United States
Soccer Federation, Inc.
Bigbee v. Pacific Telephone
& Telegraph Co.
Steinhauser
v.
Hertz
Corporation
Notes
1-3
1-4
1-4
1-2
1
1-4
1,3, 5-6 and 8
2, 6 and 8
1-4
1-3
1-2
Sixth Session, Week of May 5th (pages 284-313, 337-348, 349-360)
Topic
Case
Limitations on Duty-Failure L.S. Ayres & Co. v. Hicks
to Act
Miller v. Arnal Corp.
Wells v. Hickman
Tarasoff v. The Regents,
University of California
Do not read Davidson v.
City of Westminster
Mental Distress
Do not read Thing v.
LaChusa
Potter v. Firestone Tire and
Rubber Company
Wrongful
Death
and Gary v. Schwartz
Survival Actions
Do not read Selders v.
Armentrout.
Compania Dominicana De
Aviacion v. Knapp
Murphy v. Martin Oil Co.
Notes
1-2
Do not read notes
Do not read notes
1-2
1
1-5
1-2 and 4
Seventh Session, Week of May 12th (pages 376-397, 412-432, 433-454)
Topic
Landowners and Occupiers
Case
Younce v. Ferguson
United Zinc & Chemical
Company v. Britt
Rowland v. Christian
Landowners’ Liability to Spears v. Blackwell
Plaintiff’s Off Land
Defenses to Negligence; Mark v. Pacific Gas and
Contributory
and Electric Company
Comparative Negligence
Davies v. Mann
Li v. Yellow Cab Co
Assumption of Risk
Murphy v. Steeplechase
Amusement Co.
Do not read Rush v.
Commercial Realty Co.
Emmette L. Barran III v.
Notes
2-4
Read Restatement (Second)
of Torts Sec. 339 and Note
1
Do not read notes
1-3
1-4
1
2
Do not read notes
Do not read notes
Kappa Alpha Order Inc.
Woodall v. Wayne Steffner Do not read notes
Productions, Inc.
Knight v. Jewett
Do not read notes
Eighth Session, Week of May 19th (pages 487-516, 604-621)
Topic
Traditional Strict Liability
Case
Siegler v. Kuhlman
Indiana
Harbor
Belt
Railroad Co., v. American
Cyanamid Co.
Kelley v. R.G. Industries
Inc.
Foster v. Preston Mill Co.
(Compensatory McDougald v. Garber
Notes
1, 3 and 5
4 and 5
Do not read notes
1 and 2
1 and 2
Damages
Damages)
Damages (Collateral Source Helfend
v.
Southern 1 and 2
Rule)
California Rapid Transit
District
Damages
(Punitive State
Farm
Mutual 1 and 2
Damages)
Automobile Insurance Co.
v. Campbell