Torts
Class Policies and Syllabus
Law 608, Section 419
Spring 2015
Dean Amy Sloan
Office: AL718 asloan@ubalt.edu
410.837.6529
Office Hours:
Tuesday, 5:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. and by appointment.
Course Meeting Times:
Tuesday & Thursday, 6:00 p.m. – 7:50 p.m., AL603
Administrative assistant
Katie Rolfes krolfes@ubalt.edu
410.837.4479
Required Text:
Dobbs, Hayden, & Bublick, Torts and Compensation (West, Concise 7th ed. 2013). There are two versions of this text. Please be sure to buy the concise 7th edition.
Recommended Text:
Glannon, Examples & Explanations: Torts (Aspen Publishers 4 th ed. 2010).
Course Goals:
In Torts, you will learn the law of imposed liability for personal, property, and economic harm. We will discuss intentional torts, negligence, strict liability, causation and damages, defenses to torts, and other topics.
Course Expectations:
Attendance – In accordance with the law school’s attendance policy, students who have more than five absences (excused and unexcused combined) will not be eligible to complete the course and will receive a grade of FA (failure due to excessive absences). If late arrival or early departure causes you to miss a substantial portion of a class or if you are unprepared for class (as explained more fully below), you will be counted absent.
Computers – You are permitted to use laptops or notebooks for note-taking and for the exam. Please respect the classroom environment and learning process by refraining from checking e-mail, surfing the net, or otherwise engaging in activities not related to class. Please also be aware that there may be times during the semester when, to enhance your learning, I will not permit you to use your laptop. If you need a laptop as an accommodation for a disability, however, you will always be able to use it.
Professionalism – You are expected to come to class on time and stay for the entire class unless you provide advance notice of your need to arrive late or leave early. You are also expected to come to class prepared to participate in the discussion or activities taking place during class time. If you are

unprepared, please give me a note or send me an email to that effect before class. If I call on you and you are not prepared and have not given me a note, you will be counted absent for that class period.
Please be aware that being unprepared for class may negatively affect your final grade (as explained more fully below). In addition, please turn off your cell phone before class begins.
TWEN – I will create a TWEN page for our class. You need a Westlaw password to access the TWEN page. I will communicate with the class through the TWEN page, and you are expected to check the site regularly for announcements and course materials.
Methods of Evaluation:
Your grade in this class will be based on the final examination at the end of the semester. I reserve the right to raise or lower a student’s grade by one half step (e.g., raise the grade from B to B+ or lower the grade from B to B-) based on class participation and preparedness.
Syllabus:
The outline below sets out the anticipated reading assignments for the first several weeks of the semester. The remainder of the syllabus will be posted on TWEN later in the semester. Assignments may be adjusted from time to time depending on our progress through the material. Assigned reading material that is not in the case book will be posted on TWEN. All reading is to be completed before class.
Jan. 13:
Jan. 15:
Introduction; the Concept of Fault
Class Policies and Syllabus; Dobbs 3-29 ( Van Camp v. McAfoos ; Dillon v. Frazer )
Battery; Defining Intent
Dobbs 30-46 ( Snyder v. Turk ; Cohen v. Smith ; Garrett v. Dailey ; White v. Muniz ; Wagner v.
State ; Baska v. Sherzer )
Jan. 20: Assault; False Imprisonment; Property Torts
Dobbs 46-59 ( Cullison v. Medley ; McCann v. Wal-Mart Stores ; School of Visual Arts v.
Kuprewicz ); Restatement on confinement by duress (posted on TWEN)
Jan. 22: IIED; Defenses to Intentional Torts: Self Defense; Defense and Repossession of
Property
Dobbs 467-472 ( GTE Southwest v. Bruce ) (through Note 10); excerpt from Clinton v. Jones and Restatement (Second) elements of IIED (posted on TWEN); Dobbs 63-70 ( Touchet v.
Hampton ; Katko v. Briney ; Brown v. Martinez ); Maryland statute on use of force (posted on
TWEN)
Jan. 27: Defenses to Intentional Torts (continued): Arrest and Detention; Discipline;
Observing Privileges; Consent
Dobbs 70-88 ( Gortarez v. Smitty’s Super Valu ; Robins v. Harris ; Kaplan v. Mamelak ; Doe v.
Johnson ; Surocco v. Geary ; Ploof v. Putnam ; Vincent v. Lake Erie Transportation ); Maryland statute on defense of detention (posted on TWEN)
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Jan. 29:
Feb. 3:
Feb. 5:
Feb. 10:
Feb. 12:
Feb. 17:
Feb. 19:
Feb. 24:
Feb. 26:
Mar. 3:
Mar. 5:
Introduction to Negligence; Duty: General Duty of Care
Dobbs 91-107 ( Stewart v. Motts ; Posas v. Horton ; Shepard v. Gardner Wholesale ; Creasy v.
Rusk ; Hill v. Sparks ; Robinson v. Lindsay )
Duty (continued): Statutory Standards of Care; Breach of Duty: Assessing Foreseeable
Risks and Costs
Dobbs 110-123 ( Martin v. Herzog ; O’Guin v. Bingham County ; Impson v. Structural Metals )
Breach of Duty (continued): Foreseeability of Harm; Unstructured Weighing of Risks and Costs
Dobbs 123-137 ( Indiana Consolidated Insurance v Mathew ; Stinnett v. Buchele ; skim Bernier v. Boston Edison )
Breach of Duty (continued): Risk/Utility; Multiple Tortfeasors
Dobbs 137-146 ( U.S. v. Carroll Towing )
Breach of Duty (continued): Proving and Evaluating Conduct
Dobbs 146; 148-156 (read the intro paragraph to § 3 on p. 137, but then SKIP to the Note on Conflicting and Non-conflicting Testimony; Forsyth v. Joseph ; Thoma v. Cracker Barrel );
Gift v. Palmer (posted on TWEN)
Breach of Duty (continued): Actor’s Standard; Custom; Res Ipsa Loquitur
Dobbs 156-167 ( Wal-Mart Stores v. Wright ; Duncan v. Corbetta ; The T.J. Hooper ; Miller v.
Warren ; Byrne v. Boadle ); 169-174 ( Warren v. Jeffries ; Giles v. New Haven through note 4);
175 (Problem)
Actual Harm; Factual Cause: The But-For Test
Dobbs 177-186 ( Right v. Breen ; Hale v. Ostrow ; Salinetro v. Nystrom ; Multiple Causes and
Apportionment)
Factual Cause (continued): Problems with and Alternatives to But-For Causation;
Proof of Causation
Dobbs 186-201 ( Landers v. East Texas Salt Water Disposal ; Lasey v. Combined Transport ;
Summers v. Tice ; Mohr v. Grantham )
Proximate Cause: Scope of the Risk
Dobbs 203-209 ( Thompson v. Kaczinski ; Abrams v. City of Chicago )
Proximate Cause (continued): Scope of the Risk; Assessing the Scope of the Risk
Dobbs 209-221 ( Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad ; Hughes v. Lord Advocate ; Doughty v. Turner
Manufacturing through 2)
Proximate Cause (continued): Assessing the Scope of the Risk; Intervening Persons or
Forces
Dobbs 221-223; 226-227; 230-238 ( Hammerstein v. Jean Development West ; SKIP the Marcus
& Collins cases, but READ notes 4-8 following those cases; Derdiarian v. Felix Contracting ;
Ventricelli v. Kinney System Rent A Car ; Marshall v. Nugent ); Gaines-Tabb v. ICI Explosives
(posted on TWEN).
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