Exam Prep
Ace Your Torts Final
Master negligence, strict liability, intentional torts, and every element in between. This guide covers key topics, landmark cases, study strategies, and AI tools to help you excel on your torts exam.
Key Topics to Know
Intentional Torts
Battery, assault, false imprisonment, IIED, trespass to land, trespass to chattels, and conversion.
Negligence Elements
Duty, breach, actual cause (but-for test), proximate cause, and damages.
Duty of Care
General duty, special relationships, landowner duties, and the Palsgraf foreseeability framework.
Breach of Duty
Reasonable person standard, Learned Hand formula (B < P x L), custom, and negligence per se.
Causation
But-for causation, substantial factor test, alternative liability (Summers v. Tice), and market share liability.
Proximate Cause
Foreseeability (Cardozo view vs. Andrews view), intervening/superseding causes, and eggshell plaintiff rule.
Strict Liability
Abnormally dangerous activities, products liability (manufacturing, design, and warning defects), and wild animals.
Defenses
Comparative negligence, contributory negligence, assumption of risk, and consent.
Vicarious Liability
Respondeat superior, independent contractors, joint enterprise, and scope of employment.
Damages
Compensatory damages, punitive damages, collateral source rule, and wrongful death/survival actions.
Res Ipsa Loquitur
Inference of negligence, exclusive control, and the role of circumstantial evidence.
Products Liability
Manufacturing defects, design defects (consumer expectation and risk-utility tests), and failure to warn.
Essential Cases
Study Strategy
Start Every Answer with Duty
The duty element determines the entire scope of analysis. Identify whether the defendant owed a general duty of reasonable care, a heightened duty, or no duty at all before moving to breach.
Apply the Learned Hand Formula for Breach
When the facts give you information about the cost of precautions and the risk of harm, use B < P x L to structure your breach analysis. This shows the professor you can apply economic reasoning.
Address Both Cardozo and Andrews on Proximate Cause
When proximate cause is at issue, analyze it under both the Cardozo foreseeability approach and the Andrews direct consequences approach. This demonstrates depth and earns extra credit.
Know Your Defenses Cold
Comparative negligence, assumption of risk, and consent appear on nearly every torts exam. Know the differences between pure and modified comparative negligence, and distinguish express from implied assumption of risk.
Practice Products Liability Separately
Products liability involves distinct tests (consumer expectation, risk-utility) and can be based on negligence, strict liability, or warranty. Create a separate mini-outline for products liability.
Tools for Torts Exam Prep
Attack Sheet Generator
Build a torts outline organized by duty, breach, causation, and damages.
Smart Flashcards
Generate flashcards from any torts case or element.
Exam Question Generator
Practice with AI-generated torts hypos and model answers.
Case Brief Library
70+ torts case briefs in standard law-school format.