Case Law, Essential Elements, & Jury Instructions-- Shapiro Case

What are the parties advised not to state when addressing the jury according to the Empirion Rules of Evidence?

• The names of cases or quotes from cases

• The specific laws that are being violated

• The personal opinions of the counsel

• The evidence presented during the trial

What should the parties base their arguments off of when jury instructions conflict with case law?

• The jury instructions

• The case law

• The personal beliefs of the jury

• The opening statements

In Empirion state law, who has the exclusive right to dismiss or settle any claim with prejudice in a wrongful death action?

• The surviving spouse or relative

• The judge presiding over the case

• The surviving representative

• The defendant in the case

According to the case of Mason v. Lozano (1999), what can damages in a wrongful death action include?

• Only medical bills and funeral expenses

• Only pain and suffering of the decedent

• Any harm suffered by the decedent prior to death, medical bills, funeral expenses, and other pecuniary harms chargeable to the estate

• Only pecuniary harms chargeable to the estate

What is the primary difference between negligence and gross negligence as described in Leonard v. Demertzis (2008)?

• Gross negligence requires a higher degree of risk involved

• Negligence is only established by the failure to act

• Gross negligence does not require proof of lack of care

• Negligence involves a higher probability that harm will result

What does gross negligence require according to the case of Leonard v. Demertzis (2008)?

• Proof that the defendant acted with a lack of any care or an extreme departure from what a reasonably careful person would do

• Only proof that the defendant acted without considering the risks involved

• Evidence that the defendant followed industry standards

• A direct cause of the plaintiff's injury by ordinary negligence

In McKenna v. Osborn (1980), what may the jury consider when deciding if a defendant acted reasonably?

• Only the defendant's personal standards of care

• Industry standards and community customs, even though they are not necessarily dispositive

• Solely the magnitude of the risk involved

• Only the probability that the harm will result

According to Kuang v. Muralidhar (2020), what is required of individuals with superior skill or knowledge in a trade or profession?

• They must follow the customs of the community.

• They are required to conduct themselves consistent with such superior capacity.

• They should provide pamphlets or brochures as contractual language.

• They must sign a liability release or waiver.

In Hotlzapple v. Bhadra (2014), what is considered for demonstrating whether conduct was done with reckless disregard for the safety of others?

• The standard of care in the community.

• The existence of a signed liability release or waiver.

• The interpretation of contractual language.

• Customs or procedures of the community.

What is considered as contractual language according to Reyes v. Samardzija (2016)?

• The standard of care possessed by members of a trade.

• Information provided in pamphlets or brochures describing services.

• The presence of a signed liability release or waiver.

• Knowledge of facts learned by agents within the scope of their employment.