Chart of Assignments
Torts, Fall 2018
Eric E. Johnson, OU Law

Updated as of: November 3, 2018

→ Jump ahead to: List of all assignments by topic.

Where and When:
Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays 10:30 to 11:45 a.m., Classroom 3

Day by Day:
Week No 1
WEDNESDAY Aug 22 No 1
1. Welcome, Class Parameters
No reading.
2. The Place of Torts and a Model Tort
Read all of TC&C Chapter 1 "Basic Concepts" (pp. 23-34).
THURSDAY Aug 23 No 2
3. Blackletter Overview
Read all of TC&C Chapter 2 "An Overview of Tort Law" (pp. 35-46).
FRIDAY Aug 24 No 3
3. Blackletter Overview (continued)
No reading for today.
Week No 2
WEDNESDAY August 29 No 4
Be sure to read the syllabus if you haven't already.
3. Blackletter Overview (continued)
Read all of TC&C Chapter 3, "Introduction to Negligence," pp. 48-54.
Read all of TC&C Chapter 16, "Introduction to Intentional Torts," pp. 145-153.
THURSDAY August 30 No 5
3. Blackletter Overview (continued)
QUIZ TODAY -- bring a number two pencil.
4. Procedural Context for Torts
No reading.
FRIDAY August 31 No 6
5. When and to Whom a Duty of Care is Owed
Read the following portions of TC&C Chapter 5: pp. 73-83 (skip Kubert), 95-102 (skip Yania), 105-110.
Week No 3
WEDNESDAY September 5 No 7
5. When and to Whom a Duty of Care is Owed (continued)
Read the following portions of TC&C Chapter 5: pp. 110-124 (skip Tarasoff but read the paragraph “The Tarasoff Exception“).
6. Determining Breach, in General
Read TC&C Chapter 6 pp. 137-150.
THURSDAY September 6 No 8
6. Determining Breach, in General (continued)
Read Edwards: Howard v. Collins & Aikman, 131-158.
7. The Reasonable Person Standard of Care
Read TC&C Chapter 6 pp. 150-156
FRIDAY September 7 No 9
7. The Reasonable Person Standard of Care (continued)
Read TC&C Chapter 6 pp. 156-157 and 162-167 (skip Breunig).
8. Negligence Per Se
Read TC&C Chapter 6 pp. 167-188 (do the “Westbound Walker” problem on 188, but don’t do the “SparkleStar Skate” problem).
Week No 4
WEDNESDAY September 12 No 10
8. Negligence Per Se (continued)
Re-review the “Westbound Walker” problem on 188. We will do it in class.
9. The Role of Custom or Standard Practices
Read TC&C Chapter 6 pp. 190-196.
10. Res Ipsa Loquitor
Read TC&C Chapter 6 pp. 209-221.
THURSDAY September 13 No 11
11. Special Rules for Land Owners and Occupiers
Read TC&C Chapter 6 pp. 221-226 (skip Campbell), 234-235 (do problems A, B, and C, but skip Rowland).
12. Actual Causation Basics
Read TC&C Chapter 7 pp. 250-257 (skip Beskwick).
FRIDAY September 14
No class today.
Week No 5
WEDNESDAY September 19 No 12
13. Proving Actual Causation
Watch A Civil Action (film) (five copies are on reserve in the library)
Read Anderson v. Cryovac documents nos. 1-6 (summary judgment papers, order, and trial plans):
01. Summary Judgment Motion of Grace
02. Summary Judgment Brief of Grace
03. Summary Judgment Order
04. Beatrice’s Trial Plan
05. Grace’s Trial Plan
06. Plaintiffs’ Trial Plan
14. Multiplicity Issues
Read TC&C Chapter 7 pp. 270-285 (skip Sindell), and do the “Nighttime Hit and Run” problem on 300.
THURSDAY September 20 No 13
15. Proximate Causation Basics
Read TC&C Chapter 8 pp. 301-323.
FRIDAY September 21 No 14
16. Various Tests for Proximate Causation
Read TC&C Chapter 8 pp. 323-336.
17. Existence of an Injury
Read TC&C Chapter 9, pp. 337-339 (skip Hershkovits).
Week No 6
WEDNESDAY September 26 No 15
18. Plaintiff’s Negligence (Contributory and Comparative)
Read TC&C Chapter 10 pp. 353-376.
THURSDAY September 27 No 16
19. Assumption of Risk, Waivers, and Releases
Read TC&C Chapter 10 pp. 376-399.
20. Professional Negligence / Medical Malpractice and Medical Battery
Read TC&C Chapter 11 pp. 401-408 (skip Mohr).
FRIDAY September 28 No 17
20. Professional Negligence / Medical Malpractice and Medical Battery (continued)
Read Edwards: Sawyer v. St. Joseph’s Hospital, 1-6(except last ¶), 9(last ¶)–14(§ break), 17-48
21. Informed Consent Actions
Read TC&C Chapter 11 pp. 414-416.
Read Edwards: Campbell v. Pitt County Memorial Hospital, 51-113
Week No 7
WEDNESDAY October 3 No 18
Topics 20 & 21 (continued)
Additional time for discussion of Edwards readings (volunteer only, no cold calling)
22. Strict Liability
Read TC&C Chapter 13 pp. 25-32 (skip Isaacs), 37-43 (be sure to do the check-your-understanding questions on 37), pp. 58-70.
THURSDAY October 4 No 19
23. Products Liability
Read TC&C Chapter 14 pp. 71-76 (skip Escola and Greenman), 84-110 (be sure to do the “Hot Water” problem on 108-110).
FRIDAY October 5
No class on this day.
Week No 8
WEDNESDAY October 10 No 20
23. Products Liability (continued)
Read Edwards: Lakey v. Sta-Rite, 178-220, 222-230
THURSDAY October 11 No 21
Recommended: Re-review TC&C Chapter 16, “Introduction to Intentional Torts,” pp. 145-153.
24. Battery and Assault
Read TC&C Chapter 17 pp. 154-161 (skip Fisher and Bohrmann), 169-174.
25. False Imprisonment
Read TC&C Chapter 18 pp. 175-180 (skip all cases)
26. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (Outrage)
Read TC&C Chapter 19 pp. 196-200 (skip all cases), 212.
FRIDAY October 12
No class on this day.
Week No 9
WEDNESDAY October 17 No 22
25. False Imprisonment (continued from last class)
Read TC&C Chapter 18 pp. 175-180 (skip all cases)
26. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (Outrage) (continued from last class)
Read TC&C Chapter 19 pp. 196-200 (skip all cases), 212.
THURSDAY October 18 No 23
27. Trespass to Land
Read TC&C Chapter 20 pp. 213-218 (skip the Trespass by Airplane reading), 222-226.
28. Trespass to Chattels and Conversion
Read TC&C Chapter 21 pp. 227-230 (skip Intel), 253-256 (skip Moore).
FRIDAY October 19 No 24
29. Defenses to Intentional Torts
Read TC&C Chapter 22 pp. 277-313.
Week No 10
WEDNESDAY October 24 No 25
29. Defenses to Intentional Torts (continued)
No new reading.
THURSDAY October 25 No 26
30. General Issues in Remedies
Read all of TC&C Chapter 23, pp. 326-339.
31. Damages
Read TC&C Chapter 24 pp. 340-342 (skip Texaco), 355
FRIDAY October 26 No 27
31. Damages (continued)
Read TC&C Chapter 24 pp. 359-366; Chapter 25 pp. 367-368 (skip Mathias), 375-398 (skip State Farm).
Week No 11
WEDNESDAY October 31 No 28
Exam Practice
READ:
Tip Sheet on Multiple-Choice Questions [.pdf]
Tip Sheet on Exam Writing [.pdf]
Three Examples of Exam Writing [.pdf]
MULTIPLE-CHOICE PRACTICE (optional):
You can do the practice set of multiple-choice questions, available here. There is nothing to turn in -- you can self-grade these, using the answers here.
ESSAY PRACTICE (optional):
You can do the essay response for the practice exam and turn it in on paper at the beginning of class, in which case please print it one-sided and do not staple. Note that doing the essay response and turning it in is entirely optional and will not count in any manner for your grade. The exam booklet is here. The .DOCX template for your response is here. If you can't use the template, see these .PDF instructions here.
DISCUSS:
In class, we will have some time for discussing exam techniques and the above reading. I can also take questions about particular multiple-choice questions from the practice exam.
32. Multiple Tortfeasors
Read TC&C Chapter 26 pp. 414-426 (skip Great Lakes Dredge Dock) and 436-437 (do the problem).
33. Enforcing Judgments
No reading.
THURSDAY November 1 No 29
34. Immunities and Tort Liability of the Government
No reading.
35. Thresholds of Life
Read TC&C Chapter 29 pp. 494-506.
FRIDAY November 2 No 30
36. Insurance
No reading.
37. Statutes of Limitation and Repose
No reading.
Exam Practice
FEEDBACK: In class, I will discuss the practice essay exam and give group feedback based on my review of responses turned in on Wednesday. (If you'd like individualized feedback, bring your essay response to office hours. I'm always happy to look over practice essay responses with students. The ideal is if you bring two copies so that we can look at it simultaneously.)
Week No 12
WEDNESDAY November 7 No 31
Exam Practice
We will continue our discussion of the practice essay exam.
38. Defamation
Read TC&C Chapter 31 pp. 578-591.
THURSDAY November 8 No 32
38. Defamation (continued)
Read TC&C Chapter 31 pp. 591-603.
FRIDAY November 9 No 33
38. Defamation (continued)
Read TC&C Chapter 31 pp. 603-627.
Week No 13
WEDNESDAY November 14 No 34
39. Privacy Torts
Read TC&C Chapter 32 pp. 628-630.
40. Right of Publicity
Nanotreatise on the Right of Publicity [pdf]
Polydoros v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp [pdf]
Eric E. Johnson, Disentangling the Right of Publicity, 111 Nw. U. L. Rev. 891 (2017) (selected pages) [pdf]
• Read the abstract and part of the introduction (891-894), Part II to end of II.A. (903-907), and Part III.A. (928-938), but skip all footnotes.
THURSDAY November 15 No 35
41. Transactional Torts
Read TC&C Chapter 30 pp. 530-534 (skip Calbom), 547-550 (skip Berger), 553-554 (skip Cmte. on Children's Television), 564-568 (stop before Breach of Fiduciary Duty)
42. Theoretical Perspectives on Torts
Selected portions of John Fabian Witt, Torts: Cases, Principles, and Institutions [pdf], pp. 5-24
David D. Friedman, The World According to Coase [webpage]
FRIDAY November 16 No 36
42. Theoretical Perspectives on Torts (continued)
Robert C. Ellickson, Of Coase and Cattle: Dispute Resolution Among Neighbors In Shasta County, 38 Stan. L. Rev. 623 (1986) [pdf]
• Read the whole article, but skip all footnotes. (It's a much faster read that way.)
43. Tort Reform
No reading.
Week No 14
WUESDAY*, November 27, 2018 No 37
(* This is a Tuesday treated as a Wednesday on the school calendar.)
REVIEW
For homework, do independent review of the course material.
THRENDSDAY*, November 28, 2018 No 38
(* This is a Wednesday treated as a Thursday on the school calendar.)
REVIEW
For homework, do independent review of the course material.
FRURSDAY*, November 28, 2018 No 39
(* This is a Thursday treated as a Friday on the school calendar.)
REVIEW
For homework, do independent review of the course material.

Topic by Topic:
PART I: Preliminaries
1. Welcome, Class Parameters
2. The Place of Torts and a Model Tort
Read all of TC&C Chapter 1, "Basic Concepts," pp. 23-34.
3. Blackletter Overview
Read all of TC&C Chapter 2, "An Overview of Tort Law," pp. 35-46.
Read all of TC&C Chapter 3, "Introduction to Negligence," pp. 48-54.
Read all of TC&C Chapter 16, "Introduction to Intentional Torts," pp. 145-153.
4. Procedural Context for Torts
No reading.
PART II: The Prima Facie Case for Negligence
SUBPART A: The Duty Element
5. When and to Whom a Duty of Care is Owed
Read the following portions of TC&C Chapter 5: pp. 73-83 (skip Kubert), 95-102 (skip Yania), 105-124 (skip Tarasoff but read the paragraph “The Tarasoff Exception“).
SUBPART B: The Breach Element
6. Determining Breach, in General
Read TC&C Chapter 6 pp. 137-150.
Read Edwards: Howard v. Collins & Aikman, 131-158.
7. The Reasonable Person Standard of Care
Read TC&C Chapter 6 pp. 150-157 and 162-167 (skip Breunig).
8. Negligence Per Se
Read TC&C Chapter 6 pp. 167-188 (do the “Westbound Walker” problem on 188, but don’t do the “SparkleStar Skate” problem).
9. The Role of Custom or Standard Practices
Read TC&C Chapter 6 pp. 190-196.
10. Res Ipsa Loquitor
Read TC&C Chapter 6 pp. 209-221.
11. Special Rules for Land Owners and Occupiers
Read TC&C Chapter 6 pp. 221-226 (skip Campbell), 234-235 (do problems A, B, and C, but skip Rowland).
SUBPART C: The Actual Causation Element
12. Actual Causation Basics
Read TC&C Chapter 7 pp. 250-257 (skip Beskwick).
13. Proving Actual Causation
Watch A Civil Action (film) (to be placed on library reserve)
Read Anderson v. Cryovac documents nos. 1-6 (summary judgment papers, order, and trial plans):
01. Summary Judgment Motion of Grace
02. Summary Judgment Brief of Grace
03. Summary Judgment Order
04. Beatrice’s Trial Plan
05. Grace’s Trial Plan
06. Plaintiffs’ Trial Plan
14. Multiplicity Issues
Read TC&C Chapter 7 pp. 270-285 (skip Sindell), and do the “Nighttime Hit and Run” problem on 300.
SUBPART D: The Proximate Causation Element
15. Proximate Causation Basics
Read TC&C Chapter 8 pp. 301-323.
16. Various Tests for Proximate Causation
Read TC&C Chapter 8 pp. 323-336.
SUBPART E: The Damages Element
17. Existence of an Injury
Read TC&C Chapter 9, pp. 337-339 (skip Hershkovits).
PART III: Affirmative Defenses to Negligence
18. Plaintiff’s Negligence (Contributory and Comparative)
Read TC&C Chapter 10 pp. 353-376.
19. Assumption of Risk, Waivers, and Releases
Read TC&C Chapter 10 pp. 376-399.
PART IV: Liability Relating to Medical Care
20. Professional Negligence / Medical Malpractice and Medical Battery
Read TC&C Chapter 11 pp. 401-408 (skip Mohr).
Read Edwards: Sawyer v. St. Joseph’s Hospital, 1-6(except last ¶), 9(last ¶)–14(§ break), 17-48
21. Informed Consent Actions
Read TC&C Chapter 11 pp. 414-416.
Read Edwards: Campbell v. Pitt County Memorial Hospital, 51-113
PART V: Dealing with Accidents Outside of Negligence
22. Strict Liability
Read TC&C Chapter 13 pp. 25-32 (skip Isaacs), 37-43 (be sure to do the check-your-understanding questions on 37), 58-70.
23. Products Liability
Read TC&C Chapter 14 pp. 71-76 (skip Escola and Greenman), 84-110 (be sure to do the “Hot Water” problem on 108-110).
Read Edwards: Lakey v. Sta-Rite, 178-220, 222-230
PART VI: Intentional Torts
Recommended: Re-review TC&C Chapter 16, “Introduction to Intentional Torts,” pp. 145-153.
24. Battery and Assault
Read TC&C Chapter 17 pp. 154-161 (skip Fisher and Bohrmann), 169-174.
25. False Imprisonment
Read TC&C Chapter 18 pp. 175-180 (skip all cases)
26. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (Outrage)
Read TC&C Chapter 19 pp. 196-200 (skip all cases), 212.
27. Trespass to Land
Read TC&C Chapter 20 pp. 213-218 (skip the Trespass by Airplane reading), 222-226.
28. Trespass to Chattels and Conversion
Read TC&C Chapter 21 pp. 227-230 (skip Intel), 253-256 (skip Moore).
29. Defenses to Intentional Torts
Read TC&C Chapter 22 pp. 277-313.
PART VII: Remedies and Issues Concerning Parties
30. General Issues in Remedies
Read all of TC&C Chapter 23, pp. 326-339.
31. Damages
Read TC&C Chapter 24 pp. 340-342 (skip Texaco), 355, 359-366; Chapter 25 pp. 367-368 (skip Mathias), 375-398 (skip State Farm).
32. Multiple Tortfeasors
Read TC&C Chapter 26 pp. 414-426 (skip Great Lakes Dredge Dock) and 436-437 (do the problem).
33. Enforcing Judgments
No reading.
34. Immunities and Tort Liability of the Government
No reading.
35. Thresholds of Life
Read TC&C Chapter 29 pp. 494-506.
PART VIII: Some Practical Pitfalls
36. Insurance
No reading.
37. Statutes of Limitation and Repose
No reading.
PART IX: Oblique Torts
38. Defamation
Read all of TC&C Chapter 31, pp. 578-627.
39. Privacy Torts
Read TC&C Chapter 32 pp. 628-630.
40. Right of Publicity
Nanotreatise on the Right of Publicity [pdf]
Polydoros v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp [pdf]
Eric E. Johnson, Disentangling the Right of Publicity, 111 Nw. U. L. Rev. 891 (2017) (selected pages) [pdf]
• Read the abstract and part of the introduction (891-894), Part II to end of II.A. (903-907), and Part III.A. (928-938), but skip all footnotes.
41. Transactional Torts
Read TC&C Chapter 30 pp. 530-534 (skip Calbom), 547-550 (skip Berger), 553-554 (skip Cmte. on Children's Television), 564-568 (stop before Breach of Fiduciary Duty)
PART X: Theory and Policy
42. Theoretical Perspectives on Torts
Selected portions of John Fabian Witt, Torts: Cases, Principles, and Institutions [pdf], pp. 5-24
David D. Friedman, The World According to Coase [webpage]
Robert C. Ellickson, Of Coase and Cattle: Dispute Resolution Among Neighbors In Shasta County, 38 Stan. L. Rev. 623 (1986) [pdf]
• Read the whole article, but skip all footnotes. (It's a much faster read that way.)
43. Tort Reform
No reading.





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