{"id":2891,"date":"2023-02-19T16:10:59","date_gmt":"2023-02-19T16:10:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/chapter\/apply-it-5-2-what-is-tort-law\/"},"modified":"2025-02-17T15:36:47","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T15:36:47","slug":"apply-it-5-2-what-is-tort-law","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/chapter\/apply-it-5-2-what-is-tort-law\/","title":{"raw":"Apply It 5.2: What Is Tort Law?","rendered":"Apply It 5.2: What Is Tort Law?"},"content":{"raw":"<section class=\"textbox learningGoals\">\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Define tort law&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:15233,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;12&quot;:0,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Define tort law<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Understand negligence&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:15233,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;12&quot;:0,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Understand negligence<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Understand strict liability&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:15233,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;12&quot;:0,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Understand strict liability<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Explain the three types of product liability cases&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:14721,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Explain the three types of product liability cases<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Understand compensation for damages&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:14720,&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Understand compensation for damages<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n<h2>Legal Analysis<\/h2>\r\n<p>In applying law to a particular situation, it's helpful to do the analysis step-by-step using the IRAC framework. IRAC stands for issue, rule, analysis, and conclusion. First try this is a simple context.<\/p>\r\n<section class=\"textbox connectIt\">\r\n<h3>Is It Pizza?<\/h3>\r\n<p>Suppose your town wants to cut taxes for restaurants that serve pizza. You would first need to define exactly what are the essential features that make a pizza. Think for a moment and come up with a list.<\/p>\r\n<p>Then, choose and watch one of the videos in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLH6iYAJIYyN_BpG9Qfq2YH9hZW5H5L4Ga\">this playlist about unconventional pizzas<\/a>. Now lets use the IRAC framework to do the analysis<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Issue<\/strong> - The issue here is whether the food in the video that you just watched is pizza.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Rule<\/strong> - Consider the list that you made.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Analysis<\/strong> - Compare all the ingredients and features of the food shown in the video with the list of essential features that you made.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Conclusion<\/strong> - If the food in the video satisfied all your requirements, then it's pizza. If it lacked one or more features on your list, it's not pizza.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>[reveal-answer q=\"266094\"]Click to Show Sample Analysis[\/reveal-answer]<br \/>\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"266094\"]Suppose that you decided that in order for a food to be considered pizza, it would need to be made from dough, sauce, and toppings. Then you watched the video about <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/3aIIzSsCjfI\">ramen pizza<\/a>. The ramen pizza did have sauce and toppings, but the crust was made with ramen noodles instead of dough. In a strict sense, ramen pizza does not meet your requirement of being made from dough. However, you could argue that the noodles were dough before they were made into noodles. In that case, ramen pizza does fulfill the dough-sauce-topping rule and it is pizza.<\/p>\r\n<p>Congratulations, you know how to do a legal analysis! Now let's move on and apply the same framework to a tort.[\/hidden-answer]<\/p>\r\n<\/section>\r\n<h2>Tort Law<\/h2>\r\n<section class=\"textbox example\">\r\n<p>[embed]https:\/\/youtu.be\/TE8pJe8OJq4[\/embed]<\/p>\r\n<p>You can view the <a href=\"https:\/\/course-building.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/Intro+to+Business\/transcripts\/How+Hot+Coffee+Landed+McDonald%E2%80%99s+in+Hot+Water+_+Retro+Report.txt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">transcript for \"How Hot Coffee Landed McDonald\u2019s in Hot Water | Retro Report\" here (opens in a new window).<\/span><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>This lawsuit received a lot of attention from the media. Recall that to prove negligence, the plaintiff (Stella Liebeck in this case) has to prove:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Duty of care<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Breach of the duty of care<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Actual causation<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Proximate causation<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Damages<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p>Based on the video, how was Liebeck was able to prove each requirement of negligence?<\/p>\r\n<p>[reveal-answer q=\"145034\"]Click to Show Sample Answer[\/reveal-answer]<br \/>\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"145034\"]The key to Liebeck's case was that they established that McDonald's had a duty to customers and that duty was breached when they served coffee that was unreasonably hot. McDonald's intentionally served coffee at a temperature much higher than a home coffee maker and they were aware of hundreds of instances of burns resulting from their coffee spilling.[\/hidden-answer]<\/p>\r\n<\/section>","rendered":"<section class=\"textbox learningGoals\">\n<ul>\n<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Define tort law&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:15233,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;12&quot;:0,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Define tort law<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Understand negligence&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:15233,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;12&quot;:0,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Understand negligence<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Understand strict liability&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:15233,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;12&quot;:0,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Understand strict liability<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Explain the three types of product liability cases&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:14721,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Explain the three types of product liability cases<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Understand compensation for damages&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:14720,&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Understand compensation for damages<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<h2>Legal Analysis<\/h2>\n<p>In applying law to a particular situation, it&#8217;s helpful to do the analysis step-by-step using the IRAC framework. IRAC stands for issue, rule, analysis, and conclusion. First try this is a simple context.<\/p>\n<section class=\"textbox connectIt\">\n<h3>Is It Pizza?<\/h3>\n<p>Suppose your town wants to cut taxes for restaurants that serve pizza. You would first need to define exactly what are the essential features that make a pizza. Think for a moment and come up with a list.<\/p>\n<p>Then, choose and watch one of the videos in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLH6iYAJIYyN_BpG9Qfq2YH9hZW5H5L4Ga\">this playlist about unconventional pizzas<\/a>. Now lets use the IRAC framework to do the analysis<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Issue<\/strong> &#8211; The issue here is whether the food in the video that you just watched is pizza.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Rule<\/strong> &#8211; Consider the list that you made.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Analysis<\/strong> &#8211; Compare all the ingredients and features of the food shown in the video with the list of essential features that you made.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Conclusion<\/strong> &#8211; If the food in the video satisfied all your requirements, then it&#8217;s pizza. If it lacked one or more features on your list, it&#8217;s not pizza.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><button class=\"show-answer show-answer-button collapsed\" data-target=\"q266094\">Click to Show Sample Analysis<\/button><\/p>\n<div id=\"q266094\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\">Suppose that you decided that in order for a food to be considered pizza, it would need to be made from dough, sauce, and toppings. Then you watched the video about <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/3aIIzSsCjfI\">ramen pizza<\/a>. The ramen pizza did have sauce and toppings, but the crust was made with ramen noodles instead of dough. In a strict sense, ramen pizza does not meet your requirement of being made from dough. However, you could argue that the noodles were dough before they were made into noodles. In that case, ramen pizza does fulfill the dough-sauce-topping rule and it is pizza.<\/p>\n<p>Congratulations, you know how to do a legal analysis! Now let&#8217;s move on and apply the same framework to a tort.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<h2>Tort Law<\/h2>\n<section class=\"textbox example\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-1\" title=\"How Hot Coffee Landed McDonald\u2019s in Hot Water | Retro Report\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TE8pJe8OJq4?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>You can view the <a href=\"https:\/\/course-building.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/Intro+to+Business\/transcripts\/How+Hot+Coffee+Landed+McDonald%E2%80%99s+in+Hot+Water+_+Retro+Report.txt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">transcript for &#8220;How Hot Coffee Landed McDonald\u2019s in Hot Water | Retro Report&#8221; here (opens in a new window).<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This lawsuit received a lot of attention from the media. Recall that to prove negligence, the plaintiff (Stella Liebeck in this case) has to prove:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Duty of care<\/li>\n<li>Breach of the duty of care<\/li>\n<li>Actual causation<\/li>\n<li>Proximate causation<\/li>\n<li>Damages<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Based on the video, how was Liebeck was able to prove each requirement of negligence?<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><button class=\"show-answer show-answer-button collapsed\" data-target=\"q145034\">Click to Show Sample Answer<\/button><\/p>\n<div id=\"q145034\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\">The key to Liebeck&#8217;s case was that they established that McDonald&#8217;s had a duty to customers and that duty was breached when they served coffee that was unreasonably hot. McDonald&#8217;s intentionally served coffee at a temperature much higher than a home coffee maker and they were aware of hundreds of instances of burns resulting from their coffee spilling.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"menu_order":13,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"copyrighted_video\",\"description\":\"How Hot Coffee Landed McDonaldu2019s in Hot Water | Retro Report\",\"author\":\"Retro Report\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TE8pJe8OJq4\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"arr\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"part":2878,"module-header":"apply_it","content_attributions":[{"type":"copyrighted_video","description":"How Hot Coffee Landed McDonaldu2019s in Hot Water | Retro Report","author":"Retro Report","organization":"","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TE8pJe8OJq4","project":"","license":"arr","license_terms":""}],"internal_book_links":[],"video_content":null,"cc_video_embed_content":{"cc_scripts":"","media_targets":[]},"try_it_collection":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2891"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9032,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2891\/revisions\/9032"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/2878"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2891\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=2891"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=2891"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=2891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}