Torts
David is driving 25 MPH in 25 MPH zone down a four lane street where there are children playing. One nine-year-old child, Kevin, runs into the street chasing a soccer ball. David, without looking over his shoulder, swerves into the other lane to avoid Kevin and in the process he hits a car, driven by Peter that was clearly speeding past him in the left-hand lane going in the same direction.
Peter loses control of his car, hits a telephone pole and is seriously and permanently injured. The telephone pole, owned by the local phone company TeleCo, easily snaps into two pieces and hits Kevin, who is still in the street, knocking him unconscious and resulting in permanent injuries.
TeleCo never did any testing of its poles to establish how easily the poles broke. The only factor used in manufacturing the poles was cost. The poles were made of low quality trees and were not treated in any significant manner except for a coating of tar. No reinforcement was used on the poles.
Question: What are the various liabilities and rights of the parties involved?
Fully explain the concepts of simple negligence, strict liability in tort, products liability, damages and proximate cause, to the extent that these terms apply. Do not assume that these legal issues exist in this problem just because the terms are mentioned herein.
