November 30, 2009

PL 301--Torts
In class tonight, Monday 11/30, we first discussed the Wood v. Bell trespass case that was assigned. I then went over two other cases, Medeika v. Watts, 2008 ME 163, another trespass case, and Charleton v. Town of Oxford, 2001 ME 104, a nuisance case. The assignment for Wednesday, 12/2 is to read Chapter 11 of the text, and then read Picher v. Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland, 2009 ME 67, regarding the defense of charitable immunity.

November 23, 2009

PL 301--Torts
In class tonight, Monday 11/23, I handed back the Haworth case briefs. I then went over two defamation cases, Levinsky's v. Wal-Mart, 127 F.3d 122 (1st Cir., 1997) and Levesque v. Doocy, 560 F.3d 82 (1st Cir., 2009). We then went over the Infliction of Emotional Distress case assigned for tonight, Curtis v. Porter. The assignment for Monday 11/30 is to read chapter 10 of the text, and also read the Maine Supreme Court case of Wood v. Bell, 2006 ME 98, 902 A.2d 843. I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving.

November 18, 2009

PL 301--Torts
In class tonight, Wednesday 11/18, I collected the Haworth case briefs, and we went over them. I plan to return them next Monday. The assignment for Monday 11/23 is to read and prepare to discuss the Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress case, Curtis v. Porter, 2001 ME 158, 784 A.2d 18.

November 16, 2009

PL 301--Torts
In class tonight, Monday 11/16, I began with a brief look at a typical homeowner's policy (mine) regarding coverage for "bodily injury". I also went over the Maine statute regarding disclosure of HIV status (5 MRS § 19203 et seq.) I went over two defamation cases, Caron v. Bangor Publishing 470 A.2d 782 (Me 1984) and Noonan v. Staples 556 F.3d 157 (1st Cir 2009). We then spent the remainder of class going over the issues presented in the Haworth case. The assignment for Wednesday 11/18 is to complete the Haworth case brief assigned last week.

November 11, 2009

PL 301--Torts
In class tonight, Wednesday 11/11, I distributed 3 handouts: the Maine criminal statute regarding the use of force by parents (17-A MRS §106(1));a photocopy of the case of Haworth v. Feigon, 623 A.2d 150 (Me., 1993); and the assignment, due next Wednesday, that is reproduced below. I went over three Maine Law Court cases regarding assault: State v. Wilder, 2000 ME 32 (use of force by parents); Patrons Oxford v. Dodge, 426 A.2d 888 (Me., 1981) (homeowner's insurance coverage for assault); and Burns v. Middlesex Insurance, 558 A.2d 701 (Me., 1989) (homeowner's insurance coverage for other intentional torts). We spent the remainder of the class going over the McCann false imprisonment case that was assigned for tonight.

Torts Assignment #3
Assignment due Wednesday, November 18, 2009

The assignment is to do a Case Brief of the case of Haworth v. Feigon, 623 A.2d 150 (Me., 1993) (which I distributed in class). This assignment will be graded. You should, as always, write the brief by yourself, with no writing collaboration.

The Brief should be in exactly the format used in the Sample Brief Template distributed in class, and the Case Briefs that have been distributed.

Please make two copies of your brief, one to hand in at the beginning of class, and the other for you to have during class for our discussion.

You may e-mail me if you have questions about the brief. The more time that I have to answer our questions, the more likely it is that I can be helpful.

If you cannot be in class on Wednesday 11/18, you should still e-mail me your brief by the beginning of class time. If you do that, you will not have any grade deducted from your grade for the brief. If you do not, you should still contact me as soon as possible to see what options are available to you. (Generally, I do not want to accept assignments after we have discussed them in class). See the Syllabus for the class rules regarding late papers.

IMPORTANT: If you e-mail your paper to me, I will reply to confirm that I have received your assignment. If I do not reply, then I have not received the assignment.


In addition, read the remainder of Chapter 9 of the text.

November 9, 2009

PL 301--Torts
In class today, Monday, 11/9, I began our discussion with one more medical malpractice screening panel case, Gierie v. Mercy Hospital, 2009 ME 45. We then went over the McPherson case that was assigned for tonight. I talked about two additional assault and battery cases, Unites States v. Bayes, 210 F.3d 64 (1st Cir., 2000) and Pattershall v Jenness, 485 A2d 980 (Me. 1984). The assignment for Wednesday, 11/11 (yes, we do have class on Veteran's Day) is 1)research in Westlaw to find the Maine statute regarding disclosure of HIV status; 2) read in the text pages 141-143; 3) read the case of McCann v. Wal-Mart, 210 F3d 51 (1st Cir., 2000).

November 4, 2009

PL 301--Torts
In class today, Wednesday 11/4, I began by going over one last comparative negligence case, Amica Mutual Insurance Co. v. Pecci, 2008 ME 93, 953 A.2d 369. We then spent the rest of the class discussing the two Smith v. Hawthorne medical malpractice cases. The assignment for Monday 11/9 is to read and prepare to discuss pp. 131-141 in the text, and the case of McPherson v. McPherson, 1998 ME 141, 712 A.2d 1043.

November 2, 2009

PL 301--Torts
In class today, Monday 11/2, I returned the take-home exams, and we briefly discussed them. We then did role-playing, based on the Patterson v. U.S. slip and fall case. The assignment for Wednesday 11/4 is to read and prepare to discuss two medical malpractice Law Court opinions in a case that went twice to that court: Smith v. Hawthorne,2006 ME 19, 892 A2d 433, and Smith v. Hawthorne, 2007 ME 72, 924 A.2d 1051