Assignment task: What type of tort would go with each of these- which category does it fit into, then analyze the elements of the tort, the facts, and how the facts fit into the law, and the conclusion.
1. Thomas Casterman is a 12-year old boy who enjoys climbing trees. The Casterman family just moved into a new house. The electric wires to Thomas's house run from an electric pole through the high branches of an oak tree in his back yard. While the rest of the family was moving into the home, Thomas ran to the back yard to climb the tree. As he neared the top, he grabbed the electric wires with his right hand. The wires were not insulated and Thomas was severely burned from the resulting electric shock. He also broke both his legs when he fell, unconscious, from the tree. Thomas' father wishes to know if he might successfully sue the utility company for negligence.
2. Shady Acres is a subdivision being developed by Bartholomew Real Estate Management, Inc. (BREM). While bulldozing the lots and streets, BREM's crews created huge piles of dirt. BREM did not erect any barriers to keep these dirt piles in place. Pamela Jovanco owns a house at the bottom of a hill upon which BREM placed several earth piles. During heavy rains, mud would slide down the hill and cover Pamela's entire yard. Some mud even seeped through her basement windows, damaging her basement carpet and furniture. Pamela wonders if trespass has occurred.
3. Samantha Billingsly stood outside her downtown hotel hailing a cab. The driver screeched to a halt alongside the curb. Samantha opened the rear door of the automobile and began to climb inside. In doing so, she placed her right hand on the roof of the car where the top of the door would close. Suddenly, the cab driver accelerated the automobile, causing the rear door to slam shut onto Samantha's hand. Samantha suffered lacerations and several broken bones in her right hand and wrist. She also suffered a neck injury as she was thrown against the back seat as the taxi lurched forward. The cab driver later explained that he had accelerated suddenly to avoid being struck by a shuttle bus, which he thought was about to collide with his taxi when he saw it approaching very rapidly in his rearview mirror. Using negligence theory, Samantha would like to sue the Blue Cab Company, which owns the taxi.
4. Eddie Peterson owned a coyote, which he captured while hunting last summer in the mountains. The coyote had become quite tame and at parties, to entertain guests, Eddie would routinely allow the animal to eat out of his hand. One day, Eddie',; next-door neighbor, Angela Starlight, a seven-year-old girl, visited Eddie's back yard to play with the coyote. Angela's parents had warned her several times to avoid approaching the coyote, although neither they nor Angela had ever seen the animal bite or growl at anyone. When Angela reached out to pet the coyote, it bared its teeth and snapped at her hand, biting and cutting her severely. Angela's parents sued Eddie under the theory of absolute liability. Under most states' common law, owners are strictly liable for injuries caused by their wild animals.