1. Kim carelessly parked her car on a steep hill, leaving the car in neutral and failing to engage the parking brake. The car rolled down the hill and knocked down an electric line. The sparks from the broken line ignited a grass fire that spread to a barn several yards away. The roof of the burning barn fell and damaged a passing car owned by Ray. Can Ray likely recover damages from Kim under ordinary negligence?
a) Yes, because Kim was negligent in parking the car.
b) Yes, because Kim set in motion the chain of events that resulted in damage to Ray’s car, even though Kim did not directly hit the car.
c) No, because of the unforeseeable intervening force doctrine.
d) No, regardless of Kim’s negligence in parking the car as her negligence was not the proximate cause of the accident and harm that occurred to Ray.
2. Li sued Don in negligence. Li’s losses total $100,000. Under a contributory negligence system, if Li is found to be contributorily negligent for her own injuries, what damages will Li like recover from Don?
a) None.
b) $100,000.
c) $100,000 minus the percentage of fault (e.g., 20%, 60%, etc.) for which Li was responsible.
d) $100,000 minus the percentage of fault for which Li was responsible, so long as Li was not more than 50% responsible for the injuries.