Answer: C. Civil wrong with legal remedy. A tort is a civil wrong for which the law may provide a remedy, commonly unliquidated damages.
Where does the duty in tort law ordinarily originate?
A A family relationship
B A court’s permission
C Duties imposed by law
D A signed contract only
Answer: C. Duties imposed by law. Tort duties are generally imposed by law, though a tort and a contract claim can arise from the same facts.
Compared with contract, how does tort duty arise?
A Imposed independently by law
B Created only by payment
C Created by criminal conviction
D Created only by consent
Answer: A. Imposed independently by law. A tort duty generally exists independently of a contractual promise, while contract duties arise from agreement.
For a tort, which remedy is commonly claimed?
A A tax refund
B Unliquidated damages
C A contract renewal
D A criminal sentence
Answer: B. Unliquidated damages. Tort damages are commonly assessed by the court rather than fixed in advance by contract.
Can one act create both tort and criminal liability?
A Only with written consent
B Only after a contract
C No, never
D Yes, if both elements exist
Answer: D. Yes, if both elements exist. The same conduct may satisfy the elements of both a civil tort and a criminal offence.
How is Indian tort law broadly structured?
A Only local customs
B A criminal code chapter
C No single comprehensive code
D Only one tort statute
Answer: C. No single comprehensive code. Indian tort law draws on common-law principles and statutes; it is not consolidated into one comprehensive general tort code.
Negligence generally requires which three elements?
A Intent, publication, reputation
B Possession, title, delivery
C Duty, breach, resulting damage
D Offer, acceptance, payment
Answer: C. Duty, breach, resulting damage. The Supreme Court has identified duty, breach, and resulting damage as essential components of negligence.
Which standard generally helps assess a breach of care?
A The claimant’s personal preference
B The defendant’s best possible skill
C Perfect conduct every time
D Reasonable person in circumstances
Answer: D. Reasonable person in circumstances. Negligence is assessed against the conduct expected of a prudent and reasonable person in the relevant circumstances.
In deciding duty of care, what risk matters?
A Foreseeable risk of harm
B Only financial loss
C Only intentional injury
D Any imaginable outcome
Answer: A. Foreseeable risk of harm. Foreseeability is an important part of assessing whether a duty of care arises, alongside the applicable legal test.
To connect breach and injury, what must the claimant prove?
A A written contract
B A public announcement
C A criminal sentence
D Causal link to injury
Answer: D. Causal link to injury. The claimant must establish that the breach caused the relevant damage, subject to rules on legal causation and remoteness.
Res ipsa loquitur literally means what?
A No one is responsible
B Let the buyer beware
C Thing speaks for itself
D The law ignores harm
Answer: C. Thing speaks for itself. Res ipsa loquitur can permit an inference of negligence where the occurrence and surrounding circumstances justify it.
Who ordinarily carries the burden of proving negligence?
A Claimant, ordinarily
B The appellate court
C The judge personally
D A random witness
Answer: A. Claimant, ordinarily. The claimant ordinarily must establish the elements of negligence; evidential doctrines may affect how proof is evaluated.
How might contributory negligence affect a claimant’s recovery?
A May reduce damages
B Transfer property ownership
C Automatically erase every claim
D Create a criminal sentence
Answer: A. May reduce damages. Where the claimant’s own lack of care contributed to the damage, recoverable damages may be reduced under applicable principles.
Voluntary acceptance of a known risk is captured by which defense?
A Res ipsa loquitur
B Actio personalis
C Damnum sine injuria
D Volenti non fit injuria
Answer: D. Volenti non fit injuria. Volenti non fit injuria concerns voluntary acceptance of a risk; mere awareness of danger alone may not establish consent.
When might necessity justify otherwise harmful conduct?
A Defamation
B Malicious prosecution
C Conversion
D Necessity
Answer: D. Necessity. Necessity may justify conduct reasonably undertaken to prevent a greater or imminent harm, subject to the circumstances.
The phrase injuria sine damno refers to what?
A Legal right without actual loss
B A crime without a victim
C Loss without legal injury
D A contract without consent
Answer: A. Legal right without actual loss. The phrase describes violation of a legal right even when measurable actual loss is absent.
By contrast, what does damnum sine injuria describe?
A A contract with damages
B Legal injury without loss
C Loss without legal injury
D A tort without damage
Answer: C. Loss without legal injury. The phrase describes actual loss without infringement of a legal right, which generally does not itself create a tort claim.
Private nuisance principally protects what interest?
A Interference with land enjoyment
B A public prosecution
C A broken promise
D A false arrest
Answer: A. Interference with land enjoyment. Private nuisance concerns substantial interference with a person’s use or enjoyment of land or a related right.
Public nuisance affects which kind of right?
A One buyer’s contract
B A single private debt
C Rights shared by public
D A landlord’s rent only
Answer: C. Rights shared by public. Public nuisance involves conduct affecting rights enjoyed in common by members of the public.
Could trivial interference alone usually establish actionable nuisance?
A A momentary annoyance
B A remote possibility
C Substantial, non-trivial interference
D A private disagreement
Answer: C. Substantial, non-trivial interference. Courts distinguish material or substantial nuisance from interference that is merely trivial or fleeting.
To stop continuing nuisance, which remedy may be sought?
A A contract variation
B Injunction
C A criminal acquittal
D A tax credit
Answer: B. Injunction. An injunction may restrain continuing interference, while damages may compensate for proven loss.
Trespass to land is marked by what kind of interference?
A A broken verbal promise
B An indirect market loss
C A mistaken court ruling
D Direct unauthorized land entry
Answer: D. Direct unauthorized land entry. Trespass to land involves a direct, unjustified physical interference with another’s possession of land.
Direct interference with movable property is known as what?
A Malicious prosecution
B Trespass to goods
C Private nuisance
D Breach of confidence
Answer: B. Trespass to goods. Trespass to goods concerns direct interference with another person’s possession of movable property.
When someone exercises serious dominion over another’s goods, what tort may arise?
A A temporary price change
B Serious dominion over goods
C A lawful inspection
D A delayed court hearing
Answer: B. Serious dominion over goods. Conversion is a serious dealing with goods inconsistent with the rights of the person entitled to possess them.
Does tortious assault require completed contact?
A Apprehension of imminent contact
B Completed property sale
C Actual imprisonment only
D Publication of a letter
Answer: A. Apprehension of imminent contact. Assault generally involves causing a person reasonably to apprehend imminent unlawful physical contact; contact itself is not required.
Battery differs from assault because it involves what?
A Unconsented physical contact
B A defamatory publication
C A threatened lawsuit
D A land boundary dispute
Answer: A. Unconsented physical contact. Battery generally involves intentional, unconsented physical contact, whereas assault concerns apprehension of imminent contact.
How much restraint is needed for false imprisonment?
A A financial loss only
B Total unlawful restraint
C A brief disagreement
D A delayed delivery
Answer: B. Total unlawful restraint. False imprisonment requires total restraint of a person’s freedom without lawful justification; physical force is not always necessary.
For defamation, what communication element is essential?
A Publication of defamatory matter
B A court summons
C A private thought
D A signed contract
Answer: A. Publication of defamatory matter. Defamation requires communication of defamatory matter to someone other than the claimant, subject to the applicable law.
Whose identification must be reasonably apparent from defamatory words?
A A police complaint
B Reasonable identification of claimant
C Ownership of land
D Proof of a contract
Answer: B. Reasonable identification of claimant. The words must be understood as referring to the claimant, directly or by reasonable implication.
Can truth be a defense to civil defamation?
A Private necessity
B Contributory negligence
C Strict liability
D Truth or justification
Answer: D. Truth or justification. Truth or justification is a recognized defense to a civil defamation claim, subject to the legal context.
In what setting might qualified privilege apply?
A Res ipsa loquitur
B A continuing guarantee
C Qualified privilege
D Absolute ownership
Answer: C. Qualified privilege. Qualified privilege may protect certain communications made on an occasion of duty or interest, provided the conditions are met.
For malicious prosecution, how must earlier proceedings end?
A Property was delivered
B Proceedings ended favorably
C A tortfeasor was employed
D A contract was registered
Answer: B. Proceedings ended favorably. Malicious prosecution generally requires prior proceedings to have ended in the claimant’s favor, along with absence of reasonable cause, malice, and damage.
Rylands v Fletcher is associated with which liability principle?
A Liability only by contract
B Automatic criminal punishment
C Absolute immunity for harm
D Strict liability for escape
Answer: D. Strict liability for escape. The traditional rule imposes strict liability in specified circumstances involving escape of a dangerous thing from a non-natural use of land.
Under Rylands, what must happen to the dangerous thing?
A It must be consumed
B It must be insured
C It must be sold
D It must escape
Answer: D. It must escape. Escape from the defendant’s land is a key element of the traditional rule, together with other required conditions.
Which case developed India’s absolute-liability rule for hazardous enterprises?
A Rylands, Reservoir Case
B M.C. Mehta, Oleum Gas Case
C Donoghue, Ginger Beer Case
D Jacob Mathew, Medical Case
Answer: B. M.C. Mehta, Oleum Gas Case. In the Oleum Gas Leak case, the Supreme Court developed an absolute-liability rule for hazardous or inherently dangerous enterprises.
How does absolute liability differ from traditional strict liability?
A Only contracts are covered
B Liability always needs consent
C No exceptions for hazardous enterprises
D Proof of intent is required
Answer: C. No exceptions for hazardous enterprises. India’s absolute-liability rule for hazardous enterprises is not subject to the traditional exceptions associated with the Rylands rule.
Must negligence be proved for absolute liability?
A No, negligence is unnecessary
B Only after an appeal
C Yes, in every case
D Only with expert testimony
Answer: A. No, negligence is unnecessary. Under the absolute-liability rule, the hazardous enterprise may be liable without proof of negligence.
Enterprises engaged in which activities can attract India’s absolute-liability rule?
A A harmless public meeting
B An ordinary household purchase
C A routine private conversation
D Hazardous or inherently dangerous enterprise
Answer: D. Hazardous or inherently dangerous enterprise. The rule applies to enterprises engaged in hazardous or inherently dangerous activities that cause harm.
In tort, vicarious liability refers to what?
A A contract made orally
B Liability for another’s tort
C A court’s final judgment
D A public right to sue
Answer: B. Liability for another’s tort. Vicarious liability can make one person responsible for another’s tort because of a recognized relationship.
At what point may an employer answer for an employee’s tort?
A Only after resignation
B Whenever a stranger acts
C Only for private hobbies
D Within course of employment
Answer: D. Within course of employment. An employer may be vicariously liable where an employee commits a tort in the course of employment.
Does vicarious liability always require employer’s own negligence?
A Only for intentional torts
B Yes, in every case
C Only if a contract exists
D No, not necessarily
Answer: D. No, not necessarily. Vicarious liability can arise from the employment relationship and course of employment even without proof of the employer’s separate negligence.
Civil tort claims are generally proved to what standard?
A No proof is required
B Balance of probabilities
C Beyond reasonable doubt
D Clear and convincing evidence
Answer: B. Balance of probabilities. Civil claims are generally determined on the balance or preponderance of probabilities, unlike the criminal standard.
Can an unfavorable medical result alone prove negligence?
A No, a bad result alone
B Only if consent was written
C Yes, always
D Only if treatment costs rise
Answer: A. No, a bad result alone. The Supreme Court has explained that a poor outcome alone does not establish professional negligence; the applicable duty and standard of care must be assessed.
Professional negligence is assessed against whose standard?
A A guaranteed perfect result
B No independent standard
C Reasonably competent professional care
D The highest skill worldwide
Answer: C. Reasonably competent professional care. Professional negligence is assessed against the reasonable competence expected in the relevant profession, not a guarantee of success.
How can a sufficiently independent intervening event affect causation?
A Create a contract automatically
B Break causal chain
C Erase every prior duty
D Prove intent by itself
Answer: B. Break causal chain. An intervening event may break legal causation where it is sufficiently independent, depending on foreseeability and the facts.
To compensate proven actual loss, which damages are designed?
A Punitive damages
B Nominal damages
C Compensatory damages
D Liquidated contract sums
Answer: C. Compensatory damages. Compensatory damages aim to place the injured claimant, so far as money can, in the position the harm warrants.
When no measurable loss is shown, what damages recognize a legal right?
A Nominal damages
B Special damages
C Punitive damages
D Liquidated damages
Answer: A. Nominal damages. Nominal damages may recognize infringement of a legal right when substantial actual loss is not proved.
Exemplary damages are considered under what circumstances?
A Whenever a contract ends
B In exceptional circumstances
C For every minor mistake
D Only when no right exists
Answer: B. In exceptional circumstances. Exemplary or punitive damages are exceptional and depend on the applicable legal principles and facts.
Which losses are generally excluded as too remote?
A Direct foreseeable injury
B Remote, unforeseeable loss
C Ordinary natural consequences
D Loss within contemplation
Answer: B. Remote, unforeseeable loss. The remoteness rule generally excludes losses too remote from the breach or not reasonably foreseeable under the applicable test.
Before a threatened tort occurs, which remedy may restrain it?
A Injunction
B A criminal conviction
C A contract novation
D A tax assessment
Answer: A. Injunction. A court may grant injunctive relief to restrain threatened or continuing wrongful conduct when the legal requirements are met.