Assume
that you are a lawyer advising your client, Martha Michaels, a farmer who owns
a twenty-acre farm in upstate New York which produces many different
agricultural products including pumpkins. Read the scenario and then write a
memo following the instructions below.
Facts
(assume that all these facts can be easily proved in court)
On
Saturday, October 28th, 2023, Martha filled the back of her pick-up truck with
pumpkins to take for sale at the local farmer’s market. Since there was not
enough room for all the pumpkins in the back of the truck, Martha piled several
pumpkins on the front passenger seat. Martha knew that this was a dangerous
practice since the road to the market was bumpy and the pumpkins on the
passenger seat could easily roll around. While Martha was driving, one of the
pumpkins on the passenger seat rolled onto the floor near her feet and caused Martha
to lose control of the truck. The truck slid off the road and hit Joseph just
as he was walking out of a nearby store. Joseph suffered a broken leg as a
result. The truck then spun around, hit a fire hydrant, tipped on its side and
came to a stop. As the truck tipped over, several of the pumpkins rolled off
the back of the truck and onto the street towards the bike lane. At that
moment, Kenny, a bicycle delivery person, came riding along on his bicycle in
the bike lane at a speed of five miles per hour (within the posted speed limit
for bicycles). As Kenny was riding by, several pumpkins rolled off the back of
the truck and hit Kenny’s bike from the side. As a result, Kenny lost control
of the bicycle and smashed his knee against the pavement causing him to suffer
a severe injury. Several of the other pumpkins came to a rest undamaged on the
sidewalk. A pedestrian, Veronica, grabbed a pumpkin to take home in order to
bake a pumpkin pie. After carrying the pumpkin half a mile, she decided that it
was too heavy and dropped it in the middle of the bike lane near where she had
stopped to rest. A minute later, Stella, another bicycle delivery person, came
riding by and swerved to avoid the pumpkin, and, as a result, smashed into the
curb, suffering a severe injury.
Instructions:
Martha now seeks your legal advice regarding these incidents. As Martha’s
lawyer, please write a single memo in 300 words or less. It should use standard
business memo form (see next page) and language that you believe is appropriate
for a formal business communication. You may choose to be creative but the bulk
of your grade will be based on your legal analysis.
Martha has been sued separately by Joseph, Kenny and Stella for their
injuries resulting from Martha’s alleged negligence in driving the truck that
was loaded with the pumpkins that spilled onto the street. Please explain
whether you believe that Martha will be liable to Joseph, Kenny and Stella for
negligence. In full, plain English sentences, explain your answer based on the
elements of negligence as we have learned them in this class. Be sure to give a
full explanation of proximate cause regarding each victim of the incident.
For reference use the book, the PowerPoint slides, and the example I’ve attached.
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