Final Exam Instructions - Torts - fall 2010

Fordham Law School


Torts (Section 1)
Final Examination Monday December 20, 2010  - Time 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM   Rm 203
Prof. George W. Conk


Instructions


You have three hours to complete this exam.   You must answer all three questions.  I have assigned points - as a rough guide to how much time I think should be spent on each.   I will grade each question but the final grade is an overall assessment of your exam paper, as compared to others in the class.


I suggest that you first read through the complete exam.  (Take a deep breath to shake off the sticker shock, then get back to work.)  While you are answering one question thoughts on the others will simmer on the back burner.  Before you start writing I suggest you make an outline - or sketch out the issues you want to touch.


Each question gives you an opportunity to discuss and apply key concepts in the law of torts and to analyze facts and apply the law to them.  These are essay questions. Therefore good sentence structure, sensible paragraphs, and  readability are important.


Be sure to answer each element of the question asked.


None of the questions specifies a jurisdiction. You can use all available authority to support the result you think that law and justice demand.   Concrete reference to the cases, Restatements, statutes, and other authorities is valuable to clarity of thought and explanation.  But a reference to a rule number or a case by itself is not explanatory.  The key is to state the principle and explain the logic of the position you urge.  The number of the rule or name of the case just shows where you found the idea, or how you know it expresses the law.  The essay should be understandable even without the numbers or case names.


Limited Open Book


The exam is limited open book. You should bring the Franklin, Rabin, Green casebook. You should also bring the outline form slides I have distributed.  (I would tab each chapter).  It will enable a quick search for authorities.   


The cases  and notes following may be of important assistance in forming and structuring your essays. And you should also have available the text of cases assigned by me. 

You may bring your own notes or outlines.


You may not bring any commercial outlines or other texts or treatises.


Use of Authorities


Do Not cite any authorities other than what has been assigned, recommended, cited in class, or posted on the Lexis Blackboard by me. Brief identifying citations are all that is needed, e.g. Rest. § 402A, Greenman v. Yuba Power, Palsgraf, etc. are acceptable forms of citation.  But the Rule number and the case name are not a substitute for stating the proposition you are asserting.  E.G. `There is a product liability claim under 402A.' is opaque.  But “§ 402A has been interpreted to encompass manufacturing, design, and inadequate instruction or warning claims.  Only a design defect claim appears here.” is instructive and is helpful to the reader.


Rhetoric - the Art of Persuasion


Your object is to reason to a conclusion. State your opinions and defend them. A well organized argument, buttressed by reference to authority, which discusses the issues in an informed, critical way, is your goal. 


Be careful to draw only reasonable inferences from the facts presented. If answering a question requires assuming or even adding facts to those provided, be sure to state your additional assumptions. I am looking for an essay characterized by persuasive legal argument (with appropriate authorities noted), for accurate statement of the facts, avoidance of rhetorical hyperbole, and for succinct explanations and use of the logic of the law.


Please place your self in the position contemplated by the question and address the intended recipient (e.g. judge, senior partner, insurance claims manager).  


Think of the reader.  That is who you seek to persuade.  Sentences must end - preferably sooner rather than later.  Paragraphs should be short.   Dense blocks of type are unwelcome.  Verbs should have objects - mostly.  


Good luck.  Have a great holiday.  I hope to see each of you in my classroom again before you graduate from Fordham.


- GWC