Basics of Law (Part 1) is one of my favorite classes using the law to teach kids how to think. In this course, we will continue that journey as we move from the flexible thinking that you need when studying negligence in Part 1, to the precise and detail-oriented thinking we need with the topics found in this course.

Torts is the study of private wrongs and is one of the foundations of any law school curriculum. In Part 2 of the Basics course, we will look at the more sophisticated levels of private wrongs that occur in our society. We will look at how torts handles issues that happen on private property, what happens when professionals who have a high level of training make mistakes, and when businesses are held to a high level of accountability based on how they produce their products, among other topics.

This course is a follow up to Basics of Law (Part 1), and students should not take this course without taking Part 1 first.

Here is the schedule for the class (subject to change):

Week of August 11 - August 17 - Premises Liability
- In some jurisdictions, the possessor of the land owes a duty of reasonable care to all individuals other than trespassers. In other jurisdictions, they distinguish between a licensee and an invitee, and the duties owed are different. We will explore all of that in this class.

Week of August 18 - August 24 - Professional Malpractice
- Professionals such as lawyers and doctors generally have a duty to exercise as much care as a reasonable person in the same profession would exercise under similar circumstances. We will use case law to figure out what that means in this class.

Week of August 25 - August 31 -  Therapists, Social Hosts, Injuries to Rescuers, and Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress
- What duties do therapists have to their patients and the world at large if their patients threaten to do something inappropriate? What responsibilities does someone throwing a party (called a social host) owe to the public if they serve alcohol at their party? We will explore all of these topics in this class.

Week of September 1 - September  7 - Defenses to Negligence
- Common defenses to negligence include comparative fault, assumption of risk, and statutes of limitations. We will explore and understand these topics in this class.

Week of September 8 - September  14 - Practice Problems
- We go through practice problems to apply our learning

Week of September 15 - September  21 - Strict Liability, Part 1
- While negligence is the “default” standard for liability in torts, specific areas of law have developed to impose strict liability. Under strict liability, someone may be liable because their action resulted in an injury, regardless of their mental state or the amount of care that they exercised. How and when this applies is what we will study in these next two classes.

Week of September 22 - September  28 - Strict Liability, Part 2
- Continuation of the last class.

Week of September 29 - October 5 - Manufacturing Defects, Part 1
A manufacturing defect happens when a product departs from its intended design. Liability will occur if a product’s manufacturing defect caused an injury to someone, regardless of whether the manufacturer exercised reasonable care to prevent the defect. When does the court tell us this will happen?

Week of October 6 - October 12 - Manufacturing Defects, Part 2
- Continuation of the last class

Week of October 13 - October 19 - Design Defects, Part 1
- A product design is generally defective when a flaw or error in the design makes it unreasonably dangerous. Courts may apply different tests to establish if the product has a design defect. We will learn about those tests in this class.

Week of October 20 - October 26 - Design Defects, Part 2
- Continuation of the last class

Week of October 27 - November 2 - Inadequate Warnings, Part 1
- Sellers have a duty to provide appropriate warnings and instructions to consumers. However, whether a warning or instruction is adequate depends on factors such as the obviousness of the danger or risk, the likelihood of danger without a warning, and any sophisticated knowledge on the part of the user. We will apply those factors in this class.

Week of November 3 - November 9 - Inadequate Warnings, Part 2
- Continuation of the last class

Week of November 10 - November 16 - Practice Problems
- We go through practice problems to apply our learning

Week of November 17 - November 23 - Defenses in Products Liability
- Defendants in products liability cases may raise certain defenses to reduce or eliminate their liability. We will explore those defenses here.

Week of November 24 - November 30 - Misrepresentation, Part 1
- Liability for misrepresentation generally involves a representation of an untrue material fact on which the plaintiff relies to their detriment. We will explore misrepresentation in this class.

Week of December 1 - December 7 - Misrepresentation, Part 2
- Continuation of the last class

Week of December 8 - December 14 - Practice Problems
- We go through practice problems to apply our learning