THE FOLLOWING QUESTION, WHOSE FACTS ARE SIMILAR TO THE ONE IMMEDIATELY ABOVE, SH
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THE FOLLOWING QUESTION, WHOSE FACTS ARE SIMILAR TO THE ONE IMMEDIATELY ABOVE, SHOULD NOT TAKE MORE THAN A PARAGRAPH OR TWO TO ANSWER! After a frustrating meeting with some executives of the company, Jane heads toward an elevator in the building owned by Hi-Flyer, Inc. A security guard yells to her to be sure she does not use the elevator on the left side since it is being serviced and the brakes might not work - she should only use the one on the right. Jane mutters fine and when she reaches the elevators, the one on the left opens first. She enters and presses the button for the floor she wants to reach. The doors to the elevator close and suddenly the elevator goes into free fall, stopping abruptly at the lobby. Jane is seriously hurt and sues Hi-Flyer for damages. She acknowledges that she was warned not to use that elevator, but she cites a statute that says that any company doing such work on an elevator that it knows could fail must display signs and put cones in front of the elevator, neither of which Hi- Flyer had done. Hi-Flyer acknowledges their failure. If this case were argued in Maryland, who would win? If it were argued in California, who would win? (the difference between the two states is in the slides I sent out on the topic of negligence!)Explanation / Answer
In Maryland, CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE laws are used. Whereas in California, COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE laws are used.
In Contributory negligence laws, if defendent can prove that Plaintiff has atleast one percent fault, then there is no defence for plaintiff and defendant will win the case
In comparative negligence, if defendant is responsible for any damages of plaintiff be it small or big, plaintiff will win the case. Even a small breach of the duty by defendant will make him liable for the charges.
Both Jane and Hi-Flyer has equal mistake. But Jane wanted to sue Hi-Flyer for her damages and Hi-Flyer alleges that Jane was duly informed about the issue. Both have equal mistake
In this case, as per Maryland law, Hi-Flyer will win the case because plaintiff has a mistake and as per California law, Jane will win the case, due to the damages it suffered due to defendant.
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