One rainy day Lily was driving to work. The speed limit was 45 miles per hour. L
ID: 435121 • Letter: O
Question
One rainy day Lily was driving to work. The speed limit was 45 miles per hour. Lily was driving 45 mph as were some other drivers. But, a reasonable person would have been driving only 30 mph. Paul negligently rode his bike onto the road. Due to the speed Lily was driving, she could not stop and her car struck Paul. Paul suffered $5,000 damages, which were caused 80 percent by Lily's conduct and 20 percent by Paul's conduct. What duty did Lily owe to Paul? Was Lily negligent? If Lily was negligent, how much could Paul recover under common law contributory negligence rules? If Lily was negligent, how much could Paul recover under the comparative negligence doctrine?
Explanation / Answer
According to me, both Lily and Paul were negligent, because it was a rainy day she should've been cautious. She should've taken care of the weather and should've driven at a slower pace. As far as the paul's actions are considered he too was driving negligently, which made him guilty as well.
But it is not mentioned that Lily was driving negligently.
There can be two cases, first where Paul must have hit the breaks abruptly and that could've been a reason why she didn't get appropriate time to pull the breaks, but because her speed was inappropriate she is a little guilty. In this case Paul's fault wouldve been more than lily
Second, it is possible that she had lost control of her car due to the slippery road and had hit Paul. In this case Lily's fault is more than paul's.
in case first, i think she should pay paul $2000, but not more than this.
In case second, she should pay paul $4000 atleast according to common law contributory negligence rules.
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