tort and remedies

PROJECT FOR TORTS

Project Overview — Case Analysis: John Jones and the Hockey Game Fight

The project is cumulative, spanning the five weeks of this course. You will get hands-on

experience through activities directly related to real-world job demands.

For the assignment, assume you are an assisting paralegal preparing a personal injury case for

trial under your attorney’s supervision based on the following facts:

John Jones is the father of 10-year old Jimmy, who plays on a park district hockey team. Jones

served as an assistant coach for the team this year. Neither the head coach nor Jones receives any

pay for their work with the team as they work entirely on a volunteer basis. The Mustangs, as the

team is known, were playing the Colts in a match one afternoon at the park district ice rink.

During the game, as Jimmy was chasing down the puck, he lost his footing and fell, tripping

opposing player Andy as he went down. Andy got up and smacked Jimmy with his hockey stick.

John yelled at Andy and yelled at the referee to do something about the boy’s conduct. Andy was

sent to the penalty box. Andy’s father Alan came out of the stands and punched John in the face.

John wants to sue Alan, Andy and the park district, so he comes to your law office to discuss the

matter.

Over the course of the class, you will analyze and prepare this case for trial. For all assignments,

assume jurisdiction is the state of Texas.

During the course, you will complete the following:

 In Week 1, you will prepare interview sheets to interview your client and any other

person related to the case.

 In Week 2, you will draft an attorney demand letter to the defendants and a contingency

fee agreement for your client for the injuries he sustained.

 In Week 3, you will draft a complaint against the defendants for your client’s personal

injuries.

 In Week 4, you will draft written interrogatories and requests for admissions to be served

on a defendant in your client’s case.

 In Week 5, you will draft a settlement agreement to be presented to the defendants.

Note: Late assignments will not receive full credit. Grading criteria are based on your ability to

demonstrate:

 Critical thinking/ legal analysis

 Accuracy in identifying legal issues and applicable laws

 Originality

 Correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling

 Properly formatted legal documents and/or legal citations

NOTE: The Project assignment is completed incrementally on a weekly basis. Please

retain this project for your portfolio.

Project Assignment for Week 1

Draft Interview Sheet

As a paralegal, you will be asked frequently to conduct or to sit in on client interviews, whether

initial consultations or follow-up or phone-based interviews. Taking the time before client

meetings to draft a list of questions will help you not only to be prepared to make the most

efficient use of everyone’s time but also will provide a starting point for identifying some of the

potential legal actions, issues, and defenses involved.

Keep in mind you probably will have more questions that need to be answered once the client

has given you the information you requested, so you need to plan accordingly with your time and

materials.

Week 1 Tasks

Your supervising attorney asks you to interview John regarding his potential lawsuit. Draft an

interview sheet. It should include the questions you will ask him to determine whether your law

firm should represent John in his case. Additionally, identify at least three (3) others you will

want to interview.

Prepare the interview sheet as Microsoft Word documents and submit it to the W1: Project

Dropbox.

Name your document SUO_LGS1004_W1_A3_LastName_FirstInitial.doc.

On a separate page, cite all sources using the Bluebook. Note: The Project assignment is

completed incrementally on a weekly basis. Please retain this project for your portfolio.

Project Assignment for Week 2

Demand Letter and Contingency Fee Agreement

Along with composing memoranda, a paralegal’s legal writing skills come into play in drafting

other legal documents, whether as part of client communication or court filings. In this exercise,

you’ll be drafting an attorney demand letter to opposing counsel and the defendant, as well as a

contingency fee agreement for your own client to agree to and sign.

Week 2 Tasks

Draft two documents, an attorney demand letter to the defendants and a contingency fee

agreement for your client, John, for the firm to represent him in a lawsuit for the personal

injuries he sustained.

Using the case information as a guide, make up any information required to complete the

contingency fee agreement.

Note: You may use Westlaw Formfinder as a guideline. Cite all sources according to Bluebook

format.

Submit your documents in a Word document to the W2: Project Dropbox.

Name your document SUO_LGS1004_W2_A3_LastName_FirstInitial.doc.

Sample fee agreement:

http://www.legalforms.name/Service%20agreements%20forms/contingentfeeretainer.pdf

Project Assignment for Week 3

Drafting a Complaint

Along with composing memoranda, a paralegal’s writing skills come into play in drafting other

legal documents, whether as part of client communication or court filings. In this exercise, you’ll

be drafting a complaint to be filed with the court. As such, format is very important, as is the

ability to state a claim upon which the action is based, the law(s) violated, the damages suffered,

and the remedies sought.

Week 3 Tasks

Draft one complaint against Alan, Andy, and the park district for the personal injuries sustained

by John. Include separate counts if necessary. Cite all sources using the Bluebook format.

Note: You may use Westlaw Formfinder as a guideline.

Submit your assignment in Microsoft Word format to the W3: Project Dropbox.

Name your document SUO_LGS1004_W3_A3_LastName_FirstInitial.doc.

Project Assignment for Week 4

Drafting Interrogatories and Requests for Admissions

Another setting in which a paralegal’s legal writing skills come into play is in the drafting of

legal documents for the pretrial phase of discovery. In this exercise, you’ll be drafting both

written interrogatories and requests for admissions to be served on the defendant and opposing

counsel. Most court rules limit the number of questions allowed, so make sure your questions are

on-point and relevant to acquiring useful information for your case.

Week 4 Tasks

Draft fifteen (15) interrogatories to be served on one of the defendants in John's case in

Microsoft Word format.

In a separate document, draft ten (10) requests for admissions to the same defendant in your

client’s case.

Submit the documents to the W4: Project Dropbox. Cite all sources according to Bluebook

format.

Name your document SUO_LGS1004_W4_A3_LastName_FirstInitial.doc.

Project Assignment for Week 5

Settlement Agreement

Paralegals’ legal writing skills are used in the drafting of legal documents not only in the pretrial

phase of discovery but also in negotiating and settling claims between parties outside of court.

In this exercise, you’ll be drafting a settlement agreement to be served on the defendants and

their opposing counsel for their consideration and, hopefully, signature.

Sample Settlement Agreement

Sample Settlement and Release Agreement 1

Week 5 Tasks

All three defendants, Andy, Alan, and the park district, wish to settle the case. Your supervising

attorney asks you to draft a settlement agreement that can be presented to the defendants on the

case.

Draft the agreement, using one agreement for all three defendants and submit as a Microsoft

Word document to the W5: Project Dropbox. Cite all sources according to Bluebook format.

Name your document SUO_LGS1004_W5_A2_LastName_FirstInitial.doc.

REMEMBER: The Project assignment is completed incrementally on a weekly basis. Please

retain this project for your portfolio.