law pp w3

Law

Name

Course Number

Due Date

Professor’s Name

Q1

Yes the intruder is liable for his action. This is because he caused injury to Sharon and Darryl when he was committing the crime. According to the law of tort the intruder should face civil court for the intentional tort he caused to Sharon and Darryl. Intentional tort is a breach of legal duty and cause injury to another party while knowing. The intruder made an assault, battery and infliction to Sharon and Darryl making them suffer from emotional distress (Prosser, 1939). He is also liable for trespass to the property without permission of the owner of the building when he was committing the crime which he caused the injury. In this case the intruder is liable for breach of intentional tort as he intentionally caused injury to Sharon and Darryl. Intent is an element of intentional tort because if there is no intent there is no intentional tort. In this case intent is there because the intruder wanted to cause harm by intruding the Springfield Arms apartment premises.

Q2

As the owner of Springfield Arms apartments, there is not duty of care for the residents of the apartment. As the owner I would be responsible for if the door could not be locked or if the apartment had no lockable entrance door to the apartment. The residents should have an understanding what the landlord is liable for incase of such occurrences of an attack to the apartments. Therefore Sharon been one of the residents I do not owe any duty of care to her. The owner of an apartment does not have a duty to protect the residents. Darryl is the resident manager and he performed a duty which is good and admirable but not in the scope of his work. Under special relationship, an employee represents the employer and therefore Darryl represented me so he should not have any duty of care to the renters. Darryl actions were not appropriate because that was not the scope of his work. In response to this, Darryl should have contacted the authorities for emergency and let them have to respond to this situation and record any evidence and documents which might have been required in this case. This evidence of documents and details could have assisted the victims in the legal process of prosecuting the intruder. Also this could provide details of the intensity of the crime and the necessary actions to be taken (Miller, 2016). 

Q3

In this context, intentional tort is very much evident. This is where an individual engages in acts that will intentionally cause injury to another person (Cooke, 2007).  For example in our case, the intruder entered into the apartment premises and injured Sharon and Darryl. This can be said to be intentional tort because the intruder intended to invade the apartment and attacked and in the process Sharon and Darryl were injured. Strict liability can also be applied in this context. It involves the wrongdoer taking responsibility of injury to another party without proof of negligence. In this tort the most important matter is that the actions caused injury to another individual. Under strict liability, the law defines some actions to be dangerous to engage in and the wrongdoer should be liable for the damages (Cooke, 2007).  The intruder did actions which were dangerous by attacking Sharon and he should be liable for the damages he caused to the Sharon and Darryl. In this case, the fact that the victims were injured is a liability by itself and so this tort can be applied.

Q4

As an employer I should provide safe working environment for the employees. Because of this possible risk, I would provide 24 hour security system for the entire Springfield Arms apartments by acquiring security guards for the apartment. I would also give advice to the residents to acquire their own security system for their individual homes. They can install security systems such as home sirens to inform the security guards of the place in case of any attack. I would also add a lock for the outside door and give each tenant a key for the door so that they can close it all the time. I would also install the entire apartment with high tech security cameras and hire a guard to keep watch over it and make report of any suspicious activities.

Q5

Sharon should ask the landlord to provide the premises with security guards for the apartment so as to prevent such occurrences. She should also request the landlord to repair the damaged door to her house to ensure her safety. Darryl should ask the landlord to give him some time off to recover from the injuries he got from the incidence. He should also advise the landlord to provide the premises with security guards to secure the place from such occurrences. Employing security guards will make Darryl to work in his scope of work of managing the premises and not securing the tenants. Also Darryl and Sharon should ask the landlord to follow up the matter and investigation be conducted to identify the intruder and prosecute him.

Q6

As the owner of the apartment I have ethical responsibility towards Sharon and Darryl. Ethics are the moral principles that govern an individual. Ethical responsibility is following the correct path (Velasquez & Velazquez, 2002).  In this case am ethically responsible for repairing the door that was broken in the Sharon’s house to ensure that she is comfortable in the apartment. Also I could also give a grace period for the payment of the rent in the following month because of the damages caused on her. For the resident manager Darryl, I would take responsibility for his injury because he was injured while serving one of my clients which is a good thing to do. Darryl’s medical expense would be cleared and also give him time off to recover. As the landlord it is ethical to provide protection for my tenants to ensure that they are living safely in the apartment. It is important to equip the premises with a 24hour security system by hiring security guards and installing security cameras in the apartments to monitor the activities taking place. By doing so the tenants will not shift from the apartments because of lack of security and also they will be comfortable and will be sure that such incidences will not occur in future.

References

Cooke, J. (2007). Law of tort. Pearson Education.

Miller, R. L. (2016). Business Law Today, Comprehensive. Cengage learning.

Prosser, W. L. (1939). Intentional Infliction of Mental Suffering: A New Tort. Michigan Law Review, 37(6), 874-892.

Velasquez, M. G., & Velazquez, M. (2002). Business ethics: Concepts and cases (Vol. 111). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.