Course Name: MSE 6060 - Legal Implications for Engineering Managers

Use the IRAC formula to analyze the following fact scenarios. Answer the questions presented, using the IRAC format to present your answers. Applicable rules of law appear below. Your answers should be typed (word-processed) using 12-point font and one-inch margins.

IRAC formula below: Issues: What is the legal problem presented by a specific set of facts? Rules of Law: Which legal principles are relevant? Application of the Rules of Law to the Facts: How are the rules of law applied to the facts of a particular case? Conclusions: What is the cases outcome (i.e., who is liable to whom, if liability exists)?

Problem #1: (10 pts.) Lillys house needed to be painted. Without asking beforehand, Oscar, one of her neighbors, painted Lillys house chartreuse. (Lilly was planning to have vinyl siding applied to her house.) Oscar sent Lilly a $300 invoice for the painting job, which Lilly refused to pay. Is Lilly liable to Oscar for the cost of the painting? Is Oscar liable to Lilly for monetary damages?

Problem #2: (5 pts.) Robert threw a stone at Stuart but struck Mark instead. Neither Mark nor Stuart agreed to be stoned. The rock cut Marks forehead. Robert said that he did not intend to hit Mark; rather, he was trying to strike Stuart with the stone. Is Robert liable to Mark for this injury?

Problem #3: (5 pts.) Wanda owned a pet piranha. Beatrice, a neighbor friend, stopped by Wandas apartment to borrow a cup of flour. (Beatrice and Wanda often wandered into each others' apartments, to which each explicitly consented.) She saw the fish in Wandas aquarium. The piranha had sharp, pointy teeth sticking out of its mouth (even while shut), and it looked rather grim. While looking at the fish, Beatrice placed her hand on top of the tank, dangling her fingers above the water. Swiftly, the piranha leapt out of the water and bit off the tips of Beatrices fingers. Is Wanda liable to Beatrice for this injury? (NOTE: Disregard any defense issues for the moment. Also, biologists would classify a piranha as a wild animal, since it is inherently ferocious and undomesticated.)

Applicable Rules of Law: The following rules of law may apply to the facts above:

Trespass to Land: See the definition on the previous page.

Offer and Acceptance: Contracts must have an offer and an acceptance to be enforceable. The party to whom the offer is made (the offeree) must accept it to create a valid agreement. The offeree must voluntarily accept the offer, and s/he must communicate such acceptance to the party making the offer (the offeror).

Battery: Battery, an intentional tort, is an intentional, unconsented touching of another person in an offensive or injurious manner. Under the doctrine of transferred intent, the intention to