Class 16

Duty and Special Relationships

Duty reflects contested notions of when we have obligations to one another. What kind of relationship should give rise to a tort duty? Should we focus on how easy it is for a defendant to anticipate that his actions will be harmful? Should the closeness of a relationship matter? What about the degree to which the defendant voluntarily participated in it?

In this Section, we will focus on two settings in which courts explore the nature of relationships and duty. In the first series of cases, we will see how courts evaluate this question in institutional settings: involving schools, hospitals, and prisons. Second, we will focus on the specific example of social hosts serving alcohol. These cases offer a glimpse of the vision of interpersonal relationships that undergirds tort law—one that is often controversial and in flux.

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