Bar Exam — MBE (Multistate Bar Exam)TortsEasy
A motorist was driving through a dense fog when he suddenly encountered a stalled vehicle in the middle of the road. The motorist swerved to avoid the vehicle but collided with a guardrail, sustaining injuries. It was later determined that the stalled vehicle had broken down due to a manufacturing defect. The motorist sues the manufacturer of the stalled vehicle. If the jurisdiction applies pure comparative negligence, and the jury finds the motorist 30% at fault for driving too fast in the fog and the manufacturer 70% at fault for the defective vehicle, how much will the motorist recover if his total damages are $100,000?
- A$30,000, reflecting his percentage of fault.
- B$70,000, reflecting the manufacturer's percentage of fault.
- C$100,000, because the manufacturer was primarily at fault.
- D$0, because the motorist was partially at fault.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. $70,000, reflecting the manufacturer's percentage of fault.
Under pure comparative negligence, a plaintiff's recovery is reduced by their percentage of fault, but they can still recover even if they are more than 50% at fault. Here, the motorist is 30% at fault, so their $100,000 damages will be reduced by 30%, resulting in a recovery of $70,000.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. This calculates the motorist's fault, not the amount recovered. The recovery is based on the defendant's fault.
- C. Even if primarily at fault, pure comparative negligence still reduces recovery by the plaintiff's percentage of fault.
- D. This describes contributory negligence, which is not applied in pure comparative negligence jurisdictions.
Pure Comparative Negligence
A tort rule where a plaintiff's damages are reduced by the percentage of their own fault, regardless of how great that fault is.
- Plaintiff can recover even if 99% at fault.
- Damages are directly proportional to the defendant's percentage of fault.
- Contrast with modified comparative negligence (50% or 51% bar).
Memory trick: Compare Fault, Reduce Payout.