The Trial Judge's Decision in Baglow V Smith Is Important

question 38

Multiple Choice

The trial judge's decision in Baglow v Smith is important because it held that

• A)liability may be imposed under the rule in Rylands v Fletcher even if nothing escaped from the defendant's property.
• B)the publication requirement under the tort of defamation is not satisfied when the operator of an online message board allows another person to post a comment.
• C)a claim for the tort of nuisance will be defeated by the defence of statutory authority as long as the court is satisfied that a statute allowed the defendant to perform the act that injured the plaintiff.
• D)because different rules and expectations apply to different types of media, a statement that is defamatory when it is made on television may not be characterized as defamatory if it is made online.
• E)a corporation that has been defamed may be awarded compensatory damages, but not punitive damages, because corporations do not have feelings.

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Definitions:

Stability

A condition in which national output is growing steadily, with low inflation and full employment of resources.

Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc

A logical fallacy that suggests a causal relationship because one event followed another in time, even though no causal connection exists.

Ceteris Paribus

A Latin phrase meaning "all other things being equal," used in economics to analyze the effect of one variable on another, holding all other factors constant.

Fallacy Of Logic

An error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid or undermines the argument's logical structure.