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Category: Defenses

THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT OR REFUSING TO TAKE RESPONSIBLITY

THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT OR REFUSING TO TAKE RESPONSIBLITY

In the early 1970’s there was an  African American comedian, Flip Wilson, who hosted his own weekly comedy series and earned a Golden Globe and two Emmy Awards he was  so talented. One of  his hilarious routines involved acting out a character,  Geraldine,  who was married to long suffering Reverend LeRoy, pastor of the Church of What’s Happening Now.  Her  excuse  for everything she did wrong was:  “The devil made me do  it.!” As Flip enacted in a famous routine,…

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BASIC TORT DEFENSES

BASIC TORT DEFENSES

We all know that the basic elements of a tort case involve the existence of a duty with a breach of that duty that causes damages. We also know that there are common defenses which we face in our tort cases. Inevitably these are based upon one of the required elements for a valid tort claim. It is helpful, therefore, for us to review the defenses which we should have in mind as we prepare our case and go through…

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DEALING WITH THE DEFENSE “IT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED NO MATTER WHAT WAS DONE”

DEALING WITH THE DEFENSE “IT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED NO MATTER WHAT WAS DONE”

Recently a friend asked for ideas on the defense “it would have happened  anyway. ”  I was  motivated to give this some thought. I don’t  have a good or magic answer, but here are some thoughts about this  defense. Defendants often employ the defense that they are not at fault even if they were negligent. Because the harm would have happened anyway. This defense has an aspect of the “act of God” or inevitable accident claim. It is essentially an…

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