Asked by Riley Lennon on May 18, 2024

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State X has a "Sunday Closing Law" making it a crime to operate a retail business on Sundays.The law's legislative history reveals that it was enacted to promote respect for the Sabbath by all the people of the state,and thus to promote public decency and morality.One Sunday,Judy Smith slips on a puddle of spilled soft drink at Joe's Hamburger joint (which is operating in violation of the statute) ,and suffers an injury to her spine.The soft drink would not have been spilled if the store had not been open on Sunday.Judy sues Joe in negligence.One part of her complaint relies on the doctrine of negligence per se.Under the doctrine of negligence per se:

A) Judy will recover because the spilled drink posed a reasonably foreseeable risk of harm,and Joe failed to eliminate that risk.
B) Judy will recover because Joe violated the Sunday Closing Law.
C) Judy will not recover because she was not within the class of persons intended to be protected by the statute.
D) Judy will not recover because she did not suffer harm of a kind that the statute was intended to protect against.

Negligence Per Se

A legal doctrine where an act is considered negligent because it violates a statute or regulation that is designed to protect the public.

Sunday Closing Law

Laws designed to restrict or ban commercial activities on Sundays, historically rooted in religious observance and resting practices.

Public Decency

Standards of behavior considered acceptable by society, often legally enforced to maintain public order and morals.

  • Understand the legal significance of statutory violations (negligence per se) in negligence claims.
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HC
Hannah CatherineMay 22, 2024
Final Answer :
D
Explanation :
Under the doctrine of negligence per se,the defendant's violation of such laws may create a breach of duty and may allow the plaintiff to win the case if the plaintiff (1)was within the class of persons intended to be protected by the statute or other law,and (2)suffered harm of a sort that the statute or other law was intended to protect against.