ThorntonMellon owns and operates "Tall and Fat", a retail store where thefreakishly tall and the pleasantly plump shop for their clothes.
Betty,a customer who is both freakishly tall and pleasantly plump, reported thatjewelry was stolen from her purse while she was in the dressing room. Theonly person in the store at the time was Al Bundy, Assistant Manager.
Whenconfronted with the allegations, Al admitted to stealing the jewelry. Alclaimed that he needed money to pay for medical care for his son,Bud. Unfortunately, Al already sold the jewelry and drank away all of theproceeds.
Definerespondeat superior liability.
- Identifythe test that would be applied to determine whether Tall and Fat is liable toBetty under the common law doctrine of respondeat superior liability.
- Identifyand discuss an analogous case from the text.
- Analyzewhether Tall and Fat is liable to Betty under a respondeat superior theory ofliability.
Uponfurther questioning, Thornton learns that Al has a long criminal record,including four convictions for theft in the past 7 years.
- Definenegligence.
- Identifythe test applied to determine whether Tall and Fat is liable to Betty under anegligence theory of liability.
- Identifyand discuss an analogous case from the text.
- Analyzewhether Tall and Fat is liable to Betty under a negligence theory ofliability.
Thorntonterminates Al's employment for theft. Determined to avoid bad hires,Thornton implements a series of measures designed to screen out candidates whoare not fit for employment at Tall and Fat.
Thorntonadds a question to the employment application, which states, in relevant part,"have you ever been arrested, convicted or plead guilty to acrime". If an applicant responds that he or she was arrested,convicted or plead guilty to a crime of dishonesty, Thornton sends the applicanta standard rejection letter indicating that Tall and Fat found a betterqualified candidate for the position.
Thorntonalso adds a paragraph at the end of the application identifying Tall and Fat'sintention to request a criminal background check, disclosing the applicant'srights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and adding a signature lineauthorizing Tall and Fat to conduct a criminal background check. If thebackground check uncovers evidence that an applicant has been arrested, Thorntonsends the applicant a standard rejection letter indicating that Tall and Fatfound a better qualified candidate for the position.
Thorntonbelieves that there is a strong correlation between theft and drug and alcoholuse. Thornton implements a pre-employment drug and alcohol test. Ifthe applicant tests positive for drugs or alcohol, Thornton sends the applicanta standard rejection letter indicating that Tall and Fat found a betterqualified candidate for the position.
Alapplies for employment with Victoria's Secret. On his application, Allists Thornton as a reference. Looking to avoid any trouble (Al is a bigman, and he never gave Thornton any respect), Thornton told Victoria's Secretthat Al was a model employee.
Ifthe applicant clears all of the initial hurdles, there is only one thingbetween the applicant and a position at Tall and Fat. A few years ago, oneof Tall and Fat's customers fell and could not get up. Lucky for thecustomer that Al was strong enough to lift him back into his wheelchair. Becausethe average customer at Tall and Fat weighs 300 lbs., Thornton implemented astrength test. Applicants must lift a 300 lb. bag of rice from the groundto their waist. If the applicant accomplishes this feat, Thornton sendsthe applicant an offer letter.
Manywomen have applied for the coveted positions at Tall and Fat, but none havebeen hired.
- Identify and briefly discuss the issues implicated by this fact pattern.