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Foundations of Law Tutorial

The document outlines a tutorial exercise for a law course, focusing on a scenario involving a dog bite incident involving a 17-year-old high school student named Anathi. It includes questions related to potential legal actions, claims for damages, requirements for success, defenses, and case law references. Students are expected to reference their answers according to the Law Faculty Referencing style and use this exercise as practice for their assignments.

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3 views

Foundations of Law Tutorial

The document outlines a tutorial exercise for a law course, focusing on a scenario involving a dog bite incident involving a 17-year-old high school student named Anathi. It includes questions related to potential legal actions, claims for damages, requirements for success, defenses, and case law references. Students are expected to reference their answers according to the Law Faculty Referencing style and use this exercise as practice for their assignments.

Uploaded by

elihlefass0
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Foundations of Law A

Tutorial exercise 1

Please note that you are expected to reference your answer according to
the Law Faculty Referencing style as is set out in the Law Faculty
Handbook. Tutorial submissions must be typed and completed in the
same style and format as your assignment.

Please use this as an opportunity to practice for the assignment.

Question 1
(18)

Read the scenario below and answer the questions that follow.

The plaintiff in this matter is Anathi, a 17-year-old high school student.


On 12 January 2024, she was invited to her boyfriend's house for dinner
so she could "meet the parents". Her boyfriend, Themba, is also 17 years
old and he lives with his parents in Oatlands, Makhanda.

Anathi was very excited to be invited since they had only been dating for
a short while and had not had the opportunity to visit.

At or around 18:00 on the 12 th of January, Anathi's mother, Omphile,


dropped her off at Themba's house. Anathi exited the vehicle and walked
towards the gate. Omphile waited in the car as she wanted to ensure her
daughter get safely into the house.

Themba, who was watching the road from the living room window, saw
Anathi approaching and ran outside to open the gate.

Anathi saw that the family dog, Bones, a German Shepherd, was walking
down the driveway and sniffing the flower bed with manicured topiaries
in it.

Themba walked out of the front door, pressed the remote control to open
the gate and called to Anathi: "Come in! I am so happy you could make
it!"

1
Once the gate opened and Anathi started to walk in, Bones charged her
and jumped at her with teeth bared. She screamed and tried to protect
her face and throat with her right forearm.

Bones bit into her arm and started to shake and tug violently at the arm
while still biting down. Anathi kept screaming and fell to the ground.
Omphile jumped from the car to protect Anathi from the dog and
managed to get the dog to let go. Omphile then dragged Anathi back to
the relative safety of the sidewalk.

Themba was shocked and could not believe his eyes. When his parents
heard the screams, they came running and called the dog to lock him in
the garage.

Anathi was still crying and covered in blood. Omphile was furious. She
yelled at Themba and his parents, asking them why they would invite an
innocent girl to their home if they had such a violent beast wandering
around.

Themba's parents immediately apologised and stated that they couldn't


believe this just happened since Bones had always been such a kind and
loving pet in their home.

Omphile immediately took Anathi to the doctor for medical treatment.

Anathi got 59 stitches and 2 injections, and her right arm was wrapped in
bandages.

When school started the next week, Anathi was in a lot of pain and
quickly fell behind since she could not take notes or write tests. This
resulted in a lot of stress and anxiety because she wanted to perform well
so that she could study journalism at Rhodes next year. Anathi was also
depressed because, ever since the incident, she had not heard anything
from Themba. When she tried to contact him, she noticed he blocked her
on social media and was later told that his parents told him to stay away
from her.

2
Anathi is still experiencing pain and mobility issues as a result of the
injury and as part of her recovery, must see a physiotherapist once a
week to rehabilitate the injury to prevent permanent damage.

The amount not covered by the medical aid was R19 573.24.

When Omphile contacted Themba's parents so they could pay the


medical bills, they told her that Bones is a "sweet dog", it was "just an
accident", and they "can't see why they should pay the bills because
Omphile was too cheap to get a decent medical aid."

a) What action can the plaintiff institute to recover the damages


suffered? (1)
b) What can she claim with this action?
(1)
c) What are the requirements for this action to succeed?
(3)
d) What are the general defences against the action in your answer
above? Refer to case(s) that set out these defences.
(6)
e) Would these defences succeed in this matter? Why? Or Why not?
(2)
f) With reference to case law, explain what is meant by "contra
naturam sui generis". Use your own words as far as possible.
(5)

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