Two Different Tort Cases: A Prisoner's Escape and a Chicken Nuisance

Prisoner Escape Case

It was a nasty snowy day, on January 26 of the current year. On that day, two employees of Alberta Correctional Services, Ike Inkster and Melvin Melrose, were transporting an inmate, Zane Zuggins, from the Peace River Correctional Centre, to the City of Edmonton. Poor Zane had been suffering from a severely ingrown toenail, and required special medical attention not availableto him in Peace River.Zane was a model inmate. He was incarcerated for his role in a rather clever fraud scheme. He had not been violent during the period of his incarceration, but he was certainly getting anxious to be “on the outside” again.Zane wasbeing transported in a standard Corrections van on the day in question. He was not handcuffed or shackled, nor restrained in any way. Zane had been taken to a wide range of appointments before this day, and had never caused any trouble. As a result, the warden had given permission for Zane to be transported in this manner.The transfer policy of the government department responsible stated:In the event that a prisoner is deemed “low risk”, he/she may remain unrestrained during any transfer of less than 1 day. The decision to transport any inmate unrestrained is at the discretion of the warden of the home institution of that inmate.The trip to Edmonton proceeded rather uneventfully, until about 30 km west of town. Traffic on Highway 16, the Yellowhead, came to a grinding halt at that point. There had been a good deal of snow, and a little freezing rain on the highway, and it appeared there was probably an accident upahead.As the Corrections van came to a halt, Zane saw his chance! Ike, the driver of the van, had gotten out to see what was happening up ahead, and Zane quickly punched Melvin, knocking him out cold. Melvin didn’t see the punch coming as he had been texting his girlfriend at the time. Zane ran out the back of the van, while Ike was still busy investigating the traffic situation up front.Zane ran across the median, and approached the vehicle of one Helen Happy, who was the sole occupant and driver of a westbound vehicle. She was proceeding slowly because of the road conditions.Helen saw Zane escape from the van and, as he approached her vehicle, she thought she could detain him for the Corrections officers, so she slowed down even further and hit him over the head with her snow scraper. Although dazed, Zane took the opportunity to reach in, open the unlocked door, and punch Helen before throwing her onto the road and start driving away.Zane was apprehended again within a matter of hours while still driving Helen’s car. Zane broke Helen’s collarbone, and knocked out a tooth when he hijacked her car. The
collarbone injury left her with residual mobility problems, and she has sadly had to curtail twoof her favourite hobbies –skiing and golfing. Zane’s eye was cut by the snow scraper and he has some trouble seeing out of it. Melvin continues to have headaches and blurred vision after he waspunched.After the investigation into this incident, it was discovered that another guard had been sneaking letters out of the Corrections facility for Zane. Zane had sent a letter to his partner in the fraud scheme telling him about his plans to escape.1.Set out all the torts that have been committed and by whom. Explain the legal rules for each of the torts and apply them to thefacts.2.Determine the potential defendants and set out their defences by explaining the legal rules that apply and then apply them to thefacts.FACT SCENARIO#2Maggie is an avid recycler, small-scale farmer and outdoor enthusiast. She lives on a small acreage just outside the Edmonton, Alberta city limits. She has really enjoyed her acreage, as it allows her to pursue many of her outdoor passions. The greatest among these are her beloved chickens. On her property, she has several chicken coops and approximately 50 chickens. She uses a few of the eggs they produce for herown use, but most of the bounty is sold at a local farmer’s market, once per week.All was well until Fran, a new neighbor, moved on to the small acreage next door. Fran recently retired from a high stress career as a financial planner, and had been hoping to get away from the pressures of city life. But, alas, it was not to be.Maggie’s chickens get up early in the morning...every morning. At about 5 am, Fran is awake listening to the sounds of cheery clucking and crowing. This would not have be so bad,if she had to be at work at 6am; but not so great for someone hoping to enjoy her retirement. Not to mention, the chickens smell terrible. When the wind blew just the right way, the smell of chicken droppings was easily detectable in both Fran’s yard and house.To add insult to injury, the chickens frequently find their way out of Maggie’s yard, and into Fran’s. They don’t really do any damage, but they annoy the heck out of her. Fran yells and screams to chase them out of her yard. Fran told Maggie that if she continued to let the chickens wander about, she might find that they end up in her roasting pan! Maggie replied that any attack against her chickens is an attack against her, and that should Fran try anything of the kind, she’d better watch her back!One day, as Fran was trying to herd some of the escapee chickens back to their own yard, she crossed over onto Maggie’s property, to ensure the birds was properly corralled in their own
1space. Unfortunately, in the process, she tripped over several rolls of chicken wire stacked up near the property line. The wire was quite difficult to see, given the growth of weeds and brush surrounding it. Fran broke her ankle as a result of the fall.Then came the last straw. A small cesspool of chicken waste on Maggie’s property sprang a leak, and the putrid contents flowed over onto Fran’s property.1.Set out all the torts that have been committed and by whom. Explain the legal rules for each of the torts and apply them to thefacts.2.Determine the potential defendants and set out their defences by explaining thelegal rules that apply and then apply them to thefacts