HILLSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE
YBOR CAMPUS
FALL 2007
PLA 1271 COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE TITLE: Tort Law
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Rex Curry Email: curry@ij.net Telephone:
508-5019
COURSE NUMBER: PLA 1271
DATE: From 01/07/08 to 05/05/08 Thursdays nights 6-8:45 pm
in YPST Room 228
CREDIT HOURS:
3.0 Semester Hours
TEXT(S): The book is "Tort law for Legal Assistants" Third Edition,
by Linda L. Edwards & J. Stanley Edwards
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is designed to provide a general perspective
of areas of law relating to persons and property through tort law.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon successful completion of this course the student
will be able to:
• Understand the major principles of tort law that an
attorney applies in person injury practice
• Understand the elements necessary to sustain a cause
of action for the various torts, including intentional torts, negligence,
products liability and strict liability
• Understand the elements of the major defenses to torts
• Examine the standards of care required of professionals
and defenses that can be raised in malpractice suits
• Identify what is defamation and related torts and when
truth is a defense
• Understand the role of paralegals in the area of tort
law
INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS:
Classroom time will consist of lectures, discussions,
demonstrations and problem solving, document preparation and tests.
The topics will be consistent with the chapters being discussed in the textbooks.
Students are expected to participate in class discussions and demonstrations.
GRADING:
Assignments are due on the dates specified. Two
(2) points per each day late will be deducted for late assignments.
(i.e., if an assignment is due on Thursday and is turned in on Friday, 2
points will be deducted, turned in on Saturday (or Monday), 4 points deducted,
etc. Weekends count also.)
Hillsborough Community College also provides additional support
for students through its
SUCCESS CENTER (A Writing Center and Tutoring Service) -
Walk in or call for an
appointment.
Request for Accommodations: If, to participate in this course,
you require an accommodation
due to a physical or learning impairment, you must contact
the Office of Services to Students
with Disabilities. The office is located in the College.
You may also reach the office by
telephone at extension 7914 (BR), 7757 (YB), or 2209 (PC).
Grading System: grades will be based on the following scale:
A=Excellent, B=Good,
C=Average, D=Below Average, F=Failing
70% of the final grade will be based on the weekly quiz/test assignments
(based on the questions in the back of each chapter)..
30% of the final grade will be class participation.
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
1. Each student is expected to come to class prepared.
This means that the student should have read the chapter material assigned,
reviewed key terms, and review questions. Also, reviewing the practice
exams at the end of each chapter is a good review for quizzes and exams.
2. If a student desires to use a computer and printer,
and does not have access to a computer and/or printer, there are computer
labs for students to use located on this campus.
3. If a student is absent from class on the day an assignment
is due, the student should email the assignment to the instructor that day.
The assignment must be in text format for email purposes. Any assignment
not received on the date due, whether or not the student is in class, will
be reduced by 2 points for each day past the due date.
4. There might be unannounced POP Quizzes given throughout
the semester. There will be no make-up POP Quizzes. If you miss a
POP Quiz you receive no points for that quiz. Quiz points will be
added to the student’s total points at the end of the semester.
5. For each class meeting, every student should bring # 2 pencils and
some scantron answer sheets (available in the book store).
ATTENDANCE:
Students are expected to attend classes. If you
miss more than 2 classes, and these absences are not pre-approved or excused
by the instructor, your final cumulative points for the course will be reduced
by 10 points. It is your responsibility to find out what material
was covered in your absence and obtain class lecture notes from a classmate.
Illnesses or emergencies must be reported directly to the instructor.
Students are expected to be on time for class.
It is disrupting to the other students and the instructor to arrive late.
If a student is consistently late for class, the student’s cumulative points
for the semester will be reduced by 10 points. “Late for class” is
defined as arriving 10 minutes or more after the starting time for class.
There is ZERO tolerance for cheating. If it is
determined that a student is or has cheated on an assignment or test, then
that student will be immediately dropped from the class and given a grade
of an “F”.
Attention Veterans: The VA has special attendance
regulations, which may exceed the policy in the syllabus. Please see
your instructor if you are a Veteran.
Refund/Withdrawal Policy: Students should familiarize
themselves with the colleges’ withdrawal dates, policy and procedures that
are explained in the catalog. The last day to withdraw and receive
a refund can be obtained from the help desk (and the help desk is also available
by phone). The help desk can also provide the last day to withdraw
with a grade of “W.” A student who withdraws or is withdrawn after
this date will be assigned a grade of “F”.
SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS:
If special accommodations are desired, please contact
the Office of Services to Students with Disabilities on this campus.
Please provide documentation during the first week of classes if you require
special assistance due to a disability. All reasonable efforts are
made to accommodate all students.
STUDENT/INSTRUCTOR CONFERENCES:
I generally keep an open door policy for discussions
before or after class. However, if you require a conference, please
schedule an appointment with me in advance so arrangements may be made to
meet at a convenient time
NO FOOD IN THE CLASSROOM, BUT DRINKS ARE ALLOWED.
NO CELL PHONES OR BEEPERS OR IPODS OR IPHONES ARE ALLOWED IN CLASS, UNLESS
THEY ARE OFF OR ON SILENT OR VIBRATION MODE. EMERGENCY PAGES/CALLS
ONLY! Any student receiving a call should immediately excuse
himself or herself to the outside hallway. There will be no text-messaging,
etc. while class is in progress. If a student is found to be text-messaging
during class, the student will be dismissed from the class and receive an
F for their final grade.
The instructor reserves the right to revise the above schedule, if necessary.
The class officially begins 01/10/08 and there are 18 weeks
by the calendar
and there are 20 chapters in the book. The list below
divides the chapters by the class dates
in order to keep pace with the book (and some of the last weeks double
the chapters in order to complete
all chapters and finish the book).
The weekly schedule Reading assignments are:
(Class date followed by chapter number).
January
10 1
17 2
24 3
31 4
February
7 5
14 6
21 7
28 8
March
6 9
13 10
20 11
27 12
April
3 13
10 14
17 15
24 16
May
1 17 & 18
8 19 & 20
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