Also known as: Rest. 2d Torts § 288A · Restatement Second of Torts 288A · negligence per se · statutory violation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A rule listing circumstances that excuse a defendant's violation of a statute or regulation and thereby prevent the violation from constituting negligence per se. The excuses include situations in which the violation is reasonable under the circumstances or the defendant exercised reasonable care to comply.
Raymond Ramos sued a data processor alleging a bare statutory violation in failing to disclose a third-party handler. He showed no actual misuse of his information or increased risk of harm. The court held that the violation alone did not create a concrete injury, so the claim failed for lack of standing.
Riley Rivera sued a manufacturer in state court over a land-use dispute. The defendant removed the case, arguing that the claim necessarily raised a substantial federal issue. The court found the federal issue was not substantial enough to support removal and remanded the action.
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Roberto Reyes operated an organic farm next to fields sprayed by Riverside Healthcare. Pesticide particles drifted onto Reyes's crops. The court held that the drift constituted a trespass even without physical entry by the sprayer.
Rina Rahman sued a portable toilet company that used her famous catchphrase in its advertising. The court recognized that the phrase had become so closely associated with Rahman that its commercial use violated her right of publicity.
Ralph Richardson challenged a congressional district drawn to include a majority of minority voters. The court found that race was the predominant factor in the district's shape and struck down the plan as violating the Equal Protection Clause.
Renata Russo, a rape victim, sued a newspaper that published her name obtained from a police report. The court held that the First Amendment protected the publication because the information had been lawfully obtained from a public record.
The section lists circumstances such as the violation being reasonable under the circumstances or the defendant having exercised reasonable care to comply with the statute. These excuses prevent the violation from automatically constituting negligence per se.
Supporting sources
A court examines whether the statute was designed to protect a class that includes the plaintiff, the interest invaded, against the type of harm that occurred, and from the particular hazard that produced the harm. If these elements are met, the statute may supply the standard of care.
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Yes. When the finder of fact determines that a valid excuse exists, the statutory standard is displaced and the common-law reasonable-person standard applies instead.
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…District, however, cannot be upheld as a remedy for past discrimination because there has been no finding of a constitutional or statutory violation. Nor can the plan be justified by the State’s interest in complying with the Voting Rights Act. The Act, and its authorizing legislation, require States to avoid certain discriminatory…