**[Reality Check: Sometimes There Are No Do-Overs]{.underline}**

***Today=s Decisions Can Have Legal and Long-Term Consequences***

In the interest of time, this exercise focuses on negligence. Unlike a
real civil suit,

it doesn=t deal with monetary damages**.**

**Scenario**

On May 11, 2006, at approximately 1:30 a.m., four teens were traveling
in a red 2006 Honda Accord heading southbound on Wells Gate National
Parkway. Suddenly, the vehicle careened into the median and crashed into
a light pole. The front-seat passenger, Sidney Young, who was visiting
for the weekend from a nearby state, was the most seriously injured.
Less severe injuries were suffered by the driver, Riley Gardner, and the
other two teens. No other vehicles were involved. Sidney Young was taken
to Conner County Medical Center for evaluation and treatment of serious
injuries to his right lower leg and foot. He also suffered less severe
injuries to the head, chest, and right arm and hand. According to Sidney
Young and another passenger, the car=s driver was text-messaging on his
cell phone while driving.

Sidney Young=s parents consulted a law firm, which agreed to file a
personal injury lawsuit on their son=s behalf at no cost to the Youngs.
The complaint, filed in the United States District Court on January 17,
2007, asserted that negligence by Riley Gardner and his mother was the
actual and proximate cause of the harm suffered by Plaintiff Sidney
Young. The lawsuit alleged that Defendant Riley Gardner breached the
duty of care owed to Plaintiff by failing to operate the motor vehicle
in a reasonably prudent manner.

In the lawsuit, the Youngs also claimed that negligent supervision by
Riley Gardner=s mother was a substantial factor in causing the harm that
Sidney Young suffered, since she had provided her son Riley with the use
of the family=s Honda Accord and a cell phone. She was aware that her
son texted while driving and that this activity could create an
unreasonable risk of harm to other persons. According to the complaint,
she could have exercised reasonable precautions to prevent that risk of
harm to other persons. The complaint requested judgment against Riley
Gardner and his mother in the amount of \$X-Dollars. *(Financial damages
aren=t included in this exercise in order to keep the focus on the
negligence issues.)*

On February 1, 2007, a copy of the complaint was served on the Gardner
family as they were eating dinner at home. The next day, Riley Gardner=s
mother consulted a lawyer about what she should do. Afraid of the high
risks of trying to defend against a federal lawsuit without legal
assistance, Ms. Gardner decided to retain the lawyer for a
non-refundable fee, plus expenses and an additional non-refundable fee
if the case failed to settle before trial.

In their written response filed in court on February 23, 2007, Riley
Gardner and his mother denied that they were in any way at fault in this
case or liable to Sidney Young. They stated that, at all relevant times,
Riley Gardner exercised reasonable care for Sidney Young and the other
passengers. The response claimed that the alleged accident and any
resulting injuries and damages sustained by Sidney Young resulted from
independent, intervening, and/or superseding causes or acts, including
the rainy weather, and slippery road conditions over which Riley Gardner
had no control and for which he was not liable. Riley Gardner=s mother
denied responsibility for the harm suffered by Sidney Young, asserting
that she had exercised reasonable care by advising her son on prior
occasions about the dangers of texting while driving.