2017 STAC Fact Pattern Clarifications

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Maximillian Norman Goodman
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1 2017 STAC Fact Pattern Clarifications Editor s Note In addition to the questions answered below, the fact pattern has been reposted, revised to reflect the following changes: The stipulations have been revised to reflect accurate numbering. A compass regarding the directions on the map and the locations of the windows and doors has been added at STAC 48. The expert report of Quinn Noonan has been updated to reflect the correct date of October 16, The Joint Exhibit List has been updated to reflect the correct title of the Steelton Post- Gazette article that is provided as Exhibit B. Exhibit A has been updated with the correct time of the police report being taken at 23:45 Answers to Team Questions 1. Based on the language in the jury instructions, are we to assume the depositions taken were video depos? Answer: Yes. 2. Given that Exhibit 6 is labeled photographs and other demonstratives of scooters property but only includes one demonstrative, are we missing additional photos of the property? Answer: There are no additional photographs of the property. 3. Is the parking lot fenced? The lines on the diagram indicate some kind of limited access. Answer: The parking lot is not fenced. 4. If the Chase place was on the corner (and the corner is not indicated on the diagram), was the store and/or the parking lot in its range? That is, could customers receive monsters on their phones while they were in the store and/or the parking lot, or did they have to be on the sidewalk close to the corner? Answer: No further information will be provided regarding this question. 5. Were there other businesses on the street and were they open at the time of the assault? Answer: No further information will be provided regarding this question. 6. On page STAC 36, the expert report of Quinn Noonan is dated October 16, All the other reports are from Is the correct date listed or should it read October 16, 2016? Answer: The date should read October 16, The fact pattern has been updated to reflect this fact. 1

2 7. Regarding Exhibit D, Chase m End User Licensing Agreement ( EULA ). Is the EULA provided for the player of the game or for the individual applying to be a Chase m place? Answer: This agreement is for the player of the game. 8. I understand there are no pre-trial motions, does that include motions in límine? Answer: Motions in limine are not allowed. 9. Is the purpose of Exhibit E to be demonstrative of what the Chase m game looks like or does it depict some specific person in the case file? Answer: Yes, the purpose of Exhibit E is to demonstrate what the Chase m game looks like. It does not depict a specific person in the case file. 10. Could an individual download the Chase m app and play without agreeing to the Licensing Agreement by way of a click? Answer: The Chase m app cannot be accessed without agreeing to the End User Licensing Agreement (EULA). 11. Even though not marked as exhibits, can the experts CVs and reports be introduced as evidence? Answer: Yes, they may be introduced as evidence. 12. Where on Scooter's building is the door located? Do the windows and door to Scooter s face the parking lot, the street, or both? Answer: There is one door with a small window leading to the parking lot. There are windows facing the streets. Please see Exhibit F for the locations. 13. Is the sidewalk insured by Scooter at the X, KF, or both? Are the street lights and sidewalk in front of Scooter s Ice Cream Parlor under the jurisdiction and control of the Steelton municipality with the exception of snow removal from the sidewalk on Scooter s property? Answer: No further information will be provided regarding whether the sidewalk is insured by Scooter or who controls the sidewalk. 14. Is the poster s mention of the rare monsters in general meant to reflect the specific rare monsters mentioned in the Answer? Answer: The poster s mention of rare monsters is meant to reflect rare monsters in general, not any specific rare monster. 15. Is trespassing an affirmative defense? The Defense asserts trespassing in the Answer, but the jury instructions do not refer to trespassing as an affirmative defense. Answer: Yes, trespassing is an affirmative defense. 2

3 16. Affirmative Defense #2 alleges, Plaintiff's Complaint is barred by Plaintiff's own negligence. The jury instruction titled Comparative Negligence (STAC p. 57) does not make clear whether Steelton is a pure or modified comparative negligence jurisdiction. Will the committee clarify? Answer: Steelton is a modified comparative negligence jurisdiction. If the plaintiff is 50 percent or more at fault, there is no recovery. 17. On STAC 32, the first sentence under "Facts" reads, "... while he was in outside of Scooter's." Is "in outside" a typo that will be corrected Answer: Yes, the fact pattern has been revised and the line now reads while he was outside of Scooter s. 18. Is the Steelton Post-Gazette Newspaper article identified as Exhibit B (STAC 40) the same article referred to in Scooter's deposition (STAC 27:2)? The joint exhibit list refers to a Steelton Post-Gazette Newspaper article titled Chase m Turns into Beat m, is this the same article as Exhibit B, even though the article titles do not match? Answer: Yes, the fact pattern has been revised to reflect that the article identified as Exhibit B in the Joint Exhibit List is the article on STAC 40. The article is now titled Video Game Leads to Violence. 19. Why are there discrepancies in the Plaintiff and Defendant s addresses? Answer: The plaintiff s address is 480 Pennsylvania Avenue, District of Steelton. The defendant s address is 178 Kessel Drive, District of Steelton. 20. What is the age of majority in Steeleton? Answer: Eighteen. 21. How many people were standing on the sidewalk playing Chase'm in the moments leading up to the mugging of Mr. Daley? Answer: No further information will be given regarding how many people were standing on the sidewalk playing Chase m in the moments leading up to the mugging. 22. Does Chase'm give notifications to players about nearby monsters while the player is not using their phone? Answer: Yes. 23. How much of the parking lot do the cameras capture? Answer: The cameras capture the entire parking lot. 3

4 24. Stipulation 11 states that the expert reports were produced simultaneously by the parties, but it also says that the experts have reviewed all documents contained within this case file and may testify to the same. Does this mean an expert witness can comment on another expert witness s report? Answer: Please see page 11 of the Official Rules under Witnesses, which states Expert witnesses are assumed to have access to and have read all documents in the fact pattern. A lay witness can only attest to his or her deposition and related exhibits. Yes, experts have read and may comment on another s report. 25. Are the lights on the street referenced in STAC 19 line 3 affixed to the side of the building, or are they mounted on lampposts? Answer: The lights on the street refer to street lights on lampposts that are not affixed to the side of the building. 26. Would either, both, or neither of the cameras be visible to a person standing on the extreme easternmost portion of the sidewalk in Exhibit F, or would one or both cameras be obstructed by the building? Answer: No further information will be provided about the visibility of the cameras from specific angles. 27. When did Scooter s initially install the security cameras/lights in parking lot? Answer: According to the fact pattern, the cameras and lights were installed after a boy fell in the parking lot, approximately a year before Bobby Daley s incident. 28. Ex. A - how did Officer Nath prepare the report on 6/6/15 at 2245 when she received call at 2305? Answer: The fact pattern has been updated to reflect that the report was prepared at Is Guardsman Corporation (the company for which Quinn Noonan works), located in Steelton? Answer: Yes. 30. Does one have to be at a Chase Place to catch monsters? Answer: No. 31. According to Bryce Summerstein, the Plaintiff could have been seen from inside Scooter s when he was standing on the sidewalk where he was attacked if the plaintiff was standing as is depicted in one of the potential locations. Which depicted location is Bryce Summerstein referring to? Answer: Exhibit F shows where the Plaintiff was attacked. 4

5 32. Can it be inferred that Exhibit B is an opinion piece in the local newspaper? The case packet has no information or description of Exhibit B Answer: The Joint Exhibit List on STAC 12 describes it as a newspaper article with the date the article appeared and what paper it appeared in. No further information on the article will be provided. 33. Exhibit E - How can a team lay a proper foundation as to this exhibit if there are no facts? Answer: Exhibit E is a demonstrative of what the game looks like and is from the Chase m website. 34. Page 6, Line 18 of Tracey (Scooter) Simon's deposition: Is this line correctly typed or should it read "About a week before the incident with Bobby,...?" Answer: The line is correctly typed in the deposition. About a week after the incident with Bobby, meaning the Chase Place was moved inside after Bobby s incident. 35. Stipulation 6 states that Krista Fullatonova's deposition may be used at trial and the deposition testimony itself is not subject to a hearsay object. Does that mean there we are not able to object to any single portion of that deposition on hearsay grounds? Answer: Please refer to the Federal Rules of Evidence for how to handle hearsay objections. The stipulation is that the deposition may not be objected to on grounds of admissibility. 36. Can we get jury instructions for superseding and intervening acts of persons, entities or circumstances beyond the control of Defendant? That s affirmative defense #4 in the answer to the complaint. Answer: This is covered by the instruction on causation. 37. What did Quinn Noonan review to come to his/her conclusions? Answer: The experts have reviewed all documents contained within the case file. 38. Will the diagram of Scooter s Ice Cream Parlor (STAC 48) be admissible without a foundation as to who prepared the document? Answer: Yes. 39. What was the extent of the Plaintiff s physical injuries? For example, the Plaintiff mentions his broken arm (13; 20-21) then discusses being hit in the head (19; 14-15) but also has memory loss and was able to crawl/bang on door (24; 20-21). Answer: No further information will be provided regarding Plaintiff s injuries. 5

6 40. When was the advertisement on page 41 posted/published? Did Plaintiff see it? Answer: The advertisements were both posted before the incident. No further information will be provided regarding whether the Plaintiff saw them. 41. Is Plaintiff's expert s reference to news articles (32; 26) only referring to the Steelton Gazette article in the Record, or are there more articles that were published (page 40)? Answer: There were more articles published that are not in the record. 42. How frequently does Chase m remind its players about safe play and Chase m code of conduct, once through the End User Agreement when downloading the game or multiple times as a general warning when a player opens the app? Answer: No further information will be provided about Chase m reminders regarding safe play and its code of conduct. 43. When did Scooter submit his application to become a Chase Place? Answer: No information will be provided about when the application was submitted. 44. On page 39, Exhibit A, PO Report, it states that the PO responded to a 911 emergency dispatch at Scooter's Ice Cream. However, on pages 28-31, Kristy Fullatonova's deposition, she does not state whether or not she made the call. Only the Defendant in his deposition says so. Did Kristy call 911? Answer: No further information will be provided about a call. 45. Neither advertisement in Exhibit C is dated. The plaintiff s expert testifies that an advertisement appeared in newspaper circulation. Bobby states at STAC 17 that the advertisement dated June 1, 2015 was seen inside Scooter's. Which is the referenced advertisement and which advertisement appeared in circulation? Answer: Both the advertisement that appeared in the newspaper circulation and the advertisement that Bobby was shown during his deposition can be found on STAC Are both the complaint and answer verified by their respective parties? Answer: Yes. 47. Who took the photograph depicted in Exhibit E? Answer: No further information will be given regarding exactly who took the photograph depicted in Exhibit E. It is from the Chase m website. 48. Do we have definitions of willful and reckless as they pertain to the duty owed to a trespasser? Answer: No further definitions will be provided. 6

7 49. How much time did Scooter spend at his shop? Answer: No further information will be provided regarding how much time Scooter spent at his shop. 50. How many employees did Scooter's have? Answer: No further information will be provided regarding Scooter s employees. 51. STAC 37 - Expert report mentions a trespassing sign at Scooter's, even though this is not mentioned anywhere else in the fact pattern. Is this factual? Or is this an example of an expert using information he has no evidence to support? Did he visit the scene? Answer: No further information will be provided regarding this sign. 52. When playing Chase 'm, does it always show the real world when looking at the phone, or is it like Pokemon go and the real world only shows up when a monster spawns and you click on it to catch it Answer: Chase m is augmented reality. The real world will show as projected through the cell phone camera with a computer-generated Chase monster showing up. 53. Is there a typo in #5 of the complaint? Answer: Yes, the sentence should read: Chase m uses a mobile device s GPS capability to locate, capture, battle, and train virtual creatures called Chase Monsters. The record has been revised to reflect this change. 54. What was the exact language regarding safety on the box Scooter had to check to verify its location was safe? Answer: No further information will be provided regarding safety language that Scooter checked. 55. Does Daley still play Chase m? Answer: According to Bobby Daley s deposition, he indicated that he is no longer familiar with the game and there are new games that he plays now. 56. Are chase monsters tied to specific locations - i.e., chase places, or is it like Pokemon go and they can appear anywhere Answer: Chase Monsters can appear anywhere. 57. Is Scooter s Ice Cream Parlor s building immediately adjacent to the sidewalk, or is there a yard between the storefront and the sidewalk? Answer: Scooter s Ice Cream Parlor is immediately adjacent to the sidewalk. 7

8 58. For demonstrative purposes, may a team selectively pick pertinent jury instructions to fit on a single blow-up? Answer: Yes, as long as the instructions are exactly as they appear in the fact pattern. Please see page 12 of the Official Rules for rules regarding exhibits. 59. May "housekeeping matters" be discussed pre-trial, i.e., asking for permission to move freely about the well, constructively pre-swearing witnesses, bringing to the court's attention any stipulated-to exhibits, etc.? Answer: Yes, housekeeping matters may be discussed pre-trial. It is up to the discretion of the presiding judge in the competition how housekeeping matters are handled. 60. Is the police report in Exhibit A considered a matter of public record? Answer: The exhibits are stipulated to as being authentic and admissible subject to objection. 61. When talking about the duty listed under Failure to prevent intentional harm to business invitees is this the same standard of care as the duty defined under the Business visitor section of the jury instructions? Answer: Yes, it is the same standard of care. 62. Which directions are the cameras pointing? Are they pointing in the same direction or opposite? Answer: The camera closest to the sidewalk faces northwest and the camera furthest from the sidewalk faces southwest. 63. Are teams limited to the affirmative defenses listed in the Answer? Answer: Yes. Only affirmative defenses that have been pled in the Answer are allowed. 64. Plaintiff's Complaint alleges that when Defendant was designated a Chase's Place, it was guaranteed to have five Petunia Choppers appear monthly (Paragraph 15). The Defendant's Answer says that the averments of Paragraphs of Plaintiff's Complaint are denied as stated. Defendant recognized that the certain Chase Monsters were rare, however, it was never notified of specific quantities of those Chase Monsters that would be available. In fact, Defendant's advertisements indicated that patrons could catch Petunia Choppers, Dornburgers, and Giggle Tickers, among others. Plaintiff's deposition states that on the wall "there was this big flyer about the fact that all of these rare Chase Monsters could be caught there. And these rare Chase Monsters only spawn something like five times at each location." Simon's deposition contains no mention of a Petunia Chopper. The flyer that Daley refers to has two monsters on it that are unidentified. Is this an intentional discrepancy, or is one of the monsters on the Flyer meant to be a 8

9 Petunia Chopper? Where does the Plaintiff get their contention in their complaint about the guarantee of five Petunia Choppers? Answer: No further information will be provided regarding specific Chase Monsters or quantities. 65. According to Bobby, who asked him/her to stand on the sidewalk next to the parking lot? Answer: According to Bobby s deposition, he does not specify who told him to stand on the sidewalk. 66. The Joint Exhibit List refers to screen shots of Chase m game, but there is only one such screen shot in the case file. Will any additional screen shots be provided? Answer: No. 67. Scooter s deposition testimony refers to the re-arrest of a mugger a couple of months back from the date of the deposition. On what date was this mugger rearrested? Answer: No further information will be provided regarding the mugger s arrest. 68. Did Scooter install both cameras and lights after the slip and fall or were the lights already there? Answer: Both the lights and cameras were installed after the slip and fall. 69. In the jury instructions on STAC 53, is a business visitor considered an invitee? Answer: No. 70. Do the common-law principles of notice and intervening causes apply in Steelton? Answer: No further legal principles will be provided. The legal principles that apply in Steelton are laid out in the jury instructions. 71. What is the disclosed area of expertise for each expert witness? How much are the experts being paid? Answer: Both experts are receiving $250 per hour for their services. Plaintiff s expert spent 20 hours on the case prior to testimony and defendant s expert spent 24 hours. 72. May witnesses be sequestered if we request it from the presiding judge? Answer: No, witnesses may not be sequestered. 73. Is the X on the map where Bobby says he was attacked? Answer: According to the fact pattern, the X is where Bobby was standing on the sidewalk. 9

10 74. For the two separate sections involving business visitor invitees and then intentional harm to business invitees: is a "customer" a fourth option under standard of care or is it an additional duty for a business visitor invitee? Answer: No further information will be provided regarding the instructions. 75. How is it possible that the victim was "lying on the sidewalk outside of Scooter's and the parking lot for Scooter's."? (police report) Answer: The victim was lying on the sidewalk outside of Scooter s, which is outside the parking lot for Scooter s. 76. On page 23, Scooter says that there were video cameras "inside and out." Then on page 24 he says that the two cameras were on the west side of the shop, facing the parking lot. Are both of the latter cameras outside? Are there therefore none inside, or are there actually three total? Answer: There are two cameras located on the outside of the shop. 77. Where were the advertisements published that scooters used and how many were published (like in a local newspaper?) (published everyday for a few weeks or months?) Answer: No further information will be provided regarding the publication of the advertisements. 78. In the diagram of scooters and the parking lot there are blue lines. Do all of the blue lines represent walls? is there a tall wall in between the parking lot and sidewalk as depicted) Answer: There is no wall between the parking lot and sidewalk. 79. What approach does our jurisdiction (Steelton) follow to determine foreseeability (i.e., specific harm; prior incidents test; totality of the circumstances; or balancing test)? Answer: No further legal principles will be provided. The legal principles that apply in Steelton are laid out in the jury instructions. 80. How long have street lights near the scene not been operational? Answer: No further information will be provided regarding the length of time that the streetlights near the scene were nonoperational. 81. Can you clarify whether the X/KF markings on the diagram indicate the location where the witnesses believe the attack occurred or where the plaintiff was when they were last seen by the witness. Answer: According to the testimonies, the X marking is where Bobby stated he was standing and the KF marking is where Kristy Fullatonova believed Bobby was going. 10

11 82. What is the proper text of the first paragraph of the newspaper article on p. 40? There is clearly a typo there. Answer: The last line of the paragraph should read: But every time your children pick up their phones, are they putting away their safety? The fact pattern has been revised to reflect this change. 83. In the Expert Witness Report (Summerstein) - when he references a red light - (Stac 33 & 34) is he indicating that the light was on even though the cameras were not recording or that the red light would be on IF the cameras were recording? Answer: He indicated that the red light was on at the time of the incident. 84. Is the sidewalk public property or private property? Answer: No further information will be provided regarding whether the sidewalk is public or private property. 85. Are there two cameras in the parking lot, or one inside and one out? Answer: There are two cameras in the parking lot. 86. What is the correct procedure for entering Fullatonova's deposition testimony? Answer: If you would like to enter Kristy Fullatonova s deposition testimony, you may read from the deposition transcript. 87. Should there be an intervening cause jury instruction? Answer: No. Please see the causation instruction, which states 88. Is the ice cream shop diagram (Ex. F) accurate in its depiction that no lights were installed on the sidewalk outside the shop? Answer: Exhibit F only depicts lights installed on the premises, not lights on the sidewalk outside of the shop. 11

Clarification Questions and Answers

Clarification Questions and Answers For purposes of this competition, the answer to any clarification question shall be treated as a stipulation during the trial. The competitors are bound by the answers