7. Defences in Tort
Consent, illegality, contributory negligence, exclusion and statutory limitation.
How to study the CPQ Foundation stage
Prepare each separately assessed component on its own terms, then connect law, regulation, client service and research across the full stage.
Core concepts
Concept 1
A full defence defeats liability while a partial defence reduces recovery.
Exam cue: Classify the defence as full, partial or procedural.
Concept 2
Consent requires a legally effective acceptance of the relevant risk.
Exam cue: Match the assumed risk to the harm that occurred.
Concept 3
Contributory negligence reduces damages to a just and equitable extent.
Exam cue: Assess claimant fault separately from defendant breach.
Risk pitfalls and guardrails
Treating knowledge of risk as automatic consent.
Guardrail: Do not mix module boundaries, confuse marks with item counts, exceed professional authority or rely on an outdated or unverified legal source.
Using contributory negligence to erase duty.
Guardrail: Do not mix module boundaries, confuse marks with item counts, exceed professional authority or rely on an outdated or unverified legal source.
Ignoring statutory controls on exclusions.
Guardrail: Do not mix module boundaries, confuse marks with item counts, exceed professional authority or rely on an outdated or unverified legal source.
Memory anchors
Defence effect
Ask whether it bars, reduces or time-limits recovery.
Consent
The claimant must accept the nature and scope of the relevant risk.
Contributory fault
Reduce damages justly and equitably for the claimant's share.
Checkpoint rule
Do the check-up only after you can summarize each concept in one sentence and identify one dangerous pitfall from memory.
Knowledge Check (after reading)
Short check-up to confirm understanding of this module.
Check-up Questions
A cyclist carelessly fails to wear visible clothing, worsening an accident caused by a driver's negligence. What defence may reduce damages?
What is the effect of successful contributory negligence?
Answer all questions to submit.
Next step personalized recommendations
Continue learning
Move forward only after this module is stable.
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