Fernando informs his landlords about their failure to carry out a legal responsibility for him and his fellow tenants. The landlords had ignored multiple requests from tenants to fix the leaking roof. During a heavy rainstorm, a portion of the roof had carved in, causing damage to tenants' apartments and belongings. What tort law are the landlords violating?

Question

Fernando informs his landlords about their failure to carry out a legal responsibility for him and his fellow tenants. The landlords had ignored multiple requests from tenants to fix the leaking roof. During a heavy rainstorm, a portion of the roof had carved in, causing damage to tenants' apartments and belongings. What tort law are the landlords violating?
A. breach of duty 
B. Negligence 
C. fraud 
D. Defamation

GPT-4o mini · Answer

The landlords are primarily violating **B. Negligence**. In this context, negligence occurs when a party fails to fulfill a legal duty to act with reasonable care, resulting in harm to others. The landlords had a duty to maintain the property and address the leaking roof after multiple requests from tenants. Their failure to do so, especially leading to damage during a heavy rainstorm, constitutes negligence. Breach of duty (option A) is actually a component of the tort of negligence. Options C (fraud) and D (defamation) do not apply to the situation described.