Breach of Duty You may commit breach of duty to another person
by not exercising the degree of care that a reasonable person would
exercise in that same situation. This “reasonable person” test is an
objective test. As a result, the judge in a tort case must be careful when
giving instructions to the jury. The use of the descriptive term reasonable
is of particular importance. The judge cannot alter the test by
telling jurors to determine what they would have done in this situation,
nor can the judge substitute such words as “average person,” “normal
person,” or even “logical person.” The jury must be told to determine
what a “reasonable person” would have done in this situation