Restatement Third of Torts Section 7 Example Case

In Gipson v. Kasey, 214 Ariz. 141, 150 P.3d 228 (2007), the court found that the defendant owed a duty of care based on Arizona's statutes prohibiting the distribution of prescription drugs to persons not covered by the prescription. Id. at 147, P 32, 150 P.3d at 234. Because the Gipson court found a duty based on Arizona statutes, it did not decide if a duty would exist independently as a matter of common law. Id. at 146 n.4, P 24, 150 P.3d at 233 n.4. The court did recognize, however, as stated in Ontiveros, that "every person is under a duty to avoid creating situations which pose an unreasonable risk of harm to others." Id. The court also cited the proposed Restatement (Third) of Torts ("Restatement") 7, which provides that "an actor ordinarily has a duty to exercise reasonable care when the actor's conduct creates a risk of physical harm." Gipson, 214 Ariz. at 146 n.4, P 24, 150 P.3d at 233 n.4 (quoting Restatement (Third) of Torts: Liability for Physical and Emotional Harm 7 (Proposed Final Draft No.1, 2005)).