LSAT 109 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q7

LR Question 7 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Currently, the city of Grimchester is liable…

QUESTION TYPE: Principle – Must be True

FACTS:

1. Grimchester is liable for any sidewalk injury, if the sidewalk needed maintenance or repairs.
2. Grimchester can’t fix all of its sidewalks.
3. The city should be liable only if they knew about the risk and were negligent when trying to get rid of it.

ANALYSIS: We’re looking for a situation where the city is liable, but shouldn’t be liable. So there must be an injury, caused by a defect, but the city was not negligent in trying to repair the problem.

___________

1. The city was clearly negligent: they had years to fix the sidewalk. The principle doesn’t save them.
2. There was no problem with the sidewalk, so the city isn’t liable.
3. CORRECT. The city only learned about the danger a few minutes earlier, so they weren’t negligent. You can’t fix a sidewalk in a few minutes.
4. The city isn’t liable. It was the man’s fault for getting drunk. The sidewalk was fine.
5. There doesn’t seem to have been anything wrong with the sidewalk. It was the pedestrian’s fault.

Recap: The question begins with “Currently, the city of Grimchester is liable”. It is a Principle question. Learn how to master LSAT Principle questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.