Torts Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) Practice Test

The key idea is the scope of a lifeguard’s duty. A lifeguard is responsible for supervising and protecting swimmers within the designated swimming area. If a swimmer voluntarily leaves that area, the lifeguard’s duty to warn or supervise the swimmer in that context generally ends because the risk now lies outside the protected zone and the swimmer has assumed it. Here, the swimmer knowingly stepped out of the roped area to join a volleyball game, and the lifeguard did not warn him to return. Since the swimmer left the safe zone, the lifeguard’s failure to warn does not breach a duty. The injuries occurred outside the lifeguard’s duty-bound area, so there’s no liability. Choosing a broader duty to supervise all swimmers or a broader duty to warn those outside the area would be inaccurate; the duty is tied to the designated safe zone, and the swimmer’s voluntary departure ends that specific duty. If the swimmer had stayed inside and the lifeguard failed to warn or protect him, that could be different.