tort
a person commits this in civil law; a breach of some obligation, causing harm or injury to someone
plaintiff
harmed individual in a civil case; brings legal action against alleged wrongdoer
defendant
accused wrongdoer; person against whom a claim is made; person being sued in a civil case
damages
usually monetary; injuries or losses suffered by one person due to the fault of another; money asked for or paid by court order to a plaintiff for injuries or losses suffered
liability
legal responsibility; obligation to do or not do something
remedy
something to make up for harm done; what is done to compensate for an injury to enforce some right
settlement
mutual agreement between two sides in a civil lawsuit; made before case goes to trial, or before final judgment is entered
common law
a system in which court decisions establish legal principles and rules of law; tort law is based on this
statutes
written laws enacted by legislatures
standard of proof
the level of certainty and the degree of evidence necessary to establish proof in a criminal or civil proceeding; the civil case requires the lesser standard of preponderance of evidence
preponderance of evidence
usually the standard of proof used in a civil suit; the burden of proof that a party must meet in order to win the lawsuit; to win, a party must prove more than 50% of the evidence to declare guilty
immune
exempt from penalties, payments, or legal requirements; free from prosecution
class action
injured party can form a class and bring their lawsuit together; a lawsuit brought by one or more persons on behalf of a larger group
contingency fee
the fee paid to an attorney based on a percentage of the sum the client is awarded or settles for in a lawsuit
intentional tort
an action taken deliberately to harm another person and/or his or her property
compensatory damages
recover damages to make up for harm caused; award compensates for harm caused by defendant; in a civil case, money the court requires a defendant to pay a winning plaintiff to make up for harm caused
punitive damages
awards in excess of the proven economic loss; in a tort action; they are awarded to the plaintiff to punish the defendant and to warn others not to engage such conduct
nominal damages
a token amount of money awarded by a court to a plaintiff to show that the claim was justified, even if the plaintiff is unable to prove economic harm
emotional distress
a tort in which a defendant purposely engages in an action that causes extreme emotional harm to the plaintiff
false imprisonment
the intentional or wrongful confinement of another person against his or her will; protects a person's right to be free from unreasonable restraint
defamation
written or spoken expression about a person that is false and damages the person's reputation; protects a person's reputation by laws prohibiting this
real property
land and all items attached to it, such as houses, crops, and fences
personal property
property or belongings that can be moved, such as cars, clothing, furniture, and appliances
nuisance
an unreasonable interference with the use and enjoyment of one's property, usually repeated or continued for prolonged periods of time
attractive nuisance
doctrine that says if a person keeps something on his or her premises that is likely to attract children, that person must take reasonable steps to protect children against dangers the condition might cause
conversion
in tort law, the taking or controlling of another's property without consent; if the property is not returned to the rightful owner, the court can force the defendant to give the plaintiff the monetary value of the property
cause in fact
one of the elements a plaintiff must prove in order to establish causation in a negligence suit; it means that if the harm would not have occurred without the wrongful act, the act is this
proximate cause
in negligence law, this concept limits damages the defendant must prove to only those harms that are reasonable, predictable consequences of the defendant's wrongful acts