Tort
A violation of a duty imposed by the civil law
Intentional Tort
Harm caused by a deliberate action
Negligence and Strict Liability
Injuries caused by neglect and oversight rather than deliberate conduct
Libel
Written Defamation
Slander
Oral Defamation
Element
A fact that a plaintiff must prove to win a lawsuit
Opinion
Generally a valid defense in a defamation suit because it cannot be proven true or false
Absolute Privilege
A witness testifying in a court or legislature may never be sued for defamation
Qualified Privilege
Exists between two people who have a legitimate need to exchange information
False Imprisonment
The intentional restraint of another person without reasonable cause and without consent
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Results from extreme and outrageous conduct that causes serious emotional harm
Battery
An intentional touching of another person in a way that is unwanted or offensive
Assault
Occurs when a defendant does some act that makes a plaintiff fear an imminent battery
Fraud
Injuring another person by deliberate deception
Compensatory Damages
Money intended to restore a plaintiff to the position he was in before the injury
SIngle Recovery Principle
Requires a court to settle the matter once and for all by awarding a lump sum for past and future expenses
Punitive Damages
Intended to punish the defendant for conduct that is extreme and outrageous
Tortious Interference with a contract
The defendant improperly induced a third party to breach a contract with the plaintiff
Tortious interference with a prospective advantage
Malicious interference with a developing economic relationship
Intrusion
A tort if a reasonable person would find the invasion of her private life offensive
Judicial Restraint
A court's reluctance to interfere with the terms of a contract
Judicial Activism
A court's willingness to change or ignore a contract that it perceives as unjust
Bilateral Contract
A promise made in exchange for another promise
Express Contract
An agreement with all important terms explicitly stated
Implied Contract
The words and conduct of the parties indicate they have an agreement
Executory Contract
An agreement in which one or more parties has not yet fulfilled its obligations
Executed Contracts
An agreement in which all parties have fulfilled their obligations
Voidable contract
An agreement that may be terminated by one of the parties
Void Agreement
A contract that neither party can enforce because the bargain is illegal or one of the parties had no legal authority to make it
Promissory Estoppel
A possible remedy for an injured plaintiff in a case with no valid contract, where the plaintiff can show a promise, reasonable reliance and injustice
Quasi Contract
A possible remedy for an injured plaintiff in a case with no valid contact, where the plaintiff can show benefit to the defendant, reasonable expectation of payment and unjust enrichment
Quantum Meruit
As much as he deserves, the damages awarded in a quasi contract case
Meeting of the Times
The parties understood each other and intended to reach an agreement
Offer
An act or statement that proposes definite terms and permits the other party to create a contract by accepting those terms
Offerer
The person who makes an offer
Offeree
The person to whom an offer is made
Letter of Intent
A letter that summarizes the negotiating process
Mirror Image Rule
Requires that acceptance be on precisely the same terms as the offer
Discharge
A party is discharged when she has no ore duties under contract
Rescind
To terminate a contract
Strict Performance
Requires one party to perform its obligations precisely, with no deviation from the contract terms
Substantial Performance
Occurs when one party fulfills enough of its contract obligations to warrant payments
Time of the Essence Clause
Generally Makes Contract Dates strictly enforceable
Statute of Limitations
A statutory time limit within which an injured party must file suit
Interest
A legal right in something
Expectation Interest
Is designed to put the injured party in the position she would have been in had both sides fully performed their obligations
Compensatory Damages
Are those that flow directly from the contract
Consequential Damages
Those resulting from the unique circumstances of this injured party
Incidental Damages
Relatively minor costs that the injured party suffers when responding to the breach
Reliance Interest
Puts the injured party in the position he would have been in had the parties never entered into a contract
Restitution Interest
Is designed to return to the injured party a benefit he has conferred on the other party
Recission
To undo a contract and put the parties pack where they were before they made the agreement
Specific Performance
Forces both parties to complete the deal
Injunction
A court order that requires someone to do something or refrain from doing something
Mitigate
To keep damages as low as is reasonable
Liquidated Damages Clause
A provision in the contract that declares in advance what one party will receive if the other side breaches.