Tort
A civil wrong not arising from a breach of contract; a breach of a legal duty that proximately causes harm or injury to another
Business Tort
Wrongful interference with another's business rights.
Damages
Money sought as a remedy for a breach of contract or a tortious action
Purpose of tort law
To provide remedies for the invasion of various protected interests
Compensatory Damages
A monetary award equivalent to the actual value of injuries, or damage sustained by the aggrieved party
2 types of Comp. Damages
Special damages - compensate for quantifiable loss (medical, lost wages...)
General Damages - compensate individuals for non-monetary aspects of harm suffered (pain and suffering)
Punitive Damages
Monetary damages that may be awarded to a plaintiff to punish the defendant and deter future similar conduct
Gross Negligence
The intentional failure to preform an obvious duty in reckless disregard for the consequences likely to affect life or property.
Cyber Tort
A tort act committed in cyberspace
Intentional tort
a wrongful act knowingly committed
Tortfeasor
one who commits a tort
Assault
Any word or action intended to make another person fearful of immediate physical harm; a reasonably believable threat
Battery
the unprivileged intentional touching of another
Defenses for assault and battery
Consent
self defense
defense of others
defense of property
False imprisonment
Intentional and unjustifiable detention or restraint of a person without his consent or other legal authority.
Actionable
Capable of serving as the basis of a lawsuit. An actionable clam can be pursued in a lawsuit or other court action.
Defamation
Anything published or publicly spoken that causes injury to another's good name, reputation or character
Libel
Defamation in writing or other form having the quality of permanence (ex. digital recording)
Slander
Defamation in oral form
Damages for libel
General damages - compensate the plaintiff for nonspecific harms such as disgrace or dishonor in the eyes of the community...
Damages for slander
must prove Special Damages - must show the statement caused an actual monetary loss
Slander per se
1. a statement that another has a communicable disease. 2. another has committed improprieties while engaged in a profession or trade. 3. another has committed or has been imprisoned for a serious crime. 4. A woman is unchaste or has engaged in serious se
Privilege
A legal right, exemption, or immunity granted to a person or a class of persons. In the context of persons. In the context of defamation, an absolute privilege immunizes the person making the statements from a lawsuit, regardless of whether the statements
Absolute privilege
a complete defense if the statement is made in legislative or judicial proceedings
Qualified privilege
exists when two people have a legitimate need to exchange information
Actual malice
The deliberate intent to cause harm, which exists when a person makes a statement, either knowing that it is false, or showing a reckless disregard for whether it is true. In defamation law, a statement made about a public figure normally must be made wit
Invasion of privacy
1-appropriation of identity
2-Intrusion into an individual's affairs or seclusion
3-false light
4-Public disclosure of private facts
Appropriation
In tort law, the use by one person of another person's name, likeness, or other identifying characteristic without permission and for the benefit of the user.
Commercial appropriation
taking and using property of another for the sole purpose of capitalizing unfairly on the goodwill or reputation of the property owner
Fraudulent Misrepresentation
Any misrepresentation, either by misstatement or by omission of a material fact, knowingly made with the intention of deceiving another and on which a reasonable person would and does rely to his or her detriment.
Puffery
A salespersons often exaggerated claims concerning the quality of property offered for sale. Such claims involve opinions rather than facts and are not considered to be legally binding promises or warranties.
Wrongful Interference with a Contractual Relationship
1. A valid enforceable contract must exist
2. a 3rd party must know that is exists
3. the 3rd party must intentionally induce a party to breach the contract
Predatory Behavior
Business behavior that is undertaken with the intention of unlawfully driving competitors out of the market
Intentional torts against property
trespass to land, trespass to and conversion of personal property
Real property
land and things permanently attached to the land
Personal property
all items which are basically movable
Trespass to land
The entry onto, above, or below the surface of land owned by another w/o the owner's permission or legal authorization
Trespass to personal property
The unlawful taking or harming of another's personal property; interference with another's right to the exclusive possession of his or her personal property.
Conversion
Wrongfully taking or retaining possession of an individual's personal property and placing it in the service of another
Disparagement of property
An economically injurious falsehood made about another's product or property; a general term for torts that are more specifically referred to a slander of quality or slander of title.
Slander of quality (trade libel)
The publication of false information about another's product, alleging that it is not what its seller claims.
Slander of title
The publication of a statement that denies or casts doubt on another's legal ownership of any property, causing financial loss to that property's owner.
Negligence
The failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in similar circumstances
To succeed in a negligence action must prove
1. the defendant owed a duty of care to plaintiff
2. defendant breached that duty
3. plaintiff suffered a legally recognizable injury
4. defendant's breach caused the plaintiff's injury
Duty of care
The duty of all persons, as established by tort law, to exercise a reasonable amount of care in their dealings with others. Failure to exercise due care, which is normally determined by the "reasonable person standard," constitutes the tort of negligence.
Reasonable person standard
The standard of behavior expected of a hypothetical "reasonable person"; the standard against which negligence is measured and that must be observed to avoid liability for negligence.
Duty of landowners
Exercise reasonable care to protect persons coming onto their property
Business invitee
A person, such as a customer or a client, who is invited onto business premises by the owner of those premises for business purposes
Duty of professionals
required to have a standard minimum level of special knowledge and ability
Malpractice
Professional misconduct or the lack of the requisite degree of skill as a professional. Negligence - the failure to exercise due care - on the part of a professional
Causation of fact
An act or omission w/o which an event would ot have occurred
Proximate cause
Legal cause; exists when the connection between an act and an injury is strong enough to justify imposing libel
Defenses to negligence
1. assumption of risk
2. superseding cause
3. contributory and comparative negligence
Assumption of risk
a doctrine under which a plaintiff may not recover for injuries or damage suffered from risks he or she knows of and has voluntarily assumed. must have 1. knowledge of risk and 2. voluntary assumption of risk
Superseding cause
unforeseeable intervening event may break the connection between a wrongful act and an injury to another
Contributory negligence
a rule in tort law that completely bars the plaintiff from recovering any damages if the damage suffered is partly the plaintiff's own fault; used in a minority of states
Comparative negligence
a rule in tort law that reduces the plaintiff's recovery in proportion to the plaintiff's degree of fault, rather than barring recovery completely; used in the majority of states
Res ipsa loquitur
A doctrine under which negligence may be inferred simply because an event occurred, if it is the type of event that would not occur in the absence of negligence. Literally, the term means "the facts speak for themselves.
negligence per se
an action or failure to act in violation of a statutory requirement
Good Samaritan statute
A state statute stipulating that persons who provide emergency services to, or rescue, someone in peril cannot be sued for negligence, unless they act recklessly, thereby causing further harm.
Dram shop act
A state statute that imposes liability on the owners of bars and taverns, as well as those who serve alcoholic drinks to the public, for injuries resulting from accidents caused by intoxicated persons when the sellers or servers of alcoholic drinks contri
Strict liability
Liability regardless of fault. In tort law, strict liability is imposed on a manufacturer or seller that introduced into commerce a good that is unreasonably dangerous when in a defective condition