Tort
A wrong to one's person, property, or economic interest
Intent
Desiring to cause the consequences of an action
Tort is committed when:
A duty is owed by one person to another, duty is breached, proximate causes, injury or damage
Battery
Intentional infliction of harmful or offensive bodily contact
Assault
Putting one in reasonable apprehension of receiving a battery
False Imprisonment
Confining a person against their will within fixed boundaries if a person is conscious of the confinement or harmed by it
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Extreme and outrageous conduct that intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional distress
Defamation
False communication that injures a person's reputation by disgracing him/her and the associated disregard/disrespect
Requirements for Defamation
False and defamatory statement about another, unprivileged communication to a 3rd party, negligence or recklessness in knowing or failing to ascertain falsity of statement, proof of special harm
Invasion of Privacy
Using someone's name/likeness without their knowledge, unreasonable intrusion upon the seclusion of another, unreasonable public disclosure of private facts, unreasonable publicity which places another in false light
Real Property
Land or anything attached to it
Trespass
One is subject to liability regardless of whether he/she causes harm to any legally protected interest
Nuisance
Non-trespasssory invasion of another's interest in the private use and enjoyment of land
Personal Property
Any type of property other than an interest in land
Economic Interests
Business dealings, business reputations, business name, logo, etc.
Requirements of Trespass
Entering land in possession of another, or causing 3rd party to do so, remaining on the land, failing to remove from land a thing that he/she is under duty to remove
Negligence
Failure to exercise reasonable care for the safety of another person or his property, which that failure causes injury to such person or damage to such property
Elements involved in Negligent Actions
Breach of duty of care, proximate cause, injury
Good Samaritan Statutes
No negligence unless willful and wanton conduct
If you injure someone and leave them in harms way, are you required to help?
Yes; otherwise would be negligence
Licensee
Privilege to enter land via possessor's consent; must warn them of dangerous conditions on land which he knows about
Trespassor
Enters land without permission or privilege
Invitee
Public invitee or business visitor
Res Ipsa Loquitor
Thing speaks for itself"; no evidence/proof that someone was negligent, but something happened as if negligence occurred
But For test
But for defendant's negligent conduct, the plaintiff's injury would not have occurred
Defenses against Negligence
Contributory Negligence, comparative negligence, assumption of risk
Contributory Negligence
All or nothing (no recovery if even at 1% fault)
Pure Comparative Negligence
Loss is allocated based on % at fault
Modified Comparative Negligence
Loss allocated if less at fault than defendant
Assumption of Risk
Voluntarily, knowingly assuming the risk
Strict Liability
Abnormally dangerous activity, keeping of animals, selling defective, unreasonably dangerous products