Tort Law
- type of civil wrong
- any harm caused by one person to another, other than through breach of contract, and for which the law provides a remedy
- ex: defamation, negligence, trespass
Purpose of Tort Law
primary objective of the law of tort is to provide compensation to persons who are injured as a result of the actions of others.
Tort-Feasor
-person who commits a tort
-tort law seeks to shift losses from victims to their tort-feasors who caused the loss
Intentional Torts
-harmful act that is committed on purpose
-examples: Assault & Battery
-Assault - threat of imminent physical harm
-Battery - intentional infliction of harmful or offensive physical contact
Negligence
-Unreasonable conduct, including a careless act or omission, that causes harm to another.
-Tort-feasor: person who commits a tort.
- Certain legislation, such as wokers compensation legislation, provides no-fault compensation for injuries instead of a rig
Negligence - common tort action in business
-covers a broad range of harmful conduct
-plaintiff need not show that the defendant intended to cause the damage
-tort of negligence makes the defendant liable to failing to act reasonably
Examples of Negligence lawsuits
-injured by the dangerous driving of a delivery truck driver
-suffered loss by relying on poor advice provided by a professional
-furniture has been damaged by a moving company
Step 1- Duty of Care
-responsibility owed to avoid carelessness that causes harm to other.
-neighbor principle - duty of care is owed to anyone who might reasonably be affected by anothers conduct
Step 2- Standard of Care
-Reasonable person- standard used to judge whether a person conduct in a particular situation is negligent.
-Reasonable standard of care - standard behavior that would be observed by a reasonable person in society
Step 3 - Careless Act or Omission Clause
Causation
-relationship that exists between the defendants conduct and the plaintiffs loss
-plaintiffs must show that the harm would not have occurred "but for" the defendants action
-if there are no damages, then the negligence lawsuit will fail
Step 4 - Damage too remote
-Remoteness of damage - absence of a sufficiently close relationship between the defendants action and the plaintiffs loss.
-Thin Skull Rule - defendant is liable for the full extent of the plaintiffs loss, even when a prior vulnerability makes the harm m
Distinguish torts from crimes and breaches of contract
10.1 in textbook
d2l - chapter 10 pg #8
Identigy remedies awarded to redress torts
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Vicarious liability
liability that an employer has for the tortious acts of an employee committed in the ordinary course or scope of employment.
Joint Tort-Feasors
sometimes two or more are held jointly responsible by a court for the plantiffs loss or injuries
Contributory Negligence
- a defense
- arises when the plaintidd is at least partially responsible for the harm that has occurred
Example of Contributory Negligence
Plantiff was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, causing injuries to be worse that they otherwise would have been.
-court will reduce the plaintiffs award by their own percentage of fault
Purpose of damages in Tort Law
primary purpose is to compensate a victim for loss caused by the defendant
When does vicarious liability impose
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various intentional torts
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Law of negligence
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Types of damages or loss
-pecuniary & non pecuniary
-punitive & aggravated
Pecuniary Damages
compensation for out-of-pocket expenses, loss of future income, and cost of future care
Non-Pecuniary Damages
compensation for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of life expectancy
Punitive Damages
an award to the plaintiff to punish the defendant for malicious, oppressive, and high-handed conduct.
Aggravated Damages
compensation for intangible injuries such as distress and humiliation caused by the defendants reprehensible conduct.
Tort Law compared to Contract Law
-overlapping liability in contract and tort is not uncommon.
-example: when a professional gives advice to a client and that advice is incompetent, the professional is in breach of contract and has committed the tort of negligence.
Managing Tort Risk
no business can eliminate all risk, but ignoring tort risk may result in:
-lawyer fees and amount of judgement awarded to the successful plaintiff
-losing insurance coverage
-losing a hard-earned business reputation
Defenses applicable to the tort of negligence
-Contributory Negligence
-Voluntary Assumption of Risk
Contributory Negligence
-unreasonable conduct by the plaintiff that contributed to, or partially caused, the injuries suffered.
-court will reduce the plaintiffs award by their own percentage of fault
Voluntary Assumption of Risk
-no liability exists, as the plaintiff agreed to accept the risk inherent in the activity
-the defendant must show the plaintiff accepted the physical and legal risks of the activity.
Product liability
-liability relating to the design, manufacture, or sale of the product
-often involve contract law as well but may also involve negligence.
-involves both negligence law and law of contract
Tort impacting businesses
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