Term
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Definition
(1)A civil wrong (other than a breach of contract) for which the law provides a remedy.
(2)a breach of duty owed to another that causes harm
(3) liability is imposed for conduct that unreasonably interferes w/ the legally protected interests of another |
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Term
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Definition
1. Negligence
2. Intentional
3. Strict liability |
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Term
| 3 Ways Businesses can be involved in torts |
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Definition
1. a person is harmed by the actions of a business or its employees
2. a person is harmed by a product manufactured or distributed by the business
3. a business is harmed by the wrongful actions of another business or person |
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Term
| Tort suits + Punitive damages |
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Definition
In a small % of tort suits, punitive damages are awarded in addition to compensation for injury.
Punitive Damages are intended to punish the defendant financially for their behavior and to send a message that such behavior will not be tolerated by society. |
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Term
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Definition
| protects people from harm from others' unintentional but legally careless conduct. (individuals have a duty to conduct ourselves in all situations so as not to create an unreasonable risk of harm or injury to others) |
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Term
| Criteria for a D to be liable for negligence (must meet all 4 criteria) |
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Definition
1. the wrongdoer owed a duty to the injured party. (The legal standard created is often called "due care" or "ordinary care")
2. The duty of care owed to the injured party was breached through some act or omission on the part of the wrongdoer
3. There is a "causal connection" between the wrongdoer's negligent conduct and the resulting harm to the injured party
4. The injured party suffered actual harm or damage recognized as actionable by law as a result of the negligent conduct. |
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Term
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Definition
| conduct-act or omission-by a person or business that results in harm to another to whom the person owes a "duty of care" |
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Term
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Definition
| In determining whether a person's conduct violates the duty of care in a situation, courts use the "Reasonable Person" standard to represent a standard of how persons in the relevant community "ought" to behave |
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Term
| Reasonable Person Standard |
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Definition
- Used to determine if duty of care is breached
- What would a reasonable, qualified person have done under the same or similar circumstances |
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Term
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Definition
| A basic element of a tort in negligence is "causation" btwn one party's act and another's injury. |
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Term
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Definition
- "the thing speaks for itself"
- in some cases the P states a case that is so obvious that the doctrine of "res ipsa loquitur" applies |
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Term
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Definition
- "But for" test
- established by evidence showing that a D's action or inaction is the actual cause of an injury that would not have occurred "but for" the D's behavior |
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Term
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Definition
| The "but for" rule used by courts to determine if causation in fact applies |
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Term
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Definition
- The "action" of the D that produces the P's injuries, w/o which the injury or damage in question would not have existed.
- limits liability to consequences that bear a reasonable relationship to the negligent conduct. (The injuries must be "foreseeable" from the tort) |
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Term
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Definition
| B/c proximate cause is difficult to understand and apply, some states replaced the proximate cause rule in negligence actions w/ the "substantial factor test" |
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Term
| Substantial Factor Test (states that...) |
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Definition
| "A legal cause of injury is a cause which is a substantial factor in bringing about the injury" |
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Term
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Definition
- Even if negligence occurred, if the causal connection to the resulting injury is broken by an intervening act, there is a "superseding cause"
- D will NOT be liable if the intervening act was unforeseeable under the circumstances |
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Term
| Danger-invites-rescue-doctrine |
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Definition
| common law holds the negligent party responsible for the losses suffered by those who attempt to save people who are in danger as the result of the torts of others |
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Term
| Defenses to Negligence Action |
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Definition
1. Assumption of Risk
2. Comparative negligence |
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Term
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Definition
- an injured party who voluntarily assumed the risk of harm arising from the negligent or reckless conduct of another may not be allowed to recover compensation for such harm.
- P knew or should have known of the risk, and the risk was voluntarily assumed |
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Term
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Definition
| a part of a contract that releases one of the parties from liability for their wrongdoings |
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Term
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Definition
- (replaced old rule of contributory negligence)
- damages are reduced by the percentage of injuries caused by the P's own negligence |
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Term
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Definition
- classified on the basis of the interests the law seeks to protect: personal rights & property rights.
- greater degree of responsibility one "tortfeasers" (persons who commit torts) for intentional acts that harm legally protected. |
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Term
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Definition
1. state of mind of D (person knew what he was doing)
2. person knew, or should have known, the possible consequences of his act.
3. knowing that certain results are likely to occur |
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Term
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Definition
- to be liable, a D must have acted: that is, there must have been "voluntary action"
- under tort law when a person acts voluntarily, he is presumed to have intended the consequences of his act, or should have known what the consequences could be, and so is responsible for the consequences. |
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Term
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Definition
-intent matters much less than the act of invading the interests of another person
- even in cases in which the D did not have a bad motive (playing a trick on someone), if the tortfeasor intended to commit the act that inflicted injury on another, the "willful intent" would be present for tort liability |
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Term
| Major Categories of Intentional Torts |
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Definition
1. Assault/Battery
2. False Imprisonment
3. Infliction of Emotional Distress
4. Invasion of Privacy
5. Defamation |
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Term
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Definition
- intentional conduct directed at a person that places the person in fear of immediate bodily harm or offensive contact (actual contact w/ body is not necessary)
- apprehension of offensive physical contact |
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Term
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Definition
- unlawful touching (intentional physical contact w/o consent)
- actual physical contact |
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Term
| Defenses to Assault & Battery |
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Definition
1. Consent
2. Privilege
3. Self Defense
4. Defense of others and of property |
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Term
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Definition
- injured party gave permission to the alleged wrongdoer to interfere w/ a personal right
- may be expressed or implied by words or conduct |
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Term
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Definition
| An act "would have been" a tort had the D not acted to further an interest of social importance that deserves protection. |
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Term
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Definition
| allowed to use force that which a reasonable person may have used under the circumstances |
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Term
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Definition
- intentional holding, detaining, or confining of a person in violation that violates the protected interest in freedom from restraint of movement (could be verbal threat)
- Defense = "privilege to detain" (for a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner) |
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Term
| Infliction of Emotional Distress |
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Definition
-contact that is so outrageous that it creates severe mental or emotional distress in another person
- the protected interest is "peace of mind" |
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Term
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Definition
- a person's right to solitude and to be free from unwarranted public exposure
- use of person's picture w/o permission
- intrusion into a person's solitude
- placing of a person in a false light
- public exposure of facts that are private in nature |
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Term
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Definition
| intentional false communication that injures a person's reputation or good name |
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Term
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Definition
1. "Slander" - spoken
2. "Libel" - in the form of a printing, awriting, a picture, or a radio or television broadcast |
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Term
| 3 Criteria for Defamation to have occured |
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Definition
1. making a false or defamatory statement about another person
2. publishing or communicating the statement to a 3rd person/party
3. causing harm to the person about whom the statement was made |
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Term
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Definition
| a statement that is libel or slander in and of itself and is not capable of an innocent meaning |
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Term
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Definition
1. Truth
2. Privilege (Absolute, Conditional, and Constitutional) |
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Term
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Definition
- D had an unconditional right to make the statements in question and be free from litigation
- this most often applies to statements made by members of a legislature as part of the deliberation process |
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Term
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Definition
- D published in good faith or as part of a duty to publisih
- Businesses have a privilege to communicate information that they believe to be true |
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Term
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Definition
- protects members of the press who publish "opinion" material about public officials, public figures, or persons of legitimate public interest
- Privilege is lost if the stmt was made with "actual malice" = the false stmt was made w/ reckless disregard for the truth |
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