Tort LawChapter 3

Section 1

Definition of Tort

Tort• A tort is not a crime against society. It

is a wrong one person commits against another person.

•Torts protect and enforce rights• Walk around freely• Privacy• Reputation

• Tortfeasor- person committing the wrong

Tort• Three Elements to a Tort:

1. Possession of rights by an innocent party

2. Violation of rights by tortfeasor3. Resulting injury that hurts the

person whose rights are violated

Tort Law vs. Criminal Law• Tort: •Wrong against individual person•Considered civil or private (not criminal)•Can be considered both criminal and civil• Ex: Assault –injures the victim and

poses a threat to the public

• Explain the differences between Tort law and Criminal law. •Punishments? Cases? Violations?

Law Q

Tort Law vs. Criminal Law• Purpose of Punishments•Criminal –protect society from offenders

• Tort –compensate the victim for injuries• Pay damages (fair amount of money to cover the

cost of injury• Pain and suffering• Medical bills• Replace/repair damaged property• Lost wages

• Punitive damages –additional fines awarded to victim the go beyond the damages awarded to right the wrong. • Further punishes the defendant for outrageous

misconduct and to deter the defendant

• Describe how/why punitive damages may be awarded.

Law Q

Intentional Torts against Persons

• Intentional Torts•Actions that deliberately hurt, embarrass, or scare people

•Most common: assault, battery, false imprisonment, defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Assault and Battery

• Assault- as soon as you feel threatened with bodily harm

• Battery- touching the person or something on the person (backpack, pull a chair out)

False Imprisonment

• The right to move around freely

•Mall cop must have reasonable grounds to stop an alleged shoplifter

•Person can be held for a reasonable time and in a reasonable way

Defamation

• Lying about another person in a way that hurts the innocent’s reputation

•Libel- lies in written, printed, or recorded form (TV, magazines, Web)

•Slander- lies made by verbal or spoken words

•Must prove the lie is made with malice

Invasion of Privacy

•Right to be left alone, free from unwanted publicity, private matters

•Confidentiality (teachers, doctors, lawyers, nurses, etc)

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

•Mental or emotional distress•Must be caused by extreme and outrageous conduct

• Ex: Falsely and purposefully convincing someone a family member died

Intentional Torts against Property

•Most common: trespass, conversion, nuisance, and disparagement

Trespass

• Interfering with someone’s real property • Land• Things built on land• Shed

•Attached to land• House, tree, minerals, oil

Conversion

• Interfering with someone’s right to personal property• Borrowing something and never returning it

Nuisance

• Interfering with enjoyment of property• Loud music, foul odors, fumes• Private and Public nuisance

Disparagement

•Lies about objects• About quality or ownership• List a used car in excellent condition, but is actually defective• Prove you lost money due to the lie

Negligence and Liability

Negligence• Negligence is a tort that result when one person

carelessly injures another. • an accidental tort• Most common tort• Requires no actual intent by the tortfeasor

• Negligence is being less careful than a reasonable person would be• Automobile accident• Meltdown of nuclear power plant• Slipping on ice

Elements of Negligence• Plaintiff must prove:• Defendant owed Duty of Care• Defendant breached that duty by being careless• Defendant’s carelessness was the proximate cause of

harm• Plaintiff was really hurt by carelessness

• Failing to prove JUST ONE will result in no remedy

Duty of Care • Because every person has certain rights in our

society, all of us have a duty to not violate these rights.

• Case is thrown out if the obligation to use a reasonable standard of care to prevent injury is not proven

Breach of Duty

• You breach, or break, your duty to another person when you fail to use reasonable care in dealing with that person.

• Reasonable person test• Must be as careful a reasonable person would

be in the same situation• Consider:

• How likely a certain act is to cause harm• How serious the harm would be• The burden involved in avoiding the harm

Proximate Cause• (Legal Cause) Exists when the link between the

negligent conduct and the injury is strong enough to be recognized by the law

• Without proximate cause, there is not injury

• Foreseeability test• Was the injury to the victim foreseeable at the time• Defendant is liable for negligence

Actual Harm• If a victim is not actually harmed, there can be no

negligence

• Victim must suffer an injury, have property destroyed, or lose a lot of money

• Even the biggest mistake might not result in negligence

Defenses to Negligence• Eliminate one of the four elements • Owed no duty• Careful as a reasonable person• Actions did not cause the victim’s injury• Prove the victim was not really injured in the way the

claim

Three Other Defenses to Negligence• Contributory Negligence• Comparative Negligence• Assumption of Risk

Contributory Negligence• Defense against negligence whenever the

defendant can show that the victim did something that helped cause their own injuries

Comparative Negligence• Defense against negligence which is raised when

the carelessness of each party is compared to the carelessness of the other party. • Amount of damages is reduced by the percentage of

carelessness• Protects plaintiffs (can collect even if careless)

• 50% rule- plaintiff is allowed to receive some damages if the plaintiff's negligence is less than the defendant’s

• Plaintiff gets nothing if negligence is over 50%

Assumption of Risk• Defense against negligence that is raised when

the plaintiff knew of the risk involved and still took the chance of being injured. • Extreme sports• Sign an Assumption of Risk waiver

Strict Liability• Some activities are so dangerous that liability will

always follow any injury that results• Ultrahazardous activities• Risk is so great that no amount of care will eliminate the

danger

• Using explosives• Keeping wild animals

Strict Liability cont. • Product Liability: defective products• Manufacturer and Seller are both liable

• Limits to Product Liability: • Does not apply if the seller does not usually sell the item• If the damage is to the product itself

Tort Reform• Survival Statutes• A lawsuit can continue even if both the plaintiff and the

defendant die

• Wrongful Death Statutes• Allows relatives to bring a lawsuit even if the victim is

dead

• 1. Explain Duty of Care and provide an example.

• 2. Explain strict liabilityLaw Q

• Suppose you write a letter to the editor accusing the town mayor of corruption. The accusation turns out to be false. Can the mayor sue you? For what? Libel? Slander? Is there malice?

• Explain how these factor affect the possible suit.

Law Q