Session 11 - Tort Law

Vicarious Liability

Employers may be vicariously liable for torts committed by their employees against co-workers or third parties, highlighting why tort law is critical in the employment context.

Types of Torts

• Intentional Torts

• Unintentional Torts

• Special Tort Liability of Business Professionals

Intentional Torts

Assault and Battery: Involves intentional and harmful or offensive contact.

Intimidation & Defamation: Includes threats to cause harm or damage to someone’s reputation through false statements.

Deceit: Involving the intentional misrepresentation that causes harm.

Intentional Infliction of Mental Suffering: Actions specifically intended to cause severe emotional distress.

Inducing Breach of Contract: Intentionally causing a party to break a contractual obligation.

Unintentional Torts

Standard of Care and Its Breach: Refers to the failure to meet a recognized standard of care, resulting in harm.

The Issue of Causation: Establishing that the breach of the standard of care directly caused the harm.

Vicarious Liability of Employers: Employers can be held liable for the torts committed by their employees during employment.

Employer Negligence in Hiring Process: Involving failure to properly vet employees who then cause harm to others.

Special Tort Liability of Business Professionals

• Fiduciary Duty: Certain professionals may have a fiduciary duty towards their clients, which involves a high level of trust and the requirement to act in the best interests of the client.

  • Lawyers

  • Engineers

  • Accountants

  • Architects

Intimidation

Definition: Intimidation involves trying to coerce someone to do something or refrain from doing something they are entitled to by means of an unlawful act.

Employment Context: Commonly arises in the context of employment, particularly around termination or threats of termination. For example, an employer might unlawfully threaten to dismiss an employee if they do not accept a reassignment.

Legality: It's key to note that there is no intimidation if the act threatened is not unlawful.

Defamation

Forms: Can occur as either libel (written defamation) or slander (spoken defamation).

Requirements: Involves making false statements with the intention of causing serious harm to another person’s reputation.

• Defenses:

  • Truth of the Statement: Demonstrating that the statements made were true.

  • Qualified Privilege: Applies when the speaker has a legal, moral, or social duty to make the statements and the listener has a corresponding interest in hearing them.

  • Absolute Privilege: Limited to statements made in certain protected environments, such as in parliament, in court, or before a royal commission.

Who Owes a Duty of Care?

Employers to Employees: To avoid gross negligence in providing a safe working environment.

Employees to Employers: Includes duties not to act in ways that knowingly harm the employer's business.

Professional Employees to Clients and Public: Professionals owe specific duties to their clients and sometimes the general public, depending on their roles.

Employees to Customers: Employees must act in ways that do not harm customers of their employer.

Tort Remedies

• Compensatory Damages

• Punitive Damages

• Injunctions

• Nominal Damages

Compensatory Damages

Objective: To place the victim in the same position as if the tort had not occurred.

Types:

• Pecuniary Damages: Cover financial losses such as medical expenses and lost wages.

• Non-pecuniary Damages: Compensate for harm suffered by the victim that is not financial, such as pain and suffering.

Punitive Damages

Purpose: To punish the wrongdoer for reckless disregard of others and to deter similar future behavior.

Contexts: Especially relevant in cases of defamation or particularly egregious conduct.

Injunctions

Function: Courts can order the wrongdoer to stop the harmful action.

Nature:

• Can be temporary or permanent.

• Failure to comply can lead to fines or imprisonment for contempt of court.

Nominal Damages

Role: Awarded when the tort does not result in significant loss or suffering.

Significance: Serve as symbolic recognition of the wrong committed, even without substantial harm. Often combined with the payment of the victim’s court costs.