Chapter 6: Torts Practice Flashcards

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering key concepts, legal terms, tort classifications, damages, negligence defenses, and case references from Chapter 6 Torts lecture notes.

Tort

A civil wrong, whether intentional or accidental, that causes harm or loss to a person or property and gives the injured party the right to sue for damages, arising outside of contract duties.

Three Elements of a Tort Claim

The required components of any tort claim: (1) Duty (other than under a contract), (2) Breach of that duty, and (3) Resulting damage to another.

Compensatory Damages

Damages intended to reimburse the plaintiff for actual losses in order to make them whole, categorized into special damages and general damages.

Special Damages

A category of compensatory damages covering actual out-of-pocket monetary losses, such as medical bills, lost wages, and property repair costs.

General Damages

A category of compensatory damages compensating for non-monetary harm, such as pain and suffering, loss of companionship, and disfigurement.

Punitive Damages

Damages awarded to punish the wrongdoer and deter others, typically capped by law within ranges such as $\\text{\\textdollar}250,000$ to $\\text{\\textdollar}750,000$.

Tortfeasor

An individual or entity who commits a tort.

Assault

An intentional, unexcused act that creates in another person a reasonable apprehension or fear of immediate harmful or offensive contact without requiring physical touching.

Battery

An unexcused and harmful or offensive physical contact intentionally performed, whether directly or by an object thrown.

Privilege to Detain

A statutory defense allowing businesses to detain suspected shoplifters for a reasonable time, using reasonable force, in a reasonable manner with legal justification (probable cause).

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (IIED)

A tort requiring extreme and outrageous conduct that exceeds all boundaries of decency and results in severe emotional distress to a person.

Libel

Defamation committed in writing or another permanent form, for which general damages are presumed without needing proof of special damages.

Slander

Defamation committed through spoken words, requiring the plaintiff to prove special damages unless the statement constitutes slander per se.

Slander Per Se

False spoken statements that are actionable without proof of special damages, including allegations of a loathsome disease, professional impropriety, serious crime, or unchastity/sexual misconduct.

Actual Malice

A legal standard requiring proof that a defamatory statement was made with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard for the truth, required for public figure plaintiffs.

Appropriation of Identity

The unauthorized commercial use of a person's name, picture, likeness, or identifiable characteristic.

Fraudulent Misrepresentation

Intentional deceit for personal gain involving misrepresentation of material facts, knowledge or reckless disregard of falsity, intent to induce reliance, justifiable reliance, and resulting damages.

Puffery

Seller's talk consisting of subjective terms and expressions of opinion rather than statements of material fact.

Negligent Misrepresentation

A non-intentional false statement made without a reasonable basis for believing it to be true by a speaker who owes a duty of care to provide accurate information.

Abuse of Process

The improper use of the legal system or legal procedures (such as wrongful use of subpoenas) to accomplish a purpose for which it was not designed.

Malicious Prosecution

Initiating a lawsuit or legal proceeding against someone without a legitimate legal reason and with malice.

Wrongful Interference with a Contractual Relationship

A business tort where a valid, enforceable contract exists, a third party knows of it, and the third party intentionally induces a party to breach it.

Predatory Behavior

Unreasonable business practice of soliciting exclusively those customers who have already shown an interest in a competitor's specific product or service.

Trespass to Land

Entering onto, above, or below the surface of another's land without permission, causing something to enter it, or remaining after being told to leave, without requiring actual physical harm to the land.

Attractive Nuisance Doctrine

A legal rule providing that young children do not assume the risk of injury if they are attracted onto property by an object or condition.

Trespass to Personal Property

Wrongfully harming or meddling with another's personal property, interfering with the owner's right to exclusive possession and enjoyment.

Conversion

Civil theft or any act that deprives an owner of personal property without permission and without just cause by placing the property in the service of the trespasser or another.

Slander of Quality (Trade Libel)

Publication of false statements about a competitor's product alleging it is not as claimed, causing actual proximate financial damages.

Slander of Title

Publication that falsely denies or casts doubt on another party's legal ownership of property, resulting in financial loss to the owner.

Elements of Negligence

The four required elements of an unintentional tort claim: Duty, Breach, Causation, and Damages ($\text{D-B-C-D}$).

Reasonable Person Standard

The objective standard of behavior expected of an ordinary, prudent person acting under the same circumstances.

Cause in Fact

The requirement that the plaintiff's injury would not have occurred 'but for' the defendant's breach of duty.

Proximate Cause

Legal cause evaluated by whether the harm to the plaintiff was a foreseeable result of the defendant's actions.

Dram Shop Act

Laws holding bar owners, bartenders, or social hosts liable for injuries caused by individuals who became intoxicated at their establishment or home.

Good Samaritan Statute

Laws protecting individuals who voluntarily render emergency aid from being sued for negligence.

Assumption of the Risk

A defense to negligence applied when a plaintiff voluntarily enters a risky situation with knowledge of the specific risk involved.

Superseding Intervening Force

An unforeseeable event that breaks the causal connection between the defendant's act and the plaintiff's injury, relieving the original defendant of liability for subsequent damages.

Contributory Negligence

A common law defense where any percentage of negligence on the part of the plaintiff completely bars them from recovering damages.

Comparative Negligence

A defense rule reducing a plaintiff's recoverable damages by their own percentage of fault.

Pure Form Comparative Negligence

A system of comparative negligence allowing a plaintiff to recover damages reduced by their percentage of fault, even if plaintiff fault exceeds $50\%$.

50% Rule Comparative Negligence

A system of comparative negligence where a plaintiff recovers reduced damages only if their percentage of fault does not exceed $50\%$.

Texas Comparative Negligence Rule

A modified comparative negligence rule under which a plaintiff's damages are reduced by their percentage of fault, but recovery is barred if the plaintiff is more than $50\%$ responsible.

Oberlin College Case (Ex. 6.1)

A case demonstrating punitive damages where a bakery sued Oberlin College over shoplifting fallout and won, establishing that punitive damages exist but may be capped.

I.K. v. Banana Republic (OR 2022)

A case addressing IIED and negligent hiring where an employee filmed coworkers in a restroom, holding employer liability to whether it knew or should have known of the risk.

Bogenberger v. Pi Kappa Alpha (IL 2018)

A negligence case establishing that local fraternity members owed a duty to a freshman pledge forced to drink alcohol, while the national organization owed no duty absent a special relationship.

Katko v. Briney

A landowner duty case establishing that deadly force, such as a spring gun, cannot be used to protect property against trespassers.

Palsgraf v. Long Island RR (NY 1928)

A landmark proximate cause case where an unforeseeable injury caused by falling scales following a fireworks explosion meant no proximate cause and no liability.

Taylor v. Baseball Club of Seattle (2006)

An assumption of risk case holding that spectators assume normal inherent risks like errant warm-up throws if they voluntarily attend and fully understand the specific risk.

Comparative Negligence Recovery Comparison Table

A comparative breakdown of plaintiff recovery across Pure form, 50% rule, and Texas rules for $200,000 in total damages based on varying percentages of fault.

Tort Law Key Cases Quick Reference (Part 1)

A reference summary of key tort cases including Oberlin College, I.K. v. Banana Republic, Bogenberger, Martin v. Wal-Mart, Liebeck v. McDonald's, and Katko v. Briney.

Tort Law Key Cases Quick Reference (Part 2)

A reference summary of key tort cases including Palsgraf v. Long Island RR and Taylor v. Baseball Club of Seattle.