Civil Law

Plaintiff

the person or party that initiates the lawsuit

Defendant

the party that must respond to the lawsuit

Litigants

parties involved in a civil suit

Litigation

legal process to resolve a civil suit

Tort Law

injuries or harm created by one person to another’s body, reputation, or

property

Family Law

personal disputes that involve marriage, divorce, child custody,

adoption, and support claims

Contract Law

failing to fulfill the terms of an agreement, such as non-payment for

a service

Labour Law

disputes in the workplace such as wrongful dismissal, unpaid

overtime

Property Law

disputes about ownership or maintenance of property

Minors

Persons under the age of majority, 18 in ON, are known as

minors. A minor wishing to sue must be represented by an adult

Known as “next friend”

Civil Procedures

• Cause of Action

• Writ of Summons

• statement of claim

• statement of defence

• reply

• examination of discovery

• pre-trial conference

• trail court

• appeal

Writ of Summons

a legal document that commences civil actions in some provinces

Statement of Claim

document outlining the facts supporting a civil action and the

remedy desired

Remedy

the relief sought by the plaintiff

Particulars

specific details of a claim in a civil action

Default judgement

judgement against a party who has failed to defend a claim of

action

Statement of defence

response to the plaintiffs complaint, denying the allegations in

part or in whole

Counterclaim

independent cause of action brought by the defendant against the

plaintiff

Liable

legally responsible for a wrongful action

Examination of Discovery

examination of evidence by both sides before a civil trial

Affidavit of documents

list of documents relevant to the case that will be used at trial

Privileged documents

records and information that can be excluded from examination by the other side in a civil action

Class action suit

a lawsuit initiated by a group of people over a complaint common to all

Statement or claim information

the plaintiff’s name and address

the defendant’s name and address

the amount of money or compensation being asked for a brief, clear summary of the reason for the claim

Defendant’s options

• accept total responsibility

• ignore the claim

• file a counterclaim

• fight the plaintiff’s claim

• make a third party claim

Civil trials jury or judge

jury is composed of six people but are not often used compared to a judge

General Damages

• Pecuniary damages: loss of income, future earnings, and cost of

specialized future care

• Non-pecuniary damages: money awarded for pain and suffering and

loss of enjoyment of life (much harder to calculate)

Special Damages

Awarded for specific out-of-pocket expenses incurred before the

trial

Punitive Damages

Meant to punish the defendant for what is considered to be

malicious behaviour

Aggravated Damages

Awarded for mental distress and humiliation, or pain and suffering

Nominal Damages

Awarded as a moral victory for the plaintiff

Injunctions

Court order that directs a person to avoid doing something for a specific

period of time

Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR)

ADR is designed to solve civil disputes without having a formal trial

ADR Models

• Negotiation: the parties involved try to resolve their dispute directly, with or without lawyers.

• Mediation: a neutral third party is brought in to help the parties resolve their dispute; a mediator has no actual decision-making power.

• Arbitration: a neutral third party is brought in to decide the case; an arbitrator’s decisions are binding and final.

Negligence

Someone who commits a careless act that creates harm to

another person is negligent

Negligence has 3 key characteristics

The action is not intentional.

The action is also not planned.

Some type of injury is created.

Duty of Care

a specific legal obligation to not harm others or their property.

The Reasonable Person

When determining if a defendant is in breach of duty of care, the court

uses the “reasonable person test” to determine the level or standard of

care that should be expected.

Foreseeability

foreseeability—a person’s ability to anticipate the specific result of an action

Causation

Causation occurs when the defendant was in breach and the

defendant’s actions directly led to the plaintiff’s injuries or loss.

Commercial Hosts

• A commercial host usually operates a hospitality business, such as a bar or restaurant.

• Commercial hosts have a specific duty of care to monitor Intoxicated customers.

Social Host

A social host has many of the same liabilities as a commercial host, but does not receive any financial benefit.

Defences for Negligence

Contributory negligence

Voluntary assumption of risk

Inevitable accident

Strict Liability

Defendant is automatically liable

Contributory Negligence

Contributory negligence occurs when the alleged victim created at

least part of the harm that he or she ended up suffering

Voluntary Assumption of Risk

Knowingly accepting factors that may cause harm or injury leads to this

defence.

Inevitable Accident

Inevitable accident means that the harm could not have been

reasonably prevented.

Vicarious Liability

This type of liability occurs when a person is held responsible for another

person’s actions

Medical Malpractice

Malpractice occurs when someone receives improper or negligent

professional treatment.

intentional Torts

Intentional tort needs to have intent – intended action could

have a specific consequence and it must have injury

Trespass to Person – Assault and Battery

• assault occurs when there is a simple threat of danger or

  violence.

• Battery is the intentional physical contact or harm caused to another person.

Trespass to Person: False Imprisonment

• If someone is falsely confined or restrained in a specific area, that

  person may file a lawsuit for being falsely imprisoned.

Trespass to Land

The act of entering or crossing onto another person’s land

without that person’s permission or legal authority is trespass

to land.

Nuisance

a nuisance occurs when a person’s unreasonable use of land

interferes with the enjoyment of adjoining land by others.

Private and Public Nuisance

Private: involves personal property.

public nuisance: involves the rights of the public

Defence for Trespass

Consent

Self defence

legal authority

necessity

Defamation

Injuring a person’s character or reputation

• Slander: person’s character has been defamed verbally

• Libel: person’s character has been defamed in written form

Privilege

Absolute privilege: defence against defamation that is used by

people in public roles, such as politicians and judges.

Qualified privilege is a defence against defamation that is used by

people who express an honest opinion as part of their job.