Chapter 9 - Business Torts

Vocabulary flashcards covering core definitions, legal concepts, tort classifications, and defenses in Chapter 9: Business Torts.

Tort

A civil wrong that is an interference with someone's person or property such that injury results; comes from the Latin word "tortus," meaning crooked, dubious, or twisted.

Crime

A public wrong in which the wrongdoer is prosecuted and pays a fine to the government or is jailed to pay a debt to society.

Intentional Torts

Civil wrongs that involve deliberate acts resulting in harm, constituting more than an accidental wrong.

Tort of Negligence

Civil wrongs involving accidental harms that result from the failure to think through the consequences of one's actions.

Strict Tort Liability

An absolute standard of liability applied in product liability cases or statutory violations, such as improper disposal of toxic waste.

Defamation

An untrue statement by one party that is published to a third party.

Slander

Oral or spoken defamation.

Libel

Written defamation, which in some states also includes broadcast defamation.

Malice

Knowledge that a statement is false, or publishing a false statement with reckless disregard as to whether it was true or false.

Absolute Privilege

A defense to defamation protecting testimony given under oath and legislative debate, provided it is related to the matter at hand.

Opinion Privilege

A defense to defamation covering analysis, op-ed articles, and thoughts or word choices regarding conduct that enjoy First Amendment protection.

Qualified Privilege

A defense to defamation protecting media publishers, as long as the information is published without malice.

Contract Interference

A tort occurring when a third party knows of an existing contract between two primary parties, intends to cause a breach, and damages an original party through the resulting breach.

False Imprisonment

The custody or detention of someone for any period of time against their will, establishing liability without needing to prove physical damages.

Shopkeeper's Privilege

A legal defense to false imprisonment allowing a merchant to detain an individual for a reasonable time if there is a valid basis for detaining them.

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

A tort imposing liability for conduct that exceeds all bounds of decency.

HIPAA

A statute protecting health and patient privacy by requiring patient permission to discuss or send records and medical cases.

Appropriation

The unauthorized use of someone's name, voice, image, or likeness for commercial advantage.

Duty

The first element of negligence, which expects all persons to act as ordinary and reasonably prudent persons would.

Breach of Duty

The second element of negligence, defined as the failure to comply with an established standard of conduct.

Causation

The third element of negligence, establishing that a breach of duty caused the plaintiff's injuries under the "but for" test, restricted by the zone of danger rule.

Proximate Cause

The fourth element of negligence, establishing a legal foreseeability limit between "but for" causation and events contributing to a plaintiff's injuries.

Contributory Negligence

A defense to negligence applied when the plaintiff is also negligent, serving as a complete bar to recovery.

Comparative Negligence

A defense to negligence that compares the acts of plaintiff and defendant, assessing blame and reducing the plaintiff's recovery by their percentage of fault.

Assumption of Risk

A defense to negligence where the plaintiff knew of an inherent risk and chose to proceed anyway.