Ch.6 tort law

Tort

A civil wrong, not arising from a breach of contract or other agreement.

Purpose of tort law

To provide a remedy for injury to a protected interest.

Compensatory

Reimburse plaintiff for actual losses

Special:

For quantifiable losses, such as medical expenses, lost wages, and benefits.

General:

For nonmonetary aspects, such as pain, suffering, and reputation.

Punitive

Punish the wrong doer and deter similar conduct in the future (monetary losses may be substantially large due to severity)

Damages available in tort actions

Compensatory

Special

General

Punitive

Classification of torts

intentional and unintentional

Defenses

• The defendant can raise a number of legally recognized ______.

• A successful ___ releases the defendant from partial or full liability for the tortious act.

• Available ____ vary depending on the tort involved.

Intentional tort

The tortfeasor must invest to commit the act

(Knew with substantial certainty that certain consequences would result)

Assault intentional

• intentional and

• unexcused threat of immediate harmful or offensive contact whether words or acts

• That create a reasonably believable threat.

• No physical contact is necessary for an assault to occur:

Battery intentional

Is the completion of the assault

• unexcused and

• harmful or offensive physical contact

• intentionally performed.

Transferred intent

Intent of tortfeasor means to harm one person but unintentionally harms another

False imprisonment intentional

• The intentional confinement of another person or restraint of another person's activities without justification.

• The confinement may occur through the use of physical barriers, physical restraint, or threats of physical force.

• Physical Harm not required.

• Defenses shop keepers privilege

• Reasonable detention

• Reasonable Force.

Intentional infliction of emotional distress

• An intentional act that amounts to extreme and outrageous conduct resulting in severe emotional distress to another:

• The act must be extreme and so outrageous that it exceeds the bounds of decency accepted by society in order to be actionable.

Defamation

• involves wrongfully hurting a person's good reputation.

• Law imposes duty to refrain from making false statements of fact about others.

• Spoken is slander;

• Written is libel.

Elements to prove defamation

• The defendant made a false statement of fact.

• The statement was understood as being about the plaintiff and tended to harm the plaintiff's reputation.

• The statement was published to at least one person other than the plaintiff.

• If the plaintiff is a public figure, they must also prove actual malice.

Damages for slander

The plaintiff must prove special damages

Defenses to defamation

• Truth is a defense for defamation.

• Privileged (or Immune) Speech.

• Absolute Privilege.

• Judicial Proceedings

• Statement on Legislative Floor

• Qualified Privilege.

• Evaluations by Employer limited audience

More defenses of defamation

• Public Figure New York Times v. Sullivan 376 U.S. 254 (1964)

• Absence of Malice: False and defamatory statements made about public figures are privileged unless they are made with actual malice

• Actual Malice either knowledge of falsity OR reckless disregard of the truth or falsity.

• Clear and Convincing Standard of Proof
  [We consider this case against the background of a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials.

Appropriation

• Use of another's name, likeness, or other identifying characteristic

• for commercial purposes

• without the owner's consent.

Fraud

• Intentional deceit, usually for personal gain.
  This tort has several elements.

• Misrepresentation of material fact.

• Intent to induce another to rely on the misrepresentation.

• Justifiable reliance by innocent party.

• Damages suffered as a result of reliance.

• A causal connection between misrepresentation and the injury suffered.

• Fraud is more than just puffery ("seller's talk").

Malicious prosecution

Abusive litigation

Cause litigation without a legitimate reason and loses

Abuse of process

Using process for a purpose that it is intended

Ex: subpoena to get records improperly

Wrongful interference.

• Contractual Relationship
  Occurs When:

• Defendant knows about contract between A and B;

• Intentionally induces either A or B to breach the contract; and

• Defendant benefits from breach.

Defenses to wrongful termination

• Defenses to Wrongful Interference:

• The interference was justified or permissible.

• Bona fide competitive behavior (such as marketing) is a permissible interference even if it results in the breaking of a contract.

Invasion of privacy

Publishing or otherwise making known or using information relating to a person's private life and affairs, with which the public has no legitimate concern, without that person's permission or approval.

Trespass to land

The invasion of another's real property without consent or privilege. Once a person is expressly or impliedly established as a trespasser, the property owner has specific rights, which may include the right to detain or remove the trespasser.

Trespass to personal property

The intentional interference with an owner's right to use, possess, or enjoy his or her personal property without the owner's consent.

Conversion

The wrongful possession or use of another person's personal property without just cause.

Disparagement of property

Any economically injurious falsehood that is made about another's product or property; an inclusive term for the torts of slander of quality and slander of title.

Unintentional torts negligence

Failure to live up to a required duty of care that a reasonable person would exercise in similar circumstances.

* Intent is not required, only the creation of risk of the consequences experienced by the plaintiff.

Plaintiff must prove the following

• Duty: Defendant owed plaintiff a duty of care.

• Breach: Defendant breached that duty.

• Causation: Defendant's breach caused the injury.

• Damages: Plaintiff suffered legal injury.

Duty of landowners

• Landowners must exercise reasonable care to protect persons on their property from harm even trespassers.

• Business owners must warn invitees of potential harm on their premises.

• Obvious risks require no warning.

Duty of professionals

May be held to a higher standard due to Knowles on a certain subject

Is called___ malice