Torts Exam

Torts

a private wrong (other than a breach of contract) in which a person or property is harmed because of another’s failure to carry out a legal duty

Sources of Tort Law

Court Decisions, Statutes and Restatement of Torts

Tortfeasor

Person who commits the tort

Intentional Torts

The defendant is at fault for causing the plaintiff’s harm because he/she intended to take the action that caused the plaintiff harm

Negligence

The defendant is at fault for causing the plaintiff’s harm even though he may not have intended to take the action that caused the plaintiff harm, because a reasonable person would have known better (includes reckless conduct)

Strict Liability

The defendant is responsible for the plaintiff’s injuries regardless of whether the defendant was at fault

Eggshell plaintiff rule

a defendant is liable for all damages caused by their actions, even if the plaintiff's pre-existing conditions or vulnerabilities lead to more severe injuries than expected

Transferred intent

when a defendant intends to harm one victim, but then unintentionally harms a second victim instead

Defenses to a tort

consent, self-defense, defense of others, defense of proper

False imprisonment

intentional act that caused confinement/restraint through force or threat of force (with no means of escape)

Defamation

the publication of false statements that harm a person’s reputation

Invasion of Privacy

the infringement upon an individual's protected right to privacy through a variety of intrusive or unwanted actions

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

intentional act that is extreme and outrageous and that causes severe emotional distress

Defamation per se

remarks considered to be so harmful that they are automatically viewed as defamatory

Trespass to Land

(1) someone enters or causes something to enter or remain; (2) on land of another; (3) without permission

Trespass to Personal Property

intentional harm or interference with the owner’s exclusive possession of the property

Conversion

taking of someone else’s property with the intent of permanently depriving the owner (a/k/a stealing)

Negligence

the failure to act as a reasonably prudent and careful person is expected to act in similar circumstances

Elements of Negligence

Duty, Breach of Duty, Causation, Harm

Legal Duty

whether the particular plaintiff was foreseeable

proximate cause

whether the particular harm was foreseeable

Comparative Negligence

A method for measuring the relative negligence of the Plaintiff and the Defendant, with a commensurate sharing of the compensation for the injuries

Contributory Negligence

Negligence by the plaintiff contributed to his or her own injury

Strict Liability

Liability without having to prove fault

Types of monetary damages

Nominal, compensatory and punitive

Injunction

order to the defendant to do a specific act, or to cease doing a specific act