Chapter 6 Business Law

Tort

A private or civil wrong

1. Duty

2. Breach

3. Injury

4. Causation

Elements of a Tort

1. Duty not to injure another

2. Duty not to interfere with property rights

3. Duty not to interfere with economic rights

Duties Created by Tort Law

Witness

Person who gives a testimony

False Imprisonment

Deprivation of freedom of movement without consent or privilege

Invasion of Privacy

Intrusion into the private lives of others

Conversion

Using property in a manner that is consistent with its owner's rights

Negligence

The most common tort

Defamation

False statement that injures a person's reputation

Assault

Intentionally made threat to physically or offensively injure another

Battery

Harmful or offensive touching

Subpoena

Written court order compelling a person to appear in court and to testify

Evidence

Materials or statements presented in a trial to prove or disprove alleged facts

Damages

A monetary award to compensate for the loss caused by a tort

Fraud

Intentionally misrepresentation of an existing important fact, reliance upon which causes financial injury

Judgement

Final result of a trial

Verdict

Jury's decision in a case

Trespass to Land

A tort in which another's property is entered with their consent

Assumption of Risk

A type of negligence where the plaintiff knowingly subjects himself to danger

Reasonable-Person Standard

The duty to act with care and good judgement

Slander

Spoken defamation

Libel

Written defamation

False

An innocent buyer of stolen goods cannot be liable for conversion since the buyer had no intent to keep the goods from their rightful owner

True

Strict liability may exist even when a defendant was not negligent.

False

All torts require that the breach of duty be intentional.

True

Children and insane persons can be held liable for injuring others.

True

If you act recklessly, but do harm anyone, there is generally no tort.

1. False

2. Communicated to the third person

3. Bring the victim into disrepute

To prove defamation the statement must be:

1. Actual/Compensatory

2. Punitive

Types of Damages

Intentional Torts

Torts for which the defendant intended either the injury or the act

Interference with Contractual Relations

Enticing or encouraging a person to break a contract

Strict Liability

Holding a defendant liable without a showing of negligence

Evidence

Anything that the judge allows to be present to the jury that helps to prove or disprove the alleged facts

Testimony

Consists of statements made by witnesses under oath

Actual/Compensatory Damages

Amount of money awarded to compensate the plaintiff's loss

Punitive Damages

Amount of money a court requires a defendant to pay in order to punish and make an example of the defendant