Legal Chapters 10 (Torts), 11 (IP), and 7 (Property)

Nichols LEGL 2700 Exam 2 Review

Types of Torts

Intentional, Negligent, Strict Liability

Intentional Torts

Intentional interference with one’s person (body), reputation, or property

Assault

the placing of another in immediate apprehension for his or her physical safety (assault = being scared)

Battery

an unpermitted intentional contact with another’s person (does not need to be seen coming)

Invasion of Privacy

one’s right to be free from unwarranted publicity and in general ones’ right to be left alone, must be highly offensive to a reasonable person

Consent

A total defense for invasion of privacy

Types of Invasion of Privacy

Intrusion upon seclusion, public discourse of private facts, false light, appropriation

Intrusion upon Seclusion

someone intentionally intrudes, physically or otherwise, on another person’s solitude or private affairs in a way that would be highly offensive to the reasonable person

Public Discourse of Private Facts

Dissemination of sensitive, private information to the public, which is highly offensive to a reasonable person and not of legitimate public concern

False light

someone is publicly placed in a highly offensive and misleading way, creating a false impression that would be offensive to a reasonable person

Appropriation

unauthorized use of a person's name, likeness, or other identifying characteristics for commercial purposes without their consent

Defamation

Intentional malicious statements that injure another’s character, fame, or reputation

Types of defamation

libel and slander

libel vs slander

libel is written, slander is spoken

False Imprisonment

Unlawful deprivation of the freedom of movement

Elements of false imprisonment

willful detention, detention without consent, detention was unlawful

Malicious Prosecution

wrongful institution of criminal proceedings against someone without reasonable grounds

Trespass to Land

Physically invading an owner’s real property or causing an object or a third party to invade it (direct and indirect), intent to make the movement is important

Conversion

taking the chattel property of another with the intent to deprive them of it

chattel

tangible personal property

Interference with Business Relations (IBR)

wrongful interference with the plaintiff’s contractual or business relationships

2 types of IBR

interference with existing contractual relationship and interference with prospective economic advantage

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

“Battery of Emotions”, defendant must act intentionally or recklessly, defendant’s conduct must be extreme and outrageous, and the conduct must be the cause of severe emotional distress

Negligence

The failure to behave with the level of care that a reasonable person would have exercised under the same circumstances

Elements of Negligence

Duty of Care, Breach of that Duty, Causation, and Damages

The Reasonable man

Physical characteristics, mental ability, and knowledge

Causation

Cause in fact and cause in law/proximate causation (proximate = not next to, just near)

Palsgraf v Long Island Railroad (1928)

A coin operated scale fell on Mrs. Palsgraf after Long Island Railroad workers helped guys hop onto a moving train carrying a package that fell on the ground and exploded (package contained fireworks) which hit the scale causing it to fall on Mrs. Palsgraf, she lost because her harm was “not a foreseeable result of the railroad employees’ actions, thus establishing that a defendant owes a duty of care only to those within the zone of foreseeable danger”

Cause in Fact

used to establish a direct link between a defendant’s actions and the plaintiff’s injuries or damages (But for the existence of X, would Y have occurred)

Cause in Law/Proximate Cause

For liability to attach, defendant’s act must be linked to a harm or injury of the plaintiff, making them legally responsible for the resulting consequences by a preponderance of evidence

New York Central RR v. Grimstad, 1920

Grimstads were on a barge owned by the RR when it collided with another barge, causing Mr Grimstad to fall overboard and drown. Mrs. Grimstad sues railroad for not having a floatation device nearby, railroad wins because there’s too many variables to establish cause in fact (would the life preserver have made a difference)

Malpractice

a specific form of negligence committed by a professional, where they fail to meet the accepted standard of care in their field, resulting in harm or injury to a client or patient

Negligence per se

an action is automatically considered negligent because it violates a safety statute or regulation, and the resulting harm is the type the statute was designed to prevent to the person injured, uses violation of law itself as proof of negligence

Assumption of Risk

when a person know of the risk of an activity, accepts the risk and voluntarily engages in the activity, that person cannot sue for damages based upon injures which aries from the given activity

Statute of Limitations

Laws that set a time limit for when legal action can be taken after an event, begins on the injury date or date it was discovered and apply in both criminal and civil cases, varying in length from case to case

Statute of Response

Laws that limit the time in which a legal claim can be made that begin running immediately after a specific event, regardless of whether the plaintiff has been injured

Statute of Response Example

Someone can’t sue Ford if a model T has no airbags and they get hurt in a car crash because of this (usually runs for around 10 years after the object is manufactured)

Contributory Negligence

The plaintiff is barred from recovering damages if he or she acted negligently and contributed to the accident at all

Pure Comparative Negligence

allows a plaintiff to recover damages from the defendant minus their percentage of responsibility of how much at fault the plaintiff is

Partial or Modified Comparative Negligence

Only allows recovery if the plaintiff is less or equally at fault as the defendant

Strict liability torts

imposes legal responsibility for damages or injures event if the defendant did not act intentionally or unreasonably/negligently

Types of Strict Liability Torts

Animal bites (in certain states), product liability, abnormally dangerous activities, food born illness

Animal Bites

based on the idea that animals do not have a conscience, and those who choose to keep them as pets have a duty to restrain them to avoid harm (Georgia doesn’t have this, dog owner can be held responsible for the bit if the owner knew or should have known about the dog’s vicious tendencies, or if the owner allowed the dog to roam free contrary to local ordinances)

Product Liability

Manufacturing defects, Design Defects (safer feasible alternative design must be provided), and failure to warning (defense includes unforeseeable use and obvious risk)

Abnormally dangerous activities

Activities considered inherently dangerous that involve serious potential harm, involve a high degree of risk that cannot be adequately protected against by using reasonable care, and are not commonly performed in the community or under the circumstances (fireworks, having a tiger as a pet, biolab leak)

Food born illness

food companies are held under strict liability for food-borne illness because we don’t all want to get sick (salmonella, E. coli, and listeria

Types of Damages

Compensatory and Punitive

Compensatory Damages

Awards the plaintiff, economic damages to repay monetary losses the plaintiff suffered directly caused by the tort, and non-economic damages to repay for pain and suffering

Punitive Damages

Exemplary damages to punish the defendant, government takes 75% plaintiff takes 25%, limited to 250k in Georgia unless when actions taken intentionally or on drugs and alcohol, and all product liability cases

Res ipsa loquitor

“the thing speaks for itself”, allows a court to infer a defendant's negligence when an accident occurs under their exclusive control and the accident would not have happened without negligence (ex: barrel of flour falls out a window and hits someone, doesn’t happen without some form of negligence)