CH 6 (Pt 2) Flashcards
(18 cards)
Defamatory statements that disparage a company’s goods or services are called?
Trade libel.
*Trade libel protects against property rights, not reputations.
*Defamation can arise when a false statement of fact is made about a person’s product, business, or legal ownership rights to property.
The common law recognizes four acts that qualify as improperly infringing upon another’s right to privacy.
INVASION OF PRIVACY
1. Intrusion on individual’s affairs or seclusion;
2. Publication of information that places a person in false light;
3. Public disclosure of private facts; and
4. Appropriation: Use of another’s name, likeness, or other identifying characteristic for commercial purposes without the owner’s consent.
This type of invasion of privacy occurs when someone intentionally intrudes upon the solitude or seclusion of another, in a manner that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person.
INTRUSION OF SECLUSION
*Hidden Cameras: Installing hidden cameras in someone’s home or private space without their consent to capture private moments.
*Eavesdropping: Listening to private conversations through wiretapping or using other surveillance methods without the person’s knowledge.
Occurs when someone publishes information about another person that is MISLEADING and portrays them in a false light, which would be highly offensive to a reasonable person.
FALSE LIGHT INVASION OF PRIVACY
Ex: publishing a photograph of a person in an article about terrorism that implies the person is a terrorist.
This type of invasion of privacy involves using another person’s name, likeness, or identity for commercial gain without their permission.
APPROPRIATION OF NAME OF LIKENESS
*Unauthorized Endorsements: Using a celebrity’s image or name in advertising without their consent to promote a product.
*Impersonation: Creating a fake social media account using someone’s identity to gain followers or influence.
(Fraud): intentionally making misrepresentations of fact (“intentional deceit”) usually for personal gain.
FRAUDULENT MISREPRESENTATION
*Fraud is more than just puffery (“seller’s talk)
(Seller’s talk: my product is the best!)
What are the elements of fraudulent misrepresentation?
*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 casual connection between misrepresentation and the injury suffered.
ABUSIVE OR FRIVOLOUS LITIGATION: Torts related to abusive or frivolous litigation include:
*Malicious prosecution
*Abuse of process
Occurs when a defendant “maliciously” prosecutes a criminal case or uses a civil proceeding against the plaintiff when the defendant knows he or she doesn’t have a case.
MALICIOUS PROSECUTION
*The plaintiff must show that the original case was without legal grounds AND was done with malice.
*Plaintiff must have obtained a favorable result in the previous case before he can sue for malicious prosecution.
Occurs when a defendant starts a legal process with the intention to obtain results for which the process was not designed.
ABUSE OF PROCESS
Ex: filing a lien on someone else’s property when there is not right to do so.
Wrongful interference with a CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP occurs when:
*Defendant knows about contract between two or more parties;
*Defendant intentionally induces one of the parties to breach the contract; and
*Defendant benefits from such breach
Wrongful interference with a BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP is different and occurs when:
*There is an established business relationship between two or more parties;
*The defendant uses PREDATORY METHODS to cause that relationship to end; and
*The plaintiff (a party to the original business relationship) suffers damage.
Occurs when a person, WITHOUT PERMISSION:
*Physically enters onto, above, or below the surface of another’s land; OR
*Causes anything to enter onto the land; OR
*Remains–or permits anything to remain–on the land.
TRESPASS TO LAND
*A trespasser is generally liable for any damage his trespass caused to the property.
A trespasser GENERALLY cannot hold the owner of the property liable for injuries the trespasser sustained while unlawfully on the premises.
*This is not an absolute rule.
*Most states require a landowner to exercise a REASONABLE DUTY OF CARE rule even for trespassers that varies depending on the status of the trespasser.
*Property owners may be liable for objects that attract children under the ATTRACTIVE NUISANCE DOCTRINE
A person who is granted permission by the property owner to enter and use the property for specific purposes.
LICENSEE
*A licensee can become a trespasser if they stay on the property after their permission has been revoked (told to leave) or the duration of their license has expired (the game is over).
*A licensee can also be liable for trespass if they enter areas of the property that are clearly marked as restricted or off-limits.
The intentional interference with another’s use or enjoyment of personal property without consent or privilege
TRESPASS TO PERSONAL PROPERTY
*This may include: conversion, failure to return property.
What about receipt of stolen property?
Abel steals Ben’s Aggie football tickets. Abel sells the tickets to Cathy, telling her that the tickets are his.
Cathy is liable for conversion. Look at definition: she is in wrongful possession of Ben’s property without his permission. Probably not in violation of criminal law.
