EXAM 2 Flashcards
(77 cards)
Tort
a civil wrongful other than a breach of contract
tortfeasor
person who commits a tort
negligence
failure to live up to society’s ideal pf reasonable care in a given situation
Assumption of Risk
Defendants do not have a duty to stop plaintiffs from engaging in inherently, risky activities and being injured as a result
Intentional Torts
The defendant does not injured the plaintiff as a result of negligence, but does so on purpose
Punitive damages
these are awarded in addition to actual damages and certain circumstances, these damages are more likely to be available for intentional torts
intentional infliction of emotional distress
A type of intentional tort. Elements include the defendant acts, The defendants conduct is outrageous, and the defendant acts purposely or recklessly, causing the victim, emotional distress, so severe that it could be expected to adversely affect mental health.
Malicious prosecution
occurs when an individual brings repeated civil suits or criminal complaints against another without merit. elements include the defendant maliciously and without probable cause instituted, a criminal or civil complaint against the plaintiff which resulted in a prosecution or lawsuit that ended favorably for the plaintiff.
Tortious Intereference
interference with contractual relations is a tort to whereby by a third-party wrongfully interferes with contractual relations between two others
defamation
Statements made by one party that damage another’s reputation
libel
A type of defamation via printed word, advertisement radio, and TV broadcast
Slander
A type of defamation that is spoken in word
defamation per se
Accusing another of committing a serious crime alleging that a person has contracted, a morally offensive, communicable disease, or alleging that a person‘s business dealings are fraudulent or dishonest. An extreme version of defamation.
negligence standard
Torts that are not intentional are usually analyzed this way. Jury needs to answer: Did the defendant act as a reasonably prudent person would have under the circumstances.
Learned hand formula
P * L > B
P (probability of the type of accident that occurred)
L (the magnitude of the likely lost caused by that)
B (the burden or cost of preventing the accident)
Malpractice
Form of professional negligence
Res Ispa Loquitor
The thing speaks for itself: allows the court to infer negligence where it is implied by the very nature of the accident
Elements: the incident was a type that does not generally happen without negligence. It was caused by instrumentality solely independence control. The plaintiff did not contribute to the cause.
Status
People are obligated to help their children, spouses and employees
Statute
Duty can be imposed by statute such as those requiring doctors to report suspicion of child abuse to the authorities
Good Samaritan statutes
May require individuals to intervene, but also relieve them of liability for civil damages that might be caused by intervening in most cases
Contract
A duty to intervene can be created by contract such as when a babysitter agrees to care for children
Assumption of a duty
Once someone voluntarily intervenes, they assume a duty of care to intervene
creation of peril
Individuals are obligated to intervene when they intentionally or negligently create danger to another person
Control
intersection of status and assumption of duty. Individuals have a duty to those under their control/command, such as employees members of the military or children.
