Tort Flashcards
(30 cards)
Tort
- A violation of duty imposed by civil law
- How obligation is created: The civil law imposes duties of conduct on all persons
- Possible result: Money damages for plaintiff
Contract
- Legally enforceable promise or set of promises
- How obligation is created: The parties agree on a contract, which creates duties for both
- Possible result: Money damages for plaintiff
Criminal Law
- Rules that permit a government to punish certain behavior by fine or imprisonment
- How obligation is created: The criminal law prohibits certain conduct
- Possible result: Punishment for defendant, including prison and/or fine
Intentional Tort
- Harm caused by a deliberate action, doesn’t mean the defendant intended to cause harm to the plaintiff.
- *Intent goes to doing the act, not the results
Defamation Tort
False statements that harm someones reputation.
- Libel: Written (newspaper)
- Slander: Oral (opinion often cant be proven)
Slander per se
Don’t have to prove injury if false statement is about sexual behavior, serious crimes, contagious diseases, professional abilities
Compensatory damages
Money intended to restore a plaintiff to the position he was before the injury
Punitive Damages
Damages that are intended to punish the defendant for conduct that is extreme and outrageous
What relationship has the Supreme Court required between compensatory and punitive damages?
Damages should not normally exceed a single digit ratio between punitive and compensatory damages.
Elements of a defamation case
Plaintiff must prove all elements to win
- Defamatory Statement: The statement is likely to harm another persons reputation
- Falseness: Statement has to be untrue
- Communicated: Statement communicated to another person
- Injury: Show some sort or injury unless slander per se
Actual Malice
The defendant knew the statement was false or acted with reckless disregard of the truth
*part of defamation
Battery
Intentional touching of another person in a way that is harmful or offensive
-Offended or hurt
Assault
An act that makes a person reasonably fear battery forthcoming
-FEAR imminent battery
Conversion
Taking or using someone else’s personal property without consent.
o Personal property: any possession other than land or structure permanently attached to the land
Negligent tort
A breach of duty or a failure of one party to exercise the standard of care required by law, resulting in damage to the party to whom the duty was owed.
Elements of Negligent Tort
- Duty of due care: defendant had a legal responsibility to the plaintiff
- Breach: defendant breached her duty of care or failed to meet her legal obligations
- Factual Causes: defendants conduct actually caused the injury
- Proximate cause: it was foreseeable that conduct like the defendants might cause this type of harm
- Damages: plaintiff has actually been hurt or suffered a measurable loss
Dram Act
Business are liable for serving drinks to intoxicated customers who later cause harm
Peoples special duties to others
- Special Duty: Landowners
- Special Duty: Professional
- Special Duty: Hiring and Retention
Special Duty: Landowners
- Trespassing adults: Lowest liability
- Trespassing Children: Mid-level liability
- Licensee: Higher liability (Permission)
- Invitee: Highest liability (Open to public)
Breach of Duty
The plaintiff must show the defendant did not meet the legal duty of care
Negligence Per Se
When a legislature sets a minimum standard of care for a particular activity, in order to protect a certain group of people, and a violation of the statue injures a member of that group. (sidewalk in fount of ur house must be clear)
Causation
The defendants breach of duty caused the plaintiffs harm.
- Factual cause
- Proximate cause
Factual Cause
Defendant’s breach led to the ultimate harm
*Injury wouldn’t have occurred if it wasn’t for
Proximate Cause
The type of harm must have been reasonably foreseeable, for the defendant to be liable
