 Doing
business today involves
risks, both legal and financial.
 A tort is a civil injury
designed to provide a remedy
(damages) for injury to a
protected interest. 
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2
 Damages
Actions.
Available in Tort
 Compensatory:
reimburse
plaintiff for actual losses.
 Special: quantifiable losses, such as
medical expenses, lost wages, and
benefits.
 General: non-monetary, such as
pain and suffering, reputation.
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3
 Damages
Actions.
Available in Tort
 Punitive: punish the wrongdoer.
 Appropriate when defendant’s
actions were particularly
egregious (actions were
intentional or grossly negligent).
 Tort
Reform.
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4
 Tortfeasor
must “intend” to
commit the act, which
means:
 He
intended the consequences of
his act; or
 He knew with substantial
certainty that certain
consequences would result.
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5
 Assault
and Battery. 
 False Imprisonment. 
 Infliction of Emotional
Distress. 
 Defamation. 
 Invasion of Privacy. 
 Business Torts. 
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permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
6
 ASSAULT
is an intentional,
unexcused act that:
 Creates
a reasonable
apprehension or fear of,
 Immediate harmful or offensive
contact.
 NO CONTACT NECESSARY. 
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7
 BATTERY
is the completion of
the Assault:
 Intentional or Unexcused.
 Harmful, Offensive or
Unwelcome, Physical Contact.
 Plaintiff
may be compensated
for physical and emotional
harm.
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8
 Consent.
 Self-Defense
(reasonable
force).
 Defense of Others
(reasonable force).
 Defense of Property.
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9
 False
Imprisonment is the
intentional:
 Confinement or restraint.
 Of another person’s activities.
 Without justification.
 Merchants
may reasonably
detain customers if there is
probable cause.
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permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
10
 An intentional act that is:
 Extreme and outrageous, that
 Results in severe emotional
distress in another.
 Most
courts require some
physical symptom or illness.
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11
 Wrongfully
hurting a person’s
good reputation.
 Law imposes duty to refrain
from making false statements
of fact about others.
 Orally
breaching this duty is
slander; breaching it in print or
media (and internet) is libel.
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12
 Published
statement must be
a fact.
 Opinions
are protected speech
under the First Amendment, and
not actionable.
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13
 Publication
Requirement.
 Basis
of defamation is the
“publication” of a false statement
that holds an individual up to
hatred, contempt or ridicule in
the community.
 Publication requires
communication to a 3rd party.
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14
 Damages
for Libel.
 General
Damages are presumed;
Plaintiff does not have to show
actual injury.
 General damages include
compensation for disgrace,
dishonor, humiliation, injury to
reputation and emotional
distress.
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15
 Damages for Slander:
 General Rule: Plaintiff must
prove
“special damages” (actual
economic loss) to prevail for
slander.
 Exception: Slander Per Se. No proof
of damages: loathsome disease,
business improprieties, serious
crime, or unchaste woman.
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16
 Truth
is generally an absolute
defense.
 Privileged (or Immune)
Speech.
 Absolute:
judicial & legislative
proceedings.
 Qualified: Employee Evaluations.
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17
 Public
Figures:
 Exercise
substantial
governmental power or are
otherwise in the public limelight.
 To prevail, they must show
“actual malice”, i.e., the
statement was made with either
knowledge of falsity or reckless
disregard for the truth.
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18
 Every
person has a
fundamental right to freedom
from public scrutiny, such as:
Appropriation of Identity.
 Intrusion on Individual’s Affairs or
Seclusion.
 False Light.
 Public Disclosure of Private Facts.

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19
 Use
of another’s name,
likeness or other identifying
characteristic for commercial
purposes without the owner’s
consent. Issues:
 Degree of Likeness.
 Right of Publicity as
a Property
Right.
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20
 Elements:
 Misrepresentation
of material
fact;
 Intent to induce another to rely;
 Justifiable reliance by innocent
party;
 Damages as a result of reliance;
 Causal connection.
 Fact
vs. Opinion (not puffery).
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permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
21
 Generally,
each of us has the
right to sue when we have
been legally injured.
 Torts related to abusive or
frivolous litigation include:
 Malicious prosecution,
 Abuse of process.
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and
22
 Wrongful
Interference With a
Contractual Relationship
occurs when:
 Defendant
knows about contract
between A and B;
 Intentionally induces either A or B
to breach the contract; and
 Defendant benefits from breach.
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23
 Wrongful
Interference With a
Business Relationship occurs
when:
 There
is an established business
relationship;
 The Tortfeasor, using predatory
methods, causes relationship to
end; and
 Plaintiff suffers damages.
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24
 Defenses
to Wrongful
Interference include:
 Interference
with justified or
permissible.
 Bona fide competitive behavior is
a permissible interference even if
it results in the breaking of a
contract.
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permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
25
 Trespass
to Land 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. Defenses 
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26
 Defenses
to Trespass to Land:
Trespass is necessary, or
trespasser is a licensee.

Trespass to Personal Property :
intentional interference with
another’s use or enjoyment of
personal property without
consent or privilege.
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27
 Conversion:
wrongful
possession or use of property
without permission.
 CASE
12.1 Trustees of
University of District of
Columbia v. Vossoughi (2009).
How should personal property be
valued?
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28
 Disparagement
of Property.
 Slander
of Quality: publication of
false information about another’s
product (trade libel).
 Slander of Title: publication falsely
denies or casts doubt on another’s
legal ownership of property,
resulting in financial loss.
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29
 Tortfeasor
does not intend
the consequences of the act
or believes they will occur.
 Actor’s
conduct merely creates a
foreseeable risk of injury. 
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30
 Four-Step Analysis:
 Duty: Defendant owed
Plaintiff a
duty of care;
 Breach: Defendant breached
that duty;
 Causation: Defendant’s breach
caused the injury;
 Damages: Plaintiff suffered legal
injury.
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31
 Defendant
owes duty to
protect Plaintiff from
foreseeable risks that he knew
or should have known about.
A
foreseeable risk is one in
which the reasonable person
would anticipate and guard
against .
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32
 Duty of Landowners.
 Duty to Warn Business
Invitees
of Foreseeable Risks (knew or
should have known).
 Duty
to discover and remove
hidden dangers that might injure
invitees.

EXCEPTION: Obvious Risks.
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33
 Duty of Professionals.
 Professionals may owe higher
duty of care based on special
education, skill or intelligence.
 Breach of duty is called
professional malpractice.
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34
 No Duty to Rescue.
 Law requires individuals
to act
reasonably, but there is no duty
to rescue (or warn, or come to the
aid of another), unless there is a
special relationship of trust.
 However, if rescue is attempted,
the law requires due care and
follow through.
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35

Even though a Tortfeasor
owes a duty of care and
breaches the duty of care, the
act must have caused the
Plaintiff’s injuries. Causation
is both:
 Causation
 Proximate
in Fact, and
Cause.
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36
 Did
the injury occur because
of the Defendant’s act, or
would the injury have
occurred anyway?
 Usually determined by the
“but for” test, i.e., but for the
Defendant’s act the injury
would not have occurred.
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37
 An
act is the proximate (or
legal) cause of the injury when
the causal connection between
the act and injury is strong
enough to impose liability.
 Were
the injuries foreseeable?
 Judges use proximate cause to limit
liability of defendants. 
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38
 Proximate
cause is limited by
foreseeability in the interests
of justice and fairness.
 CASE
12.2 Palsgraf v. Long
Island Railroad Co. (1928).
Were the plaintiff’s injuries
foreseeable?
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39
 To
recover, Plaintiff must
show legally recognizable
injury.
 Compensatory Damages are
designed to reimburse
Plaintiff for actual losses. 
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40
 Punitive
Damages are
designed to punish the
tortfeasor and deter others
from wrongdoing.
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41
 Assumption
of Risk. 
 Superseding Intervening
Cause.
 Contributory or Comparative
Negligence.
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42
Plaintiff has knowledge of
the risk, and voluntarily
engages in the act anyway.
 Defense can be used by
participants, as well as
spectators and bystanders.


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43

Assumption of the risk can be
express or implied.


CASE 12.3 Pfenning v. Lineman
(2010). Is the driver of a beverage
cart a “participant” at a golfing
event?
Generally, courts do not apply
assumption of the risk in
emergency situations.
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44
A
unforeseeable, intervening
act that breaks the causal link
between defendant’s act and
plaintiff’s injury, relieving
defendant of liability.
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45
 Under
the common law
doctrine of contributory
negligence, if Plaintiff in any
way caused his injury, he was
barred from recovery.
 Most
states have replaced
contributory negligence with the
doctrine of comparative
negligence.
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46
 Comparative
negligence
computes liability of Plaintiff
and Defendant and
apportions damages.
 Pure
Comparative Negligence
States (California and New York):
allow plaintiff to recover even if
his liability is greater than that of
defendant. 
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47
 Modified
Comparative
Negligence States: percent of
damages plaintiff causes herself
are subtracted from the total
award.
50 Percent Rule: Plaintiff recovers only if
liability is less than 50%.
 51 Percent Rule: Plaintiff recovers nothing
if liability is greater than 50%.

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48
 Res
Ipsa Loquitur.
 Facts
and circumstances create
presumption of negligence by
Defendant.
 Burden of proof shifts to
Defendant to show he was not
negligent.
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49
 Negligence
Per Se occurs when
Defendant violates a statute
designed to protect Plaintiff:
 Statute sets out standard of
 Plaintiff is member of class
care.
intended to be protected by statute.
 Statute designed to prevent
Plaintiff’s injury.
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50
“Danger Invites Rescue.”
 Special Negligence Statutes:

Good Samaritan Statutes:
physicians and medical personnel
cannot be sued by victim.
 Dram Shop Acts.

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51
 Identifying
the Author of
Online Defamation: usually a
threshold barrier to filing suit.
 What about the Liability of
Internet Service Providers?
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52
 Spread
of Spam.
 State regulation of
 Federal CAN-SPAM
spam.
Act (2004)
applies primarily to commercial
emails.
 U.S. Safe Web Act (2006): gives
FTC powers to investigate and
prosecute.
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permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
53