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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
Damages Available in Tort Actions.
 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.
 Punitive: punish the wrongdoer.
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
Tortfeasor (person committing the
tort) 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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Assault and Battery. 
 False Imprisonment. 
 Infliction of Emotional Distress. 
 Defamation. 
 Invasion of Privacy. 
 Business Torts. 

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
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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
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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Consent.
 Self-Defense (reasonable force).
 Defense of Others (reasonable
force).
 Defense of Property.

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
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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
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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license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Defamation involves 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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
Published statement must be a fact.
Opinions are protected speech
under the First Amendment, and
not actionable.
 CASE 6.1
Orlando v. Cole (2010).
Was the attorney’s statement to the
reporter a statement of fact or
opinion?
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Publication Requirement: gravamen
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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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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
General Rule: Plaintiff must prove
“special damages” (actual economic
loss) to prevail for slander.
 Exception: Slander Per Se. No proof of
damages is necessary when the
statement is involves: loathsome
disease, business improprieties, serious
crime, or that a woman is non-chaste.
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Truth is generally an absolute
defense.
 Privileged (or Immune) Speech.

 Absolute: judicial & legislative
proceedings.
 Qualified: Employee Evaluations.
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Public figures exercise substantial
governmental power or are
otherwise in the public limelight.
 To prevail, they must show “actual
malice”: statement was made with
either knowledge of falsity or
reckless disregard for the truth.

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
Every person has a fundamental
right to solitude freedom from
public scrutiny.
 Use of Person’s Name or Likeness.
 Intrusion on Individual’s Affairs or
Seclusion.
 Publication of Information that Places a
Person in False Light.
 Public Disclosure of Private Facts.
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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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
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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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, and
 Abuse of process.
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
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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
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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
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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
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.
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 Defenses to Trespass to Land: Trespass is
necessary, or trespasser is a licensee.

Trespass to Personal Property is the
Intentional interference with
another’s use or enjoyment of
personal property without consent
or privilege.
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
Conversion: wrongful possession or
use of property without permission.
 CASE 6.2
Trustees of University of
District of Columbia v. Vossoughi
(2009). How is personal property
valued?
Disparagement of Property.
 Slander of Quality or Title.

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
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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Identifying the Author of Online
Defamation: usually a threshold
barrier to filing suit.
 What about the Liability of Internet
Service Providers?

 CASE 6.3
Fair Housing Council of San
Fernando Valley vs. Roommate.com,
LLC (2008).
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
Statutory Regulation of Spam.
 Many states require unsolicited emails
to have a phone number or return email
address.
 Federal CAN-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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