Ms. Weigl
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What is the difference between
strict liability and negligence?
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A person who plans to perform a certain act
and then does so, is said to have acted with
INTENT.
Example: A child knocks over a glass on purpose.
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Actions taken to deliberately harm another
person or their property.
Two general types of torts
-causing injury to person(s)
-causing harm to property
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In tort law, the required intent is to do the
forbidden act
Example:
Forbidden act -> knocking the glass off of
the table
(not a bad motive or a
desire to cause harm)
a person who proves that someone else committed
an intentional tort against him or her can recover
damages.
The award compensates for the harm caused by
the defendant.
Can include: pain and suffering as well as lost wages
Must prove with reasonable certainty:
Any future losses:
Medical bills
Reduced or lost wages
Pain and suffering
Juries decide how much $ will fully compensate the injured
person for any pain and suffering.
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A token of amount of $ awarded by the court to
show that the claim was justified.
These are symbolic awards of $ that are paid
even if the plaintiff is unable to prove economic
harm.
They are awarded to recognize that the
defendant acted wrongfully even though he or
she did not cause substantial injury or loss.
Example:
Juan slaps Matthew in a heated argument.
In court it is shown that even though Juan
wrongfully slapped Matthew, Matthew suffered
no serious injury. The court awarded $1 in
nominal damages to Matthew.
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The amounts of $ awarded to the plaintiff to
punish the defendant for malicious, willful, or
outrageous acts.
Punitive damages serve as a warning to others
to not engage in such conduct.
It is possible for both nominal and punitive
damages to be awarded even where there is
little or no actual harm that would justify
compensatory damages.
Example:
Kate shoots a gun at Mark and misses him.
What type of tort is this?
The court could award nominal damages (because
there was no actual harm inflicted) and punitive
damages(because Kate’s act was so outrageous).
Battery
occurs when a person intentionally causes
a harmful or offensive contact with
another person.
 The perpetrator is liable for all resulting
damages, regardless of whether he or she
wanted or expected the contact to cause injury.
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Offensive contact would be contact that would
offend an average person in society.
Elaine became angry at Ravi and shoved him
toward an open window. Although the shove
was not hard, he fell backward through the
window and suffered serious injuries.
Even though Elaine did not want him to suffer
such serious injury, she will be liable for
damages if Ravi sues her for battery.
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Occurs when a person goes beyond mere
words and intentionally makes someone fear
an immediate harmful or offensive contact.
Can be an intentional threat, show of force or
movement that causes a reasonable fear.
As a result of an assault, the plaintiff can
recover compensation for mental suffering,
such as fright or embarrassment, along with
any physical injury that directly results from
the assault.
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When a person intentionally uses words or
actions that are meant to cause someone
extreme anxiety or emotional distress.
Actual physical injury is not required for the
plaintiff to recover damages.
Courts do require that the defendant’s conduct
be quite outrageous and that the plaintiff prove
extreme distress.
Mere insults are NOT the basis for a lawsuit in
this area.
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Protects a person’s rights to be free from
unreasonable restraint.
Occurs when someone intentionally and
wrongfully confines another person against his
or her will.
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Defamation- acts that harm a person’s
reputation and can be classified as oral or
written.
Slander- oral statements that harm reputation
Libel- written defamation
Which type of defamation is easy to prove?
Tort law protects a person’s property in two
ways:
(1) it protects against interference with the
owner’s exclusive use of the property.
(2) it protects against the property being taken or
damaged.
Protects: real property, personal property, and
intellectual property
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Real property
trespass- when you enter another’s property without
permission
nuisance- occurs when there is an unreasonable
interference with your ability to use and enjoy your
property
attractive nuisance- a doctrine that says if a person
keeps something on his or her premises that is likely to
attract children, that person must take reasonable
steps to protect children against dangers the condition
might cause.
injunction- a court order requiring the defendant to
stop the activity.
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Personal Property
tort law provides compensation to someone
whose personal property is taken, damaged, or
interfered with.
conversion- occurs when someone unlawfully
exercises control over the personal property of
another person.
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patent- recognizes your ownership of the
invention
infringement- when a person has a patent or
copyright indicating ownership over some
invention or expression, any other person who
uses the patented or copyrighted work without
permission.
Patent
novel- new
monopoly- anyone who tries to sell or profit from
your patented product, the patent-holder can sue
for infringment.
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Protect any expression that is somehow fixed
(written down, recorded on tape, stored on a
computer disk, painted on a canvas, etc.)
Do not have to go through any legal process to
obtain a copyright.
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Derivative works- a work that is very similar to
but slightly different from copyrighted work
First sale- the first purchaser of a piece of
copyrighted material may legally resell that
particular copy of the protected work.
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consent- MOST common defense to many
intentional torts
This defense means that the plaintiff consented,
or agreed, to the harmful conduct thus giving
up the right to sue later
privilege- justifies conduct that would
otherwise be a tort, because the defendant’s
interests or those of public policy require it.
 Example: Legal authority
Police have the legal authority
to restrain a person’s liberty
while carrying out an arrest.
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Self-defense: BEST known privilege
Example:
If Julie attacks Amanda, then Amanda can use
reasonable force to protect or defend herself.
Defenders who take control of a situation and
become aggressors commit assault and battery and
thus cannot claim self-defense.
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Defense of property
another privilege that allows people to
use reasonable force to defend their
homes or property.
 Deadly force is generally not considered
reasonable when defending property.
 Exception is the Castle Doctrine: law in some
states that allows you to use deadly force to
protect their homes. (Stand Your Ground law)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6ynTb
Y944Q
Tort Law: Intro. To Negligence
Negligence v. Intentional Tort
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhfXCwNg7M
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What is a civil action?
Can you think of any examples?
Definition of a civil action: “An action brought to enforce, redress, or protect
a private or civil right; a noncriminal litigation”
Compare to the definition for a criminal action: “An action instituted by the
government to punish offenses against the public”
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Criminal Actions
Brought by the government
Government is known as the
prosecution
 Prosecution has the burden
of proof – beyond a
reasonable doubt
 Defendant loses if found
guilty
 Usual penalty is a prison
sentence
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Civil Actions
– Brought by private citizens
– Person bringing action is
known as the plaintiff
– Plaintiff has the burden of
proof – preponderance of
the evidence
– Defendant loses if found
liable
– Usual penalty is money
damages
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The plaintiff needs to prove four elements by a preponderance of
the evidence
 Duty
 Breach of Duty
 Causation (two parts)
 Damages
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Defined: “A legal obligation that is owed or due to another and
that needs to be satisfied; an obligation for which somebody else
has a corresponding right”
• Example: If you drive a car, you have a duty to obey the rules of the road
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Generally speaking, a person owes a “duty of care” to
those around him or her (i.e. a duty to act reasonably)
How is this duty of care determined?
– By an objective standard
When evaluating a person’s conduct, tort law asks – would a reasonable
person of ordinary prudence in the defendant’s position act as the defendant
did?
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Would a reasonable person drive down the street with a
paper grocery bag over her head?
The reasonable person would not do this
Thus, part of the duty of care when driving is to not obstruct your vision
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Defined: “The violation of a legal or moral obligation;
the failure to act as the law obligates one to act”
What do you think constitutes a breach of duty?
Once the duty is established, it is a simple matter to determine whether the
defendant’s actions met this standard of care or not
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There are two aspects of causation that must be
considered: cause in fact and proximate cause
Cause in fact defined: “The cause without which the event could not have
occurred”
Proximate cause defined: “A cause that is legally sufficient to result in
liability; an act or omission that is considered in law to result in a
consequence, so that liability can be imposed on the actor”
– Also known as legal cause
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How does the law determine what is a cause in fact?
The “but for” test: If the defendant had not acted negligently (by breaching
the standard of care), the plaintiff would not have been injured
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How does the law determine what is a proximate cause?
Foreseeability: Most courts say that a defendant is liable only for
consequences of his negligence that were reasonably foreseeable when he
acted
– Seeks to limit the defendant’s liability to those
results that are of the same general sort that
made the conduct negligent in the first place
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There are two aspects of damages that must be considered: actual,
physical harm and the monetary values ascribed to those harms
The first aspect is straightforward – show that you
suffered actual injury (e.g. broken arm, burned
down house, etc.)
Once you prove the actual, physical harm, the
second aspect of damages comes into play:
“Money claimed by, or ordered to be paid to, a
person as compensation for loss or injury” The law
tries to restore the plaintiff to
condition using money
her pre-injury
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What do you think a plaintiff could recover if he or she proves the
defendant acted negligently and caused his or her harm?
Categories:
– Direct loss – value of the loss of certain bodily
functions (e.g. loss of a leg)
– Economic loss – out-of-pocket costs resulting from the
injury (e.g. medical bills, lost wages, reduced earnings
capacity, property damage)
– Pain and suffering – value of the mental anguish
plaintiff has suffered and will continue to suffer
– There are others, but these are the main categories
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As you know, it is rare that an accident is caused solely
because of one person’s actions
If the plaintiff is partly at fault for his or her
injuries, what can the defendant do to reduce his
or her liability?
– Contributory negligence defense: If the plaintiff’s own
negligence contributed to the harm suffered, the
plaintiff cannot collect anything from the defendant
– Comparative negligence defense: Plaintiff’s recovery
from the defendant is reduced by the percentage that
the plaintiff’s own negligence contributed to the injury
Counterclaim- comparative fault.
 Assumption of risk- used when a person
voluntarily encounters a known danger and
decides to accept the risk of that danger.
- this defense is also used when a warning is
posted that gives notice of a certain danger.
Example: A pool posting a sign that says, “Swim
at your own risk.”
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