Chapter 3 Section 1 • A tort is not a crime against society. It is a wrong one person commits against another person. • Torts protect and enforce rights • Walk around freely • Privacy • Reputation • Tortfeasor- person committing the wrong • Three Elements to a Tort: 1. Possession of rights by an innocent party 2. Violation of rights by tortfeasor 3. Resulting injury that hurts the person whose rights are violated • Tort: • Wrong against individual person • Considered civil or private (not criminal) • Can be considered both criminal and civil • Ex: Assault –injures the victim and poses a threat to the public • Explain the differences between Tort law and Criminal law. • Punishments? Cases? Violations? • Purpose of Punishments • Criminal –protect society from offenders • Tort –compensate the victim for injuries • Pay damages (fair amount of money to cover the cost of injury • • • • Pain and suffering Medical bills Replace/repair damaged property Lost wages • Punitive damages –additional fines awarded to victim the go beyond the damages awarded to right the wrong. • Further punishes the defendant for outrageous misconduct and to deter the defendant • Describe how/why punitive damages may be awarded. • Intentional Torts • Actions that deliberately hurt, embarrass, or scare people • Most common: assault, battery, false imprisonment, defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. • Assault- as soon as you feel threatened with bodily harm • Battery- touching the person or something on the person (backpack, pull a chair out) • The right to move around freely • Mall cop must have reasonable grounds to stop an alleged shoplifter • Person can be held for a reasonable time and in a reasonable way • Lying about another person in a way that hurts the innocent’s reputation • Libel- lies in written, printed, or recorded form (TV, magazines, Web) • Slander- lies made by verbal or spoken words • Must prove the lie is made with malice • Right to be left alone, free from unwanted publicity, private matters •Confidentiality (teachers, doctors, lawyers, nurses, etc) • Mental or emotional distress • Must be caused by extreme and outrageous conduct • Ex: Falsely and purposefully convincing someone a family member died • Most common: trespass, conversion, nuisance, and disparagement • Interfering with someone’s real property • Land • Things built on land • Shed • Attached to land • House, tree, minerals, oil • Interfering with someone’s right to personal property • Borrowing something and never returning it • Interfering with enjoyment of property • Loud music, foul odors, fumes • Private and Public nuisance • Lies about objects • About quality or ownership • List a used car in excellent condition, but is actually defective • Prove you lost money due to the lie • Negligence is a tort that result when one person carelessly injures another. • an accidental tort • Most common tort • Requires no actual intent by the tortfeasor • Negligence is being less careful than a reasonable person would be • Automobile accident • Meltdown of nuclear power plant • Slipping on ice • Plaintiff must prove: • • • • Defendant owed Duty of Care Defendant breached that duty by being careless Defendant’s carelessness was the proximate cause of harm Plaintiff was really hurt by carelessness • Failing to prove JUST ONE will result in no remedy • Because every person has certain rights in our society, all of us have a duty to not violate these rights. • Case is thrown out if the obligation to use a reasonable standard of care to prevent injury is not proven • You breach, or break, your duty to another person when you fail to use reasonable care in dealing with that person. • Reasonable person test • Must be as careful a reasonable person would be in the same situation • Consider: • How likely a certain act is to cause harm • How serious the harm would be • The burden involved in avoiding the harm • (Legal Cause) Exists when the link between the negligent conduct and the injury is strong enough to be recognized by the law • Without proximate cause, there is not injury • Foreseeability test • Was the injury to the victim foreseeable at the time • Defendant is liable for negligence • If a victim is not actually harmed, there can be no negligence • Victim must suffer an injury, have property destroyed, or lose a lot of money • Even the biggest mistake might not result in negligence • Eliminate one of the four elements • • • • Owed no duty Careful as a reasonable person Actions did not cause the victim’s injury Prove the victim was not really injured in the way the claim • Contributory Negligence • Comparative Negligence • Assumption of Risk • Defense against negligence whenever the defendant can show that the victim did something that helped cause their own injuries • Defense against negligence which is raised when the carelessness of each party is compared to the carelessness of the other party. • Amount of damages is reduced by the percentage of carelessness • Protects plaintiffs (can collect even if careless) • 50% rule- plaintiff is allowed to receive some damages if the plaintiff's negligence is less than the defendant’s • Plaintiff gets nothing if negligence is over 50% • Defense against negligence that is raised when the plaintiff knew of the risk involved and still took the chance of being injured. • Extreme sports • Sign an Assumption of Risk waiver • Some activities are so dangerous that liability will always follow any injury that results • Ultrahazardous activities • Risk is so great that no amount of care will eliminate the danger • Using explosives • Keeping wild animals • Product Liability: defective products • Manufacturer and Seller are both liable • Limits to Product Liability: • Does not apply if the seller does not usually sell the item • If the damage is to the product itself • Survival Statutes • A lawsuit can continue even if both the plaintiff and the defendant die • Wrongful Death Statutes • Allows relatives to bring a lawsuit even if the victim is dead • 1. Explain Duty of Care and provide an example. • 2. Explain strict liability • Suppose you write a letter to the editor accusing the town mayor of corruption. The accusation turns out to be false. Can the mayor sue you? For what? Libel? Slander? Is there malice? • Explain how these factor affect the possible suit.