Introduction to Torts
Class Objectives
Learn The Basics of Tort Law
 Broad overview
 More detail in the advanced torts courses
 You learn material better by going over it
more than once
 Learn How To Read Real Cases
 Full text, unedited cases, just like a
lawyer would use
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Become Familiar With MO Law
More than any other area of law, tort law is
state law.
 Very few United States Supreme Court tort
decisions that bind all states
 Congress can preempt most state tort law,
but has done so only in very limited
circumstances.
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Develop Your Own Practice
Materials
You will get cases and other materials that
will form the basis of a Mo torts practice
 You will add to these if you take my
advanced torts class on health care torts
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Attendance
School Policy
 Sign the Role Sheet
 False Certification is an honor code
violation
 Tell Dean Davis about absences
 Do not tell me about your reasons for being
absent – it is none of my business
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Class Seating
Fill from the front so the only empty seats
are in the back
 Pick your seat next time - we use a seating
chart
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Class Participation
1) Read the material
 2) Show up
 3) Pay attention
 4) Stand up and answer intelligently when
called on, or at least convince me you are in
the right class and have read the material

“Unprepareds”
Being unprepared is a bad thing.
 You get two free "unprepareds“
 Leave a note on the podium for me by the
beginning of class if you need one
 Do not explain why, just your name and
unprepared
 After 2, each unprepared costs you a (minus) on your final grade.
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Final Exam
The final exam will be in class, closed book
and notes
 Some of the exam will be short answer
 There will be an ungraded practice midterm
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Class Materials
Your materials will be on the WWW site:
 http://biotech.law.umkc.edu
 Study Questions
 I will give you extensive sets of study
questions to help you prepare for the
exam
 It is your responsibility to find the
answers
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Using the WWW
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Law is an information business and that business
has moved online. In some areas the books have
already been discontinued.
Online is cheaper and faster
You need to learn how to do online and how to
organize electronic materials
You need your own computer, either desktop or
laptop, to keep track of your notes and materials
Computers in Class
You do not need a laptop in class - bring in
printed notes, annotate them, put the
changes back in later - less distracting to
you and less prone to disaster.
 You are responsible for learning to lookup
cases on Lexis or Westlaw from citations
that I give you.
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Types of Law
Criminal Law
Between the state and an individual
 Only laws that can lead to imprisonment for
punishment
 Defendant must pay own fees in most cases
 Right to counsel is very limited
 Most closely controlled by the United States
Supreme Court
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Administrative Law
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Includes
 Environmental Law
 Consumer Protection Law
 Health Law
 Banking Regulations
At least 50% of all legal work
 Federal agencies to the local zoning board
Take ad law!
Private Law
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Contracts
 agreements between individuals
 damages are about money
Property law
 issues with ownership and convenience of
property, usually land
Family law
 Children and divorce
 State and federal law
Torts
Compensation for accidents and intentional
wrongdoing
 Deterrence for future acts
 Punishment for past acts
 Substantial overlap with criminal and
administrative law
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Tort Litigation
Plaintiffs
Contingency Fees
 30%-50%, plus expenses off the top
 Some firms make the client pay expenses
up front
 MO law allows the firm to advance
expenses and finance the case as part of the
contingency
 What is the incentive?
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Defense
Hourly or Fixed Fee
 Very expensive
 Usually paid by insurance in negligence
cases
 What is the incentive?

Who Pays When The Case Is
Over?
Each side pays their own attorney
 Defendant pays Plaintiff if Defendant loses
 Under some rules of procedure, Plaintiff
sometimes has to pay defendant’s costs if
Plaintiff rejects a reasonable settlement
from defendant and then loses at trial
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Constitutional Issues
No US constitutional requirement that there
be more than a most rudimentary tort
system.
 Must be fairly applied, if you have one
 Some state constitutions guarantee access to
a tort system
 All states have abrogated these to some
extent for worker's compensation systems
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Why Have Tort Law?
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Prevents Self-Help
 No eye for an eye
 Limits feuds
Tries To Substitute For Morality
 Imposes duties that once belonged to religion
 Traditionally tort law was in the church's courts
 Basic enforcement was going to hell
Tort Populism
Vents Populist Angst
 Power of big business
 Perception that society is out of control
 Little guy’s revenge
 Modern version of the Roman bread and
circuses
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Substitutes For Governmental
Regulation And Policy
Contraceptives
 Breast Implants
 Tobacco
 No proper health insurance system?
 Sue HMOs
 No proper disability and retraining system?
 Sue other motorists
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Fills The Gaps In Law
Whenever societal mechanisms fail, tort
law provides a cushion
 California Child Molesters Relief Act and
the Missouri Cokeheads Relief Case
 Conflicting policy between
retribution/punishment and compensation
so that state does not have to pay.
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What Can You Recover?
Money
 Money
 Money
 Money
 That Is It: Money
 Never say that you cannot put a price on
human life.
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Damages
Only physical injuries?
 Emotional Suffering
 Dignitary injuries
 Reputation injuries
 No money? - no recovery
 10/20 Policies
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Basis For Liability
Intentional Torts
 Negligence
 Strict Liability
 Defamation
 Statutory Torts
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Core Concepts
Intent
 Consent And Assumption Of Risk
 Assumption Of Obligations
 Notice
 Liability For Others
 Liability for Products
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