Chapter 5:
Civil law & Procedure
Law in Society
2013-2014
How Do Crimes & Torts Differ?
Tort- against an individual
Damages (monetary award)
Crime- against a society
Section 5-1: Private Injuries vs.
Public Offenses
Elements of a Tort
Duty- obligation to do or not to do something.
Breach- violation of the duty
Injury- harm recognized by the law.
Causation- proof that the breach caused injury.
Duties
Not to injure another.
Not to interfere w/ property rights.
Not to interfere w/ economic rights of others.
Breach
Intentional Torts- defendant intended to inflict harm
by his or her action.
Negligence- harm due to the neglect or carelessness of
the defendant.
Liability- imposed simply b/c a person acted in a
certain way and caused injury.
Injury
Must be proved it was caused by the breach.
Causation
Showing the breach caused the injury.
Proximate Cause- amount of causation is great enough
for it to be recognized by the law.
What’s Your Verdict? pg. 81 & 82
Responsibility for Another’s
Torts
ALL persons, including minors, are personally
responsible for their conduct and are therefore liable
for their torts.
What’s Your Verdict? pg.
Section 5-2: Intentional Torts,
Negligence, and Strict Liability
What Are the Most Common
Intentional Torts?
Intentional Torts- possessed the intent or purpose to
inflict the resultant injury.
Assault- one person intentionally puts another in
reasonable fear of an offensive or harmful bodily
conflict. (based on words or gestures)
Battery- harmful or offensive touching of another.
(spitting on, pushing, shooting)
What Are the Most Common
Intentional Torts?
Angrily raising a clenched fist and then striking someone in
the face.
Assault- raised fist
Battery- blow to the face
When you act in self-defense, you have not committed a
battery.
What’s Your Verdict pg. 85
What Are the Most Common
Intentional Torts?
False Imprisonment- intentional confinement of a
person against the person’s will and without lawful
privilege.
Defamation- false statement injures a person’s
reputation or good name.
Be false
Communicated to a third person
Bring the victim into disrepute, contempt, or ridiculed
by others.
Homework Assignment
Tonight, go home and find an article about a celebrity
that you would consider defamation. Be sure it is
appropriate.
What Are the Most Common
Intentional Torts?
Invasion of Privacy- uninvited intrusion into an
individuals'’ personal relationships and activities in a
way likely to cause shame or mental suffering in an
ordinary person.
Read pg. 87 (Teacher Book)
What Are the Most Common
Intentional Torts?
Trespass to Land- entry onto the property of another
without the owner’s consent.
Dumping rubbish, breaking windows)
Conversion of Land- stolen property is destroyed or
used in a manner inconsistent with the owner’s rights.
Converter- innocent buyer of stolen goods.
What Are the Most Common
Intentional Torts?
Interference w/ Contractional Relations
Parties who breach a contract to which they are a part of
must pay damages under contract law for the injury
suffered by the other property.
Fraud- intentional or recklessly made
misrepresentation of an existing important fact.
What Constitutes Negligence?
Duty imposed by negligence law is defined by
reasonable-person standard.
Requires that you act with care, prudence, and good
judgment of a reasonable person so as not to cause
injury to others.
In court, the trier of fact (typically a jury) is aksed how
the reasonable person would have behaved under the
circumstances.
What Constitutes Negligence?
If a buddy improperly installs brakes in your car and they
fail causing you to be involved in an accident, is this
negligence?
In most states, even if the buddy is a layperson, it would be
negligence.
What if the buddy is a professional installer?
The buddy would be held to a higher standard of care and
will certainly be found to be negligence)
What’s Your Verdict? pg. 89
What Constitutes Negligence?
Breach of Duty
The “reasonable-person” standard defines the duty of
due care in any specific case.
A defendant’s actual conduct is then compared with the
specific duty to determine whether a violation of it has
occurred.
Causation and Injury
The violation of the duty must be the proximate cause
of the injury.
What Constitutes Negligence?
Defenses to Negligence
A plaintiff cannot recover for loss caused by another’s
negligence if the plaintiff was negligent. (contributory
negligence)
Comparative Negligence- applies when a plaintiff in a
negligence action is partially at fault.
Assumption of the Risk- if plaintiffs are aware of a
danger, but decide to subject themselves to the risk, that
is a defense.
Why Is Strict Liability
Necessary?
Strict Liability- a defendant can be held liable if he or
she merely engaged in a particular activity that resulted
in injury, regardless of whether or not he or she was
negligent.
Proof of both the activity and the injury substitutes for
proof of a violation of a duty.
Only applied when someone has engaged in abnormally
dangerous activities, such as target practice, blasting,
crop dusting with dangerous chemicals, or storing
flammable liquids in large quantities.
Section 5-3: Civil Procedure
Remedies Available in a Civil
Suit
Two types of remedies are generally available in a civil
lawsuit for a tort, breach of contract, or other private
injury.
Injunction
Damages
Remedies Available in a Civil
Suit
Injunction- a court order for a person to do or not to do a
particular act.
May be issued to prevent a private injury, to stop it from
continuing, or to undo it.
Damages-monetary award by the court to a person who has
suffered loss or injury because of the act or omission of another.
Compensatory Damages- meant to place the injured party in the
position he or she was in prior to the injury or loss.
Punitive Damages- a type of damages generally only award in
intentional tort cases.
Remedies Available in a Civil
Suit
What’s Your Verdict? pg. 93
What Procedures Is Used to
Try a Civil Case
Jury- selected and decide the verdict in a case.
Judge- always decides on the issues of law.
Plaintiff- the party that initiates the lawsuit by filing a complaint.
Defendant- the party complained against in a criminal or civil
proceeding.
Civil juries are made up of 6 to 12 citizens who listen to witnesses,
review physical evidence, and reach their decision.
Opening Statement &
Testimony
Attorneys make opening statements. (briefly outlines what
the plaintiff and defendant will try to prove)
Evidence is presented. (includes anything that the judge
allows to be presented to the jury that helps to prove or
disapprove of the alleged facts.)
Testimony- consists of statements made by witnesses under
oath.
Witness- someone who has personal knowledge of the facts.
Expert Witness- professional opinion.
Subpoena- written order by the judge commanding a person
to appear, give testimony, and present other evidence.
Closing Arguments &
Instructions to the Jury
Each attorney gives a closing argument.
Summarizes the case, trying to persuade the judge or
jury to favor his or her side.
Judge gives instructions to the jury such as the rules of
law that apply to the case and what issues of fact they
must decide.
Jury Deliberation and the
Verdict
The jury retires to the jury room for deliberation in secret to
decide the case.
Each juror must determine whether a preponderance of the
evidence supports the plaintiff's case.
In a civil action, a unanimous vote of the jurors is not
required. 10 out of 12.
Verdict- the jury’s decision.
Judgment- the final result of the trial.
What’s Your Verdict? pg. 96
How are Civil Damages
Collected?
The defendant will pay the judgment.
If the defendant does not pay, the plaintiff may obtain
a writ of execution. (process by which judgment for
money is enforced)
The court directs that the defendants’ property be
seized or sold.
What’s Your Verdict? pg. 96