Torts and Privacy
Slides developed by
Les Wiletzky
Wiletzky and Associates
Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Prentice-Hall. All rights reserved.
Introduction
 Tort is the French word for a “wrong”
 Under tort law, an injured party can bring
a civil lawsuit to seek compensation for a
wrong done to the party or the party’s
property
 Tort damages are monetary damages
that are sought from the offending party
Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Prentice-Hall. All rights reserved.
4-2
Tort law imposes a duty on
persons and business agents
not to intentionally or
negligently injure others in
society.
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4-3
Intentional Torts Against Persons
(1 of 6)
 The law protects a person from
unauthorized touching, restraint, or other
contact
 The law also protects a person’s
reputation and privacy
 Violations of these rights are actionable as
torts
Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Prentice-Hall. All rights reserved.
4-4
Intentional Torts Against Persons
(2 of 6)
Assault
 The threat of immediate
harm or offensive contact;
or
 Any action that arouses
reasonable apprehension
of imminent harm
 Actual physical contact is
unnecessary
Battery
 Unauthorized and harmful
or offensive physical
contact with another
person
 Actual physical contact is
Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Prentice-Hall. All rights reserved.
unnecessary
4-5
Intentional Torts Against Persons
(3 of 6)
False Imprisonment
 The intentional
confinement or restraint of
another person without
authority or justification
and without that person’s
consent
 Merchant Protection
Statutes
Misappropriation of the
Right to Publicity
 An attempt by another
person to appropriate a
living person’s name or
identity for commercial
purposes
 Also known as the tort of
Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Prentice-Hall. All rights reserved.
appropriation
4-6
Intentional Torts Against Persons
(4 of 6)
Invasion of the Right to
Intentional Infliction of
Privacy
Emotional Distress
 A tort that constitutes the
 A tort that says a person
violation of a person’s right
whose extreme and
to live his or her life
outrageous conduct
without being subjected to
intentionally or recklessly
unwanted and undesired
causes severe emotional
publicity
distress to another person
is liable for that emotional
distress
Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Prentice-Hall. All rights reserved.
4-7
Intentional Torts Against Persons
(5 of 6)
Defamation of Character
 False statement(s) made
by one person about
another. The plaintiff must
prove that:


The defendant made an
an untrue statement of
fact about the plaintiff; and
The statement was
intentionally or
accidentally published to a
third party
Defamation of Character
(continued)
 Slander – oral defamation
of character
 Libel – a false statement
that appears in a letter,
newspaper, magazine,
book, photo, video, etc.
Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Prentice-Hall. All rights reserved.
4-8
Intentional Torts Against Persons
(6 of 6)
Malicious Prosecution
 A successful defendant in a prior
lawsuit can sue the plaintiff if the
first lawsuit was frivolous
 Certain elements must be proven
to win a lawsuit for malicious
prosecution
 The courts do not look favorably
on malicious prosecution lawsuits
Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Prentice-Hall. All rights reserved.
4-9
Intentional Torts Against Property
(1 of 3)
 There are two general categories of
property:
Real Property – consists of land and
anything permanently attached to that land
 Personal Property – consist of things that
are movable





Automobiles
Books
Clothes
Pets
Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Prentice-Hall. All rights reserved.
4 - 10
Intentional Torts Against Property
(2 of 3)
Trespass to Land
 A tort that interferes
with an owner’s right
to exclusive
possession of land
Trespass to Personal
Property
 A tort that occurs
whenever one person
injures another
person’s personal
property; or
 Interferes with that
person’s enjoyment
of his or her personal
property
Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Prentice-Hall. All rights reserved.
4 - 11
Intentional Torts Against Property
(3 of 3)
Conversion of Personal Property
 A tort that deprives a true owner of the
use and enjoyment of his or her personal
property by:
Taking over such property; and
 Exercising ownership rights over it

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4 - 12
Unintentional Torts (Negligence)
(1 of 7)
 Unintentional Tort
 A doctrine that says a person is liable for
harm that is the foreseeable consequence of
his or her actions
 Negligence
 The omission to do something which a
reasonable person would do; or
 Doing something which a prudent and
reasonable man would not do
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4 - 13
Unintentional Torts (Negligence)
(2 of 7)
To be successful in a negligence lawsuit,
the plaintiff must prove that:
1. The defendant owed a duty of care to the
plaintiff
2. The defendant breached the duty of care
3. The plaintiff suffered injury
4. The defendant’s negligent act caused the
plaintiff’s injury
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4 - 14
Unintentional Torts (Negligence)
(3 of 7)
 Duty of Care – the obligation we all each
other not to cause any unreasonable harm
or risk of harm
The courts apply a reasonable person
standard
 Defendants with a particular expertise or
competence are measured against a
reasonable professional standard

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4 - 15
Unintentional Torts (Negligence) (4
of 7)
 Breach of Duty – a failure to exercise
care or to act as a reasonable person
would act
 Injury to Plaintiff – the plaintiff must
suffer personal injury or damage to his or
her property to recover monetary
damages for the defendant’s negligence.

Effect on the plaintiff’s life or profession
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4 - 16
Unintentional Torts (Negligence)
(5 of 7)
 Causation – a person who commits a
negligent act is not liable unless his or her
act was the cause of the plaintiff’s injuries
Causation in Fact (actual cause)
 Proximate Cause (legal cause)

 Causation in Fact (actual cause)
 The actual cause of negligence
 A person who commits a negligent act is not liable
unless causation in fact can be proven
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4 - 17
Unintentional Torts (Negligence)
(6 of 7)
 Proximate Cause (legal cause)
 Under the law, a negligent party is not
necessarily liable for all damages set in
motion by his or her negligent act
 The law establishes a point along the
damage chain after which the negligent party
is no longer legally responsible for the
consequences of his or her actions
Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Prentice-Hall. All rights reserved.
4 - 18
Unintentional Torts (Negligence)
(7 of 7)
 The doctrine of
proximate cause was
established in the
Palsgraf v. The
Long Island
Railroad Company
case
Professional
Malpractice
 The liability of a
professional who
breaches his or her
duty of ordinary care
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4 - 19
Special Negligence Doctrines
 Negligent Infliction of
 “Danger Invites
Emotional Distress
 Negligence Per Se
 Res Ipsa Loquitur
 Good Samaritan
Laws
 Dram Shop Acts
 Guest Statutes
 Fireman’s Rule
Rescue” Doctrine
 Social Host Liability
 Liability of
Landowners
 Liability of Common
Carriers and
Innkeepers
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4 - 20
Defenses Against Negligence
 Superseding or intervening event
 Assumption of the risk
 Contributory negligence
 Comparative negligence
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4 - 21
Special Business Torts (1 of 3)
 Entering certain businesses and
professions without a license
 Unfair competition
Predatory practices
 Palming off

 Disparagement
 False advertising
 Intentional misrepresentation (fraud)
Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Prentice-Hall. All rights reserved.
4 - 22
Special Business Torts (2 of 3)
The elements required to find fraud are:
1. The wrongdoer made a false representation
of material fact
2. The wrongdoer had knowledge that the
representation was false and intended to
deceive the innocent party
3. The innocent party justifiably relied on the
misrepresentation
4. The innocent party was injured
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4 - 23
Special Business Torts (3 of 3)
 Intentional interference with contractual
relations
 Breach of the implied covenant of good
faith and fair dealing
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4 - 24
Special Business Torts: Tort Damages
Actual Damages
 Include compensation for
personal injury, pain and
suffering, emotional
distress, and other injuries
caused by the defendant’s
tortious conduct
Punitive Damages
 Are not recoverable for
breach of contract
 Recoverable for certain
tortious conduct



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Fraud
Intentional conduct
Other egregious conduct
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Strict Liability (1 of 2)
 Strict liability is liability without fault
 A participant in a covered activity will be
held liable for any injuries caused by the
activity even if he or she was not negligent
Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Prentice-Hall. All rights reserved.
4 - 26
Strict Liability (2 of 2)
This doctrine holds that:
1. There are certain activities that can place
the public at risk of injury even if reasonable
care is taken; and
2. The public should have some means of
compensation if such injury occurs
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4 - 27