PowerPoint Slides to Accompany
BUSINESS LAW
E-Commerce and Digital Law
International Law and Ethics
5th Edition
by Henry R. Cheeseman
Chapter 4
Intentional Torts and
Negligence
Slides developed by
Les Wiletzky
Wiletzky and Associates, Puyallup, WA
Copyright © 2004 by Prentice-Hall. All rights reserved.
Introduction
 Tort
is the French word for a “wrong.”
 Tort
law protects a variety of injuries and
provides remedies for them.
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4-2
Introduction (continued)
 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.
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4-3
Introduction (continued)
 Tort
damages are monetary damages
that are sought from the offending party.
 They
are intended to compensate the
injured party for the injury suffered.
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4-4
Tort law imposes a duty on
persons and business agents
not to intentionally or
negligently injure others in
society.
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4-5
Categories of Torts
Intentional Torts
Unintentional Torts
(Negligence)
Strict Liability Torts
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4-6
Intentional Torts
A category of torts that requires that the
defendant possessed the intent to do the act
that caused the plaintiff’s injuries.
 There are two categories of intentional torts:

Intentional torts against persons
 Intentional torts against property

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4-7
Intentional Torts Against Persons

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.
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4-8
Intentional Torts Against Persons (continued)
 Assault

The threat of immediate harm or offensive
contact; or

Any action that arouses reasonable
apprehension of imminent harm.

Actual physical contact is unnecessary.
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4-9
Intentional Torts Against Persons (continued)
 Battery

Unauthorized and harmful or offensive
physical contact with another person.

Actual physical contact is unnecessary.
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4 - 10
Intentional Torts Against Persons (continued)
 False

Imprisonment
The intentional confinement or restraint of
another person without authority or
justification and without that person’s consent.
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4 - 11
Intentional Torts Against Persons (continued)
 False

Imprisonment (continued)
Merchant Protection Statutes – allow
merchants to stop, detain, and investigate
suspected shoplifters without being held liable
for false imprisonment if:
 There
are reasonable grounds for the suspicion,
 Suspects are detained for only a reasonable time, and
 Investigations are conducted in a reasonable manner.
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4 - 12
Intentional Torts Against Persons (continued)
 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.
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4 - 13
Intentional Torts Against Persons (continued)
 Defamation
of Character (continued)
Slander – oral defamation of character.
 Libel – a false statement that appears in a
letter, newspaper, magazine, book, photo,
video, etc.

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4 - 14
Landmark Law

In New York Times v. Sullivan, the U.S.
Supreme Court held that public officials
cannot recover for defamation unless they
can prove that the defendant acted with
actual malice.
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4 - 15
Intentional Torts Against Persons (continued)

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 appropriation.
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4 - 16
Intentional Torts Against Persons (continued)
 Invasion

of the Right to Privacy
A tort that constitutes the violation of a
person’s right to live his or her life without
being subjected to unwanted and undesired
publicity.
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4 - 17
Intentional Torts Against Persons (continued)

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
A tort that says a person whose extreme and
outrageous conduct intentionally or recklessly
causes severe emotional distress to another
person is liable for that emotional distress.
 Also known as the tort of outrage.

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4 - 18
Intentional Torts Against Property

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
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4 - 19
Intentional Torts Against Property (continued)
 Trespass

to Land
A tort that interferes with an owner’s right to
exclusive possession of land.
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4 - 20
Intentional Torts Against Property (continued)
 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.

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Intentional Torts Against Property (continued)
 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 - 22
Unintentional Torts (Negligence)
 Unintentional

Tort
A doctrine that says a person is liable for
harm that is the foreseeable consequence of
his or her actions.
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4 - 23
Unintentional Torts (Negligence)
(continued)
 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 - 24
Unintentional Torts (Negligence)
(continued)
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 - 25
Unintentional Torts (Negligence)
(continued)

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 - 26
Unintentional Torts (Negligence)
(continued)

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 - 27
Unintentional Torts (Negligence)
(continued)

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)

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Unintentional Torts (Negligence)
(continued)
 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 - 29
Unintentional Torts (Negligence)
(continued)

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.

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4 - 30
Landmark Law

The doctrine of proximate cause was defined
in the Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad
Company case.
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4 - 31
Unintentional Torts (Negligence)
(continued)

Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress


A tort that permits a person to recover for
emotional distress caused by the defendant’s
negligent conduct.
Professional Malpractice

The liability of a professional who breaches
his or her duty of ordinary care.
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4 - 32
Special Negligence Doctrines

Negligence Per Se

Res Ipsa Loquitur

Good Samaritan Laws

Dram Shop Acts

Guest Statutes

Fireman’s Rule

“Danger Invites
Rescue” Doctrine

Social Host Liability

Liability of
Landowners

Liability of Common
Carriers and
Innkeepers
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4 - 33
Superseding or
Assumption of
Intervening
the Risk
Event
DEFENSES
AGAINST
NEGLIGENCE
Contributory
Comparative
Negligence
Negligence
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4 - 34
Business Torts

Entering certain businesses and professions
without a license

Unfair competition

Predatory practices

Palming off
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4 - 35
Business Torts (continued)

Disparagement
Product disparagement
 Trade libel
 Slander of title


False advertising

Intentional misrepresentation (fraud)
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4 - 36
Business Torts (continued)
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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Business Torts (continued)

Intentional interference with contractual
relations

Breach of the implied covenant of good faith
and fair dealing
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4 - 38
Business Torts (continued)

Punitive damages
Are not recoverable for breach of contract
 Recoverable for certain tortious conduct
 Fraud
 Intentional conduct
 Other egregious conduct

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4 - 39
Strict Liability

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.
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4 - 40
Strict Liability (continued)
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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