Chapter 12 Torts and Strict Liability

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Chapter 12 Torts and Strict Liability
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Facing Tort Liability

• Tort
• Civil (as opposed to criminal) wrong not arising
  from a breach of a legal duty owed by the
  defendant to the plaintiff the breach must be
  the proximate cause of harm to the plaintiff
• Protected Interest
• Interest protected by law. Protected interest
  includes civil rights and liabilities, freedom
  from harms resulting from torts, criminal actions
  and so on.

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The Basis of Tort Law

• Damages
• Money sought as a remedy for a breach of contract
  or the commission of a tort.
• Intentional Tort
• Civil (as opposed to criminal) wrong knowingly
  committed (and not arising from breach of
  contract).
• Tortfeasor
• One who commits a tort.

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Intentional Tort against Persons

• Assault
• Any word or action intended to make another
  person fearful of immediate physical harm a
  reasonably believable threat.
• Battery
• The unprivileged, intentional touching of
  another.

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Intentional Tort against PersonsContinued

• Defense
• what a defendant offers and alleges in an action
  or suit as a reason why the plaintiff should not
  recover or establish what he or she seeks.
• Liability
• Any actual or potential legal obligation, duty,
  debt, or responsibility.

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Defenses

• A number of legally recognized defenses can be
  raised by a defendant who is sued for assault or
  battery
• Consent - When a person consents to the act that
  damages him or her, there is generally no
  liability for the damage done.

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DefensesContinued

• Self defense - An individual who is defending his
  or her life or physical well-being can claim
  self-defense. In situations of both real and
  apparent danger, a person is privileged to use
  whatever force is reasonably necessary to prevent
  harmful contact.

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DefensesContinued

• Defense of others - An individual can act in a
  reasonable manner to protect others who are in
  real or apparent danger.
• Defense of property - Reasonable force may be
  used in attempting to remove intruders from
  ones home, although force that is likely to
  cause death or great bodily injury can never be
  used just to protect property.

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Intentional Tort against Persons - continued

• False Imprisonment
• Intentional confinement or restrain of another
  persons movement without justification.
• Intentional infliction of emotional distress
• An intentional act that amounts to extreme and
  outrageous conduct resulting in severe emotional
  distress to another.

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Intentional Tort against Persons - Continued

• Defamation (libel or slander)
• A false statement of fact, not made under
  privilege, that is communicated to a third person
  and that causes damage to a persons reputation .
  For public figures, the plaintiff must also prove
  malice.

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Intentional Tort against Persons Continued

• Invasion of the right to privacy
• Use of persons name or likeness for commercial
  purposes without permission, wrongful intrusion
  into a persons private activities, publication
  of information that places a person in a false
  light, or disclosure of private facts that an
  ordinary person would find objectionable.

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Intentional Tort against Persons Continued

• Fraudulent misrepresentation
• A false representation made by one party, through
  misstatement of facts or through conduct, with
  the intention of deceiving another and on which
  the other reasonably relies to his or her
  detriment.

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Intentional Torts against Property

• Trespass to land
• Invasion of anothers real property without
  consent or privilege.Specific right and duties
  apply once a person is established as a
  trespasser.
• Trespass to personal property
• Unlawfully damaging or interfering with the
  owners right to use, possess, or enjoy his or
  her personal property.

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Intentional Torts against PropertyContinued

• Conversion
• A wrongful act in which personal property is
  taken from its rightful owner or possessor and
  placed in service of another.

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Unintentional Torts - Negligence

• Negligence
• The careless performance of legally required
  duty or the failure to perform a legally required
  act.
• Elements that must be proved are
• that a legal duty exist
• that the defendant breached that duty
• that the breach caused damage or injury to another

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Unintentional Torts - Negligence Continued

• Defenses to negligence
• The basic defenses in negligence cases are
• assumption of risk
• contributory and comparative negligence

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Special Negligence Doctrines and Statutes

• Res ipsa loquitur - A doctrine under which a
  plaintiff need not prove negligence on the part
  of the defendant because the facts speak for
  themselves. Res ipsa loquitur has been applied
  to such events as trains derailing, wheels
  falling off moving vehicles, and elevators
  falling.

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Special Negligence Doctrines and
StatutesContinued

• Negligence per se - A type of negligence that may
  occur if a person violates a statute or an
  ordinance providing for a criminal penalty and
  the violation causes another to be injured.

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Special Negligence Doctrines and
StatutesContinued

• Special negligence statutes
• State statutes that prescribe duties and
  responsibilities in certain circumstances, the
  violation of which will impose civil liability.
• Dram shop acts and Good Samaritan statutes are
  example of special negligence statutes.

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Unintentional Torts - Strict Liability

• Under the doctrine of strict liability, a person
  may be held liable, regardless of the degree of
  care exercised, for damages or injuries caused by
  his or her product or activity.
• Strict liability includes
• liability for defective products (product
  liability) and
• liability for abnormally dangerous activities.