Tort Law

1. Business Law Tort Law

2. Today’s Objectives • Define tort law. • Distinguish between a crime and a tort. • Identify common torts. • Explain penalties associated with torts.

3. What is tort law?

4. The Nature of Tort Law • Based on the idea that everyone has certain rights • Walk freely without being falsely arrested • Right to privacy • Right to a good name & reputation • Everyone has the duty to respect the rights of others. • Tort law enforces those rights and duties.

5. What is a tort? • A private wrong committed by one person against another.

6. Elements of a Tort • Possession of certain rights by an innocent party • Violation of those rights by the tortfeasor • Resulting injury that somehow hurts the innocent party

7. Key Terms in Tort Law • Victim– the person who is injured; may be referred to as the plaintiff or innocent party • Tortfeasor – the defendant in the lawsuit; person who committed a tort

8. Tort Law vs. Criminal Law

9. Criminal Law vs. Tort Law • Committed against the public good • Follows criminal trial procedure • Purpose of criminal law is to protect society by punishing criminal offenders • Committed against a particular person or property • Considered a civil or private wrong • Purpose of tort law is to compensate a victim for injuries suffered Crime Tort

10. Intentional Torts • Intentional torts are actions that deliberately hurt, embarrass, or scare people.

11. Intentional Torts Torts Against Persons

12. Assault and Battery • An assault is threatening to harm an innocent person • An assault has occurred as soon as you are afraid of immediate harm to your body. • Example: someone pulls a knife on you • Battery involves the unlawful, unwanted touching of another person. • Can also be touching something closely associated with a person’s body (like a backpack or hat) • Example: pulling a chair out from under someone

13. False Imprisonment • People have a right to move around freely. • Example – security guards must have reasonable grounds to suspect a shoplifter and may only hold the person in a reasonable way for a reasonable amount of time

14. Defamation • Defamation occurs when someone lies about another person in a way that hurts the innocent person’s reputation. • Libel – written, printed, or recorded lies about a person • Slander – verbal or spoken lies

15. Invasion of Privacy • Interfering with a person’s right to be left alone • Examples: • Patient confidentiality at the doctor’s office • Permission required to use your photograph, likeness, or name for advertising, publicity or marketing

16. Intentional Torts Torts Against Property

17. Trespassing • Interfering with someone’s real property (land) • Includes things built on the land (storage shed) and things attached to the land permanently (house or tree)

18. Nuisance • Anything that interferes with the enjoyment of property • Examples: • Loud music at night • Foul odors

19. Unintentional Torts Negligence

20. Accidents Happen… • Negligence is a tort that results when one person carelessly injures another. • Negligence is being less careful than a reasonable person should be in the same situation. • To succeed in a tort suit for negligence, the plaintiff must prove that all four elements existed.

21. Elements of Negligence • Defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care • Defendant breached that duty by being careless • Defendant’s carelessness was the cause of the harm • Plaintiff was actually harmed by the defendant’s carelessness

22. Elements of Negligence • Obligation to use a reasonable standard of care to prevent injury to others • Reasonable Person Test – a reasonable person considers how likely a certain act is to cause harm, how serious the harm would be, and the burden involved in avoiding the harm Duty Breach

23. Elements of Negligence • Action or behavior must be the proximate cause of injury • Proximate cause, also called legal cause, exists when the link between the negligent conduct and the injury is strong enough to be recognized by law. • The victim must suffer an injury, have property destroyed, or lose a lot of money. Cause Actual Harm

24. Unintentional Torts Liability

25. Strict Liability • Strict liability is a legal doctrine that says that some activities are so dangerous that liability will always follow any injury that results. • These activities involve a great risk to people and property … the risk is so great that no amount of care will eliminate it. • Example: using explosives, keeping wild animals as pets

26. Product Liability • When people are injured by defective products, both the firm that manufactured the product and the seller of the products are liable for injuries. • Fault does not matter.

27. Limits to Product Liability • Does not apply if the seller does not usually sell that type of item • Does not apply if the only damage done by the product is to the product itself

28. Penalties

29. Penalties Associated with Torts • Damages can be awarded to the injured party. • The plaintiff gets something (like money) from the defendant. • Court may issue an injunction to the defendant. • The court orders the defendant to do or NOT do something.