Chapter 12: Torts Flashcards
Laws designed to compensate those who have suffered a loss or injury, due to another person’s wrongful act.
Torts
Damages given to the plaintiff that’s prime goal is to make the plaintiff whole and put her or him in the same position that she or he would have been in had the tort not occurred.
Compensatory damages
Damages to punish the wrongdoer and deter others from similar wrongdoing. These are appropriate only when the defendant’s conduct was particularly egregious.
Punitive damages
The tortfeasor (the one committing the tort) must intend to commit an act, the consequences of which interfere with another’s personal or business interests in a way not permitted by law.
Intentional tort
When a defendant intends to harm one individual, but unintentionally harms a second person.
Transferred intent
Any intentional and unexcused threat of immediate harmful or offensive contact–words or acts that create a reasonably believable threat.
Assault
An unexcused and harmful or offensive physical contact intentionally performed.
Battery
Capable of serving as the ground for a lawsuit. The act must be extreme and outrageous to the point that it exceeds the bounds of decency accepted by society.
Actionable
Wrongfully hurting a person’s good reputation.
Defamation
When someone breaches their duty to refrain from making defamatory statements of fact in writing or permanent form, they are…
Libel
If someone breaches their duty to refrain from making defamatory statements of fact orally, they are considered guilty of…
Slander
The privileges of attorneys and judges in the courtroom during a trial are protected, as are statements made by government officials during legislative debate.
Absolute privelage
Generally, if the statements are made in good faith and the publication is limited to those who have a legitimate interest in the communication, the statements fall within the area of….
Qualified privilege
Politicians, entertainers, professional athletes, and others in the public eye that are considered “fair game” and false and defamatory statements about them won’t constitute defamation unless they are made with actual malice
Public figures
A statement that is made with either knowledge of its falsity or a reckless disregard for the truth.
Actual malice
Involves intentional deceit for personal gain.
Fraudulent misrepresentation
Seller’s talk
Puffery
Occurs when a person, without permission, does any of the following:
- Enters onto, above, or below the surface of land that is owned by another.
- Causes anything to enter onto land owned by another.
- Remains on land owned by another or permits anything to remain on it.
Trespass to land
One who is invited (or allowed to enter) onto the property of another for the licensee’s benefit.
Licensee
Whenever any individual wrongfully takes or harms the personal property of another or otherwise interferes with the lawful owner’s possession and enjoyment of personal property.
Trespass to personal property
Any act that deprives an owner of personal property or of the use of that property without the owner’s permission and without just cause.
Conversion
Occurs when economically injurious falsehoods are made about another’s product or property rather than about another’s reputation.
Disparagement of property
The publication of false information about another’s product, alleging that it is not what its seller claims.
Slander of quality
The plaintiff must prove that the improper publication cause a third person to refrain from dealing with the plaintiff and that the plaintiff sustained economic damages as a result.
Trade libel
When a publication falsely denies or casts doubt on another’s legal ownership of property, resulting in financial loss to the property’s owner.
Slander of title
Occurs when someone suffers injury because of another’s failure to live up to a required duty of care.
Negligence
The basic principle that people are free to act as they please so long as their actions do not infringe on the interests of others.
Duty of care
In determining whether a duty of care has been breached, the courts ask how a reasonable person would have acted in the same circumstances.
Reasonable person standard
When a professional violates his or her duty of care toward a client, the client may bring a suit against the professional, alleging…
Malpractice
Can be determined by use of the “but for” test. “but for” the wrongful act, the injury would not have occurred.
Causation in fact
When the connection between an act and an injury is strong enough to justify imposing liability.
Proximate cause
Occurs when defendant violates a statute designed to protect the type of plaintiff that was injured.
Negligence per se
Protects someone who renders aid to an injured person from being sued for negligence.
Samaritan statutes
Acts under which a bar’s owner or bartender may be held liable for injuries caused by a person who became intoxicated while drinking at the bar.
Dram shop acts
A defense to negligence in which a plaintiff who voluntarily enters into a risky situation, knowing the risk involved, will not be allowed to recover. This requires (1)Knowledge of the risk and (2)Voluntary assumption of the risk.
Assumption of risk
A unforeseeable, intervening act that breaks the causal link between Defendant’s act and Plaintiff’s injury, relieving Defendant of liability
Superseding Cause
If plaintiff in any way caused his injury, he was barred from recovery.
Contributory Negligence
Computes liability of Plaintiff and Defendant and apportions damages.
Comparative negligence
Allows Plaintiff to recover even if his liability is greater than that of Defendant
Pure Comparative negligence
Percent of damages Plaintiff causes herself are subtracted from the total award.
Modified Comparative negligence
