Chapter 7: Torts

Question 0

Intentional tort

Answer 0

An action that results in harm to a person’s body, reputation, emotional well-being, or property.

Question 1

What is the Restatement of the Law of Torts, Second?

Answer 1

An authoritative secondary source, written by a group of legal scholars, summarizing the existing common-law, as well as suggesting what the laws should be

Question 2

Assault

Answer 2

An intentional act that creates a reasonable apprehension of an immediate harmful or offensive physical contact

Question 3

Battery

Answer 3

An intentional act that creates a harmful or offensive physical contact

Question 4

False imprisonment

Answer 4

Occurs whenever one person, through force or the threat of force, unlawfully detains another person against his or her will.

Question 5

What are the types of intentional torts?

Answer 5

1. Assault and battery
2. False imprisonment
3. Defamation
4. Invasion of privacy
5. Intentional infliction of emotional distress
6. Harm to a person’s property

Question 6

Define invasion of privacy

Answer 6

An intentional tort that covers a variety of situations, including disclosure, intrusion, appropriation, and false light.

Question 7

Disclosure

Answer 7

The publicizing of embarrassing private affairs

Question 8

Intrusion

Answer 8

The unjustified intrusion into another’s private activities

Question 9

Appropriation

Answer 9

The unauthorized exploitative use of one’s personality, name, or picture for the defendant’s benefit.

Question 10

False light

Answer 10

The use of a picture or some other means to infer a connection between the person and an idea or a statement for which the individual is not responsible

Question 11

What is another term for the intentional infliction of emotional distress?

Answer 11

The tort of outrage

Question 12

Defamation

Answer 12

The publication of false statements that harm a person’s reputation. Must be communicated to a third person

Question 13

What is the case that led the US Supreme Court to establish special rules for public officials or public figures to sue for defamation?

Answer 13

New York Times Company v. Sullivan

Question 14

What must a public figure prove in order to sue for defamation?

Answer 14

The public figure must prove that the statement was made with “actual malice”

Question 15

What are the three types of torts?

Answer 15

Intentional torts, negligence, strict liability

Question 16

What are the four elements to establish negligence?

Answer 16

1. The defendant must owe a duty to the plaintiff to act reasonably
2. The defendant must have breached that duty
3. Thereby causing
4. The plaintiff harm

Question 17

Negligence per se

Answer 17

Violation of a statute as proof of negligence

Question 18

Res ipsa loquitur

Answer 18

“The thing speaks for itself”; the doctrine that suggests negligence can be presumed if an event happens that would not ordinarily happen unless someone was negligent

Question 19

Actual cause

Answer 19

Also known as cause in fact, this is measured by the “but for” standard: but for the defendant’s actions, the plaintiff would not have been injured

Question 20

Proximate cause

Answer 20

Once actual cause is found, as a policy matter, the court must also find that the act and the resulting harm were so foreseeably related as to justify a finding of liability

Question 21

What are the defenses to negligence?

Answer 21

1. Contributory negligence
2. Assumption of the risk.
3. Comparative negligence
4. Immunities

Question 22

Contributory negligence

Answer 22

Negligence by the plaintiff that contributed to his or her injury. Normally it is a complete bar to the plaintiffs recovery.

Question 23

Assumption of the risk

Answer 23

Voluntarily and knowingly subjecting oneself to danger

Question 24

Exculpatory clause

Answer 24

A provision that purports to waive liability

Question 25

Comparative negligence

Answer 25

A method for measuring the relative negligence of the plaintiff and the defendant, with a commensurate sharing of the compensation for the injuries

Question 26

Recklessness

Answer 26

Disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk that harm will result

Question 27

Strict liability

Answer 27

Liability without having to prove fault. Used in cases involving inherently dangerous activities and products liability.

Question 28

Products liability

Answer 28

The theory holding manufacturers and sellers liable for defective products when the defects make the products unreasonably dangerous

Question 29

Product misuse

Answer 29

When the product was not being used for its intended purpose or was being used in a dangerous manner; it is a defense to a products liability claim so long as the misuse was not foreseeable

Question 30

Respondeat superior

Answer 30

The tort theory that an employer can be sued for the negligent acts of its employees

Question 31

Compensatory damages

Answer 31

Damages awarded to compensate the plaintiff for the harm done to him or her

Question 32

Punitive damages

Answer 32

Damages awarded for intentional torts when the court determines that the tortfeasor deserves an additional punishment beyond just compensating plaintiffs

Question 33

Tortfeasor

Answer 33

The person who commits a tort

Question 34

Public figure

Answer 34

Someone who has achieved fame or notoriety by their actions or by being thrust into a public controversy

Question 35

What is the Federal Tort Claims Act?

Answer 35

An act that allows the federal government to be sued in cases of negligence on the part of a government employee.

Question 36

What is a defense to a products liability suit?

Answer 36

Misuse of the product

Question 37

Subject matter jurisdiction

Answer 37

The power of a court to hear a particular type of case

Question 38

Personal jurisdiction

Answer 38

The power of a court to force a person to appear before it