Civil Law

Question 1

4 purposes of civil law

Answer 1

• provide guidelines for acceptable behaviour
• protect the rights of individuals
• provide an avenue for people to seek compensation where a breach has occurred
• remedy the harm that has been suffered

Question 2

Breach

Answer 2

the breaking of or failure to fulfil or comply with a duty or obligation.

Question 3

Causation

Answer 3

the direct relationship between one event and another event, where event 1 was the reason event 2 happened and event 2 wouldn’t have occurred without event 1.

Question 4

5 types of loss

Answer 4

• economic or financial
• property damage
• personal injury
• pain and suffering
• loss of amenity

Question 5

Limitation of actions

Answer 5

the restriction on bringing a civil law claim after the allowed time.

Question 6

Counter claim

Answer 6

separate claim made by defendant in response to plaintiff’s claim, usually herd at same time in same court.

burden of proof usually on plaintiff but in this scenario it is on both plaintiff and defendant.

Question 7

Balance of probabilities

Answer 7

Standard of proof in civil disputes.

requires plaintiff to establish that it is more likely than not that their claim is true.

Question 8

Possible defendants

Answer 8

• wrongdoer: person or company that directly caused plaintiff loss
• employers
• person involved in wrong doing

Question 9

Possible plaintiffs

Answer 9

• aggrieved party: the person whose rights have been infringed and who has suffered loss
• other victims

Question 10

vicarious liability

Answer 10

legal responsibility of a third party for the wrongful acts of another.

Question 11

accessibility liability

Answer 11

responsibility imposed on one person for the wrong doing of another. where there is a connection to the wrong doing.

Question 12

Duty of care

Answer 12

legal obligation to be cautious and careful and keep other people in mind when doing anything that could harm them.

Question 13

Negligence

Answer 13

a type of tort law that involves a breach of a duty of care causing loss or harm

Question 14

Damages

Answer 14

amount of money that one party is ordered to pay another party for loss and harm suffered.

Question 15

Element 1 - negligence

Answer 15

• duty of care

plaintiff must establish defendant owed them a duty of care.

Question 16

Element 2 - negligence

Answer 16

• breach of duty of care

failed to take reasonable actions to prevent harm or loss.

Question 17

Element 3 - negligence

Answer 17

• causation

harm or loss was caused by breach of duty of care without break in causation.

Question 18

Element 4 - negligence

Answer 18

• injury, loss or damage

Plaintiff must’ve suffered injury, loss or damage.

Question 19

Limitation period for general negligence claims

Answer 19

6 years

e.g. property damage

Question 20

Limitation period for negligence claims where the plaintiff contracted a disease or disorder

Answer 20

3 years

Question 21

Limitation period for negligence claims where the plaintiff died or suffered personal injury

Answer 21

3 years (discoverable)
or 12 years

Question 22

Defence 1 - negligence

Answer 22

• contributory negligence

Question 23

Defence 2 - negligence

Answer 23

• assumption of risk (volenti non fit injuria)

Question 24

compensatory damages

Answer 24

money awarded to plaintiff for harm, injury or loss suffered. Includes special, aggravated and general damages.

Question 25

special damages

Answer 25

amount of money one party is ordered to pay another party to compensate for losses that are easily quantifiable e.g. medical expenses or loss of wages

Question 26

general damages

Answer 26

amount of money one party is ordered to pay another party to compensate for loss that isn't easily quantifiable e.g. pain and suffering

Question 27

aggravated damages

Answer 27

amount of money defendant is ordered to pay plaintiff if plaintiff has suffered extreme humiliation, embarrassment or insult due to defendants conduct.

Question 28

Impacts on plaintiff - negligence

Answer 28

- loss of life - permanent physical incapacity - serious physical injury - emotional impact of breach - loss of wages and livelihood - unemployment - effect on mental health

Question 29

Impacts on defendant - negligence

Answer 29

- loss of business - public humiliation - physical injury - costs - need to sell assets

Question 30

defamation

Answer 30

tort that involves the action of damaging a person's personal or professional reputation in the community through the communication of false and untrue statements or information.

Question 31

rights protected by defamation laws

Answer 31

- right to freedom of expression - right to be considered of good character and reputation - right to have that reputation protected by placing limits on freedom of speech - right of people whose reputations have been harmed to seek effective and fair remedies - the right to a quick and effective method of resolving a dispute in relation to defamation

Question 32

element 1 - defamation

Answer 32

statement is defamatory, lowers a person's reputation.

Question 33

element 2 - defamation

Answer 33

statement is untrue.

Question 34

element 3 - defamation

Answer 34

the statement refers to the plaintiff.

Question 35

element 4 - defamation

Answer 35

the statement has been published by the defendant.

Question 36

element 5 - defamation

Answer 36

the publication caused or is likely to cause serious harm.

Question 37

limitations of actions for defamation

Answer 37

must be brought within 1 year from date of publication, however person may apply to extend limitation period by 2 years.

Question 38

Defence of justification for defamation

Answer 38

when defamatory statement is substantially true

Question 39

Defence of contextual truth for defamation

Answer 39

applies when defamatory statements are made within same context, while some of the statement is untrue some of it is also substantially true.

Question 40

Defence of absolute privilege for defamation

Answer 40

defendant has complete immunity from being sued for what they say in parliament and courts

Question 41

Defence of publication of public documents for defamation

Answer 41

if statement was a fair copy, summary or extract of a public document published for the public or educational purposes.

Question 42

Defence of fair report of proceedings of public concern for defamation

Answer 42

defendant can argue that statement is a fair report of proceedings and it was published for public's information or educational purposes.

Question 43

Defence of public interest for defamation

Answer 43

defendant believed that the publication of the matter was in the public interest

Question 44

Defence of honest opinion for defamation

Answer 44

claim defamatory material is their honest opinion rather than a statement of fact.

Question 45

Defence of innocent dissemination for defamation

Answer 45

protects people who unknowingly distribute defamatory information.

Question 46

Injunction

Answer 46

a remedy in the form of a court order requiring defendant to do or not to do something. injunctions are designed to prevent a person from doing further harm/rectify a wrong. -mandatory injunction -restrictive injunction

Question 47

possible impacts of a breach of defamation on the plaintiff

Answer 47

- loss of reputation - emotional impact - loss of wages and livelihood - unemployment

Question 48

possible impacts of a breach of defamation on the defendant

Answer 48

- costs - need to sell assets - public humiliation