Exam 3 Flashcards
Definition of Tort
An act or omission that gives rise to injury or harm to another and amounts to a civil wrong for which courts impose liability.
Definition of Tortfeasor
One who commits a tort.
Three categories of Torts
Intentional (intended to cause harm)
Negligence (breach of duty)
Strict Liability (harm caused)
Concept of Intentional Tort
Transferred intent, assault & battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, defamation, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, malicious prosecution, abuse of process
Concept of Transferred Intent
Intention to harm one victim but unintentionally harms a second victim instead.
Concept of False Imprisonment in AK
Defendant did or said something resulting in the plaintiff being confined, defendant acted with the intent to keep the plaintiff confined, plaintiff knew of the confinement, and plaintiff did not consent to being confined.
Concept of Intentional Interference with prospective economic advantage
Person who is involved in an economic relation with another or who is pursuing reasonable and legitimate prospects of entering such a relationship, is protected from a third person’s wrongful conduct which is intended to disrupt the relationship.
Concept of Comparative Negligence
Defense where Defendant claims the plaintiff’s harm resulted, in whole or in part, from the plaintiff’s own negligence. Plaintiff was negligent & their negligence was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff’s harm.
Abnormally dangerous activities & strict liability
Not of common usage and creates a foreseeable and highly significant risk of physical harm even when reasonable care is exercised by all actors.
Concept of respondeat superior
Employer or principal legally responsible for the wrongful acts of an employee or agent, if such acts occur within the scope of the employment or agency.
Compensatory damages
Monetary value of the injured party’s loss of earnings, loss of future earning capacity, pain and suffering and reasonable medical expenses.
Punitive damages
Considered punishment and are typically awarded at the court’s discretion when the defendant’s behavior is found to be especially harmful.
Purpose of Worker’s Compensation statutes
Regulatory laws that apply to those injured at work.
Prohibition against double recovery in Worker’s Compensation situates
You can’t collect from a third party due to their negligence and also collect from Workers’ Compensation.
Definition of toxic torts
Injuries to plaintiffs caused by toxic substances.
Civil rights violations as statutory torts
A violation of one’s constitutional rights by a government employee.
Key features of Tort Reform legislation and related public policy
Legislatures should limit lawsuits concerning negligence, personal injury, medical malpractice, products liability, and other similar causes of action.
Holding in Oberfell v. Hodges (2015)
Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to license and recognize same-sex marriage.
Potential impact of the 2022 Dobbs abortion ruling on aspects of family law
Parental consent could become an issue. Opens the door to reconsidering this case altogether because it was not expressly written in the bill of rights.
Concept of domestic relations
A reference to the field of family law, which governs relations within a family or household.
Source/purpose of Alaska Family Law Self-Help Center
A public service provided by the Alaska Court System dedicated to helping self-represented people achieve a better understanding of family law procedures, to increase access to family law courts, and to facilitate quicker resolution of family law matters.
Function prenuptial, premarital agreements
Agreements entered before marriage, enforceability hinges on modified contract principles, cohabitation agreements contemporary twist
Cohabitation agreement
A cohabitation agreement is a legal contract signed by people who want to live together without getting married but still want to codify an understanding of financial, medical or funerary obligations to one another until and after the relationship is dissolved, or if one partner dies.
Alaska legal standard for distributing cohabitation property
Should distribute the property based upon the express or implied intent of those parties.
Concept of annulment
A marriage can be voided because one of the parties is already married to someone else, the parties are more closely related than 3rd cousins, one of the parties was a minor without consent, either party was of unsound mind, one party caused the other to fraudulently consent, one party caused the other party to consent by force, or failure to have sexual relations.
Concept of community property and community property in Alaska
Property owned jointly by a married couple; Alaska is a community property state, which means that virtually all assets and debt acquired during the duration of a marriage are considered marital property, and are thus divided equally between the spouses in the event of a divorce.
Legal standard for determining child custody in Alaska
Children’s best interest.
Primary sources of contract law
Common & statutory law
Elements required for an enforceable contract
Offer that includes all essential terms, unequivocal acceptance, consideration and mutual intent to be bound.
Uniform Commercial Code
A comprehensive set of laws governing all commercial transactions in the United States. A clearly expressed acceptance can create a binding sales contract even if the acceptance contains added or different terms when compared to the offer.
Mirror Image rule
A doctrine requiring any acceptance to be an unconditional assent to the terms of the offer. The contract upon execution must match the terms of the contract originally agreed upon.
Consideration and pre-existing duty rule
A principle under contract law that states that if a party to a contract is under a pre-existing duty to perform, then no consideration is given for any modification of the contract and the modification is therefore voidable.
Mental capacity to contract
Requires that individuals understand the nature of their actions.
Alaska age of majority for contracting
18
Contract enforceability & public policy
Courts will not enforce contract that is void against public policy.
Contractual conditions
A requirement or term of the contract with which one or both of the parties must comply.
Specific performance
Asking that the court order the parties to proceed as planned under the contract.
Substantial performance
One party under a contract can still recover for damages if he substantially performed his duties under the contract even though that individual failed to comply with the contract in some way.
Illegal contracts
Those contracts forbidden or regulated by statute or public policy. (Contracts for illegal gambling)
Statute of frauds
Agreement unenforceable if not in writing. AS 09.25.010
Parol evidence rule
Agreements made outside of the contract are inadmissible in court unless there is evidence of fraud, duress, or a mutual mistake. AS 45.02.202
Promissory estoppel
The doctrine that a party may recover on the basis of a promise made when the party’s reliance on that promise was reasonable, and the party attempting to recover detrimentally relied on the promise.
Alaska case law on conditions precedent
A condition precedent is an event or state of affairs that is required before something else will occur. In contract law, a condition precedent is an event which must occur, unless its non-occurrence is excused, before performance under a contract becomes due. AS 24.05A
Result in the Alaska cocktail napkin case
A jury decided in favor of a former Alaska Dispatch News editor and president in a civil case that centered on a statement written years ago on a cocktail napkin. Jurors awarded Tony Hopfinger $852,752 in a verdict.
