Midterm Review Flashcards
Define Tort
A wrongful act or an infringement of a right
What is Tort derived from and what does it mean?
Derived from the French word “wrong”
Pigeon Hole - “cause of action”
List the parts of the Torts Law
Unintentional torts
Negligence
Improper
Pigeon hole
What are the intentional torts?
- Assault and battery
- Trespass
- False Imprisonment
- Defamation
- Nuisance
- Economic Torts
- Negligence
Define assault and battery
Assault: Threat of violence to the person
i.e. pointing an unloaded gun at someone
Battery: The physical contact or harm without the person’s consent
Proof and damages of assault and battery
Proof: Easy to prove
More likely than not, the person engaged in an unwelcome action
Damages: Lost income from missing work as a result of the incident
What are the 2 ways trespass can occur?
- A person enters on to someone’s land without consent or lawful right
- A person puts something on someone else’s property without consent
Proof and damages of trespass?
Proof: Easy to prove
Damages: Difficult to prove damages
Businesses outlook on trespass
Businesses have an open door invitation to customers, but they have the right to ask you to leave and can eventually file for a trespass notice
Define the tort of trespass?
Unlawfully restraining a person
Physically restraining or leaving someone with the impression that they can’t leave
Define defamation
The action of damaging the good reputation of someone
Occurs when you say or write something about someone that causes damage to their reputation
What are the 2 forms of defamation
- Libel (written)
2. Slander (oral)
What are the rules of defamation
- The thing that was said had to have been spoken by a third party
- Have to be able to prove that the person said something about them
What are the defences to defamation
- Absolute Privilege (privilege)
House of commons - have complete immunity from defamation - Quality Privilege
If someone says something about a movie in a review, it’s not necessarily defamation - Truth
The thing that was said about the person could be proven to be true
Proofs of defamation
Things to prove:
Harm/damage
Easy to prove harm/damage if the person has a good reputation
Difficult to prove harm/damage if the person is already held in a low regard
Define the tort of nuisance and provide an example
A person, thing or circumstance that causes an inconvenience to you and your property
Example:
excessive noise, terrible odours, obstruction of view, car blocking your driveway
Define economic torts
When the terms of an agreement between parties are broken by one party
Created to establish responsibilities and expectations of parties that choose to engage in business transactions with one another
Explain the types of economic torts
- Intentional interference with contractual relationship
A party does something that has a negative affect on the relationship between 2 other parties - In breach of contract
A party incentivizes another to stop doing business with another party - Conversion
- Passing off
When someone fully capitalizes on the goodwill of another company
Define negligence (torts)
Failure to use reasonable care, resulting in damage or injury to another
First form of negligence
- Unintentional action
Performed to someone by another person accidentally
Second form of negligence
- Anyone who causes an injury to another person will have to compensate the damages to that person
Test: Could a reasonable person have foreseen that this conduct could have caused harm on the person
Third form of negligence
- The defendant breached the standard of care
Test: What would a reasonably careful person have done in those circumstances
Fourth form of negligence
- The defendant has to have caused the plaintiffs injury
Test: Causation
Defendant’s carelessness is not the only thing that contributed to the plaintiffs injury
Causation Disputes
- Think skull rule
- respective foreseeability
- Voluntary assumption of risk
- Contributory Negligence
- Remoteness