Tort

Question 1

What does tort means and what does it involves?

Answer 1

Tort means wrong.

A tort involves infringement of a legal right or breach of a legal duty.

It gives rise to a claim in the civil courts.

Question 2

What do you call a person who commits Tort and their liability?

Answer 2

Tortfeasor

Their liability is described as tortious.

Question 3

What is a law of tort?

Answer 3

It is the body of civil law which governs what happens when one person sues another person because of what other person has done.

Question 4

Define the tort of negligence and define what will the court first look at.

Answer 4

A breach of a legal duty of care owed to a claimant that results in harm to the claimant, undesired by the defendant.

The court will first see if the defendant owed the claimant a legal duty of care.

Question 5

When can established duty situations can be relied upon by a claimant when bringing a Tort claim?

Answer 5

When the claimant suffered physical damage- either personal injury or damage to property.

They cannot be relied upon when the damage is pure economic loss or pure psychiatric harm

Question 6

What is Caparo Test?
And what are the 3 part tests?

Answer 6

Caparo test is now used to test if a duty of care is owed in novel situations.

        “RPF” *reasonable foresight of harm to the claimant. -is it reasonably foreseeable that the defendants action will affect the claimant?  *sufficient proximity of relationship between the claimant and the defendant. -relationship between the claimant and defendant *that is fair, just and reasonable to impose a duty.

Question 7

What is the general rule for no liability for omission?

Answer 7

Duty of care is not owed for omission’s, i.e. failing to act to prevent harm to the claimant.

However, if someone decides to act, they have a duty to not make the situation worse.

Question 8

What are the 2 exceptions with “ There is no duty with omission to act”?

Answer 8

1. The duty not to make the situation worse.
2. The duty to act positively in tort if a person has some sort of power or control over the other person or object. i.e. driving instructor to learner, officers to young offenders on a trip.

Question 9

What are the 3 elements to establish negligence?

Answer 9

“LBD”
1. A legal duty owed by the claimant to the defendant.
2. A breach of that duty.
3. Damage caused to the claimant from the breach of that duty that is personal injury or damage to property.