Tort remedies Flashcards
- What legal remedies are available to the P in tort?
Damages
- What Restitutionary remedies are available to the P in tort?
Remember there are 2 types with 5 total remedies available.
A. LEGAL RESTITUTIONARY REMEDIES
- RESTITUTIONARY DAMAGES
- REPLEVIN
- EJECTMENT
B. EQUITABLE RESTITUTIONARY REMEDIES
- CONSTRUCTIVE TRUSTS/
- EQUITABLE LIENS
What equitable remedies are available in tort?
injunctive relief
- Legal remedies (TORTS)
What is the definition of damages?
Defendant is ordered to pay money to plaintiff.
What are the three types of damages in tort?
(i) compensatory (ii) nominal (iii) punitive
FIRST TYPE : What is the basic concept of compensatory damages?
These are based on the damage to the plaintiff. (They put the injured party in the position he/she would have been in had the injury not occurred.)
What is the 4 requirements checklist for compensatory damages in tort?
1st) CAUSATION- This refers to actual causation. (The “but for” test)
2nd) FORESEEABILITY- This refers to proximate causation. (The injury must have been foreseeable at the time of the tortious act.)
3rd) CERTAINTY- Damages cannot be too speculative.
4th) UNAVOIDABILITY- Plaintiff must take reasonablesteps to mitigate the damages.
Past losses have to be established with more certainty than __________ losses. If there is a ________________ record that helps to provide certainty.
Future; historical
Defendant causes plaintiff’s restaurant to burn to the ground. Restaurant has been in business for three years vs. three days. Which one is easier to find the damages for?
easier to find damages for restaurant when it has been open 3 years v 3 days
What is the all or nothing rule?
“For future damages, plaintiff must show that they are more likely to happen than not”
Injured plaintiff is an outstanding undergraduate student who has been accepted to law school. What would be the students argument for damages?
P would argue that it is more likelythan not that they would succeed in law school
What must P do if they are injured?
Plaintiff must take reasonable steps to mitigate the damages.
Hypo: Plaintiff injured in car accident. What should plaintiff do?
Go to the doctor, not wait. If they wait and that compounds their injuries they could not recover for them if they were avoidable.
Do the THE “certainty rules apply to economic losses/special damages (EX: Medical Expenses/Lost Earnings)?
Basic certainty rules apply here, i.e., calculation must be with sufficient certainty.
Do the THE “certainty rules apply to NON-ECONOMIC LOSSES (GENERAL DAMAGES) (EX: Pain and Suffering, Permanent Disfigurement)?
Basic certainty rules do not apply here. The jury may award any amount it wishes subject to proper instructions.
What kind of payment must damages be in?
The award must be a single lump sum payment. Installment payments are not allowed.
Does the lump sum payment for future damages need to be discounted at all?
The award must be discounted to present value.
Is inflation taken into account for the lump sum payment?
Inflation is not taken into account. (Exception - under the more modern view it is).
What sentence should you write to describe the calculation of a compensatory damages problem involving personal injury torts?
“The judgment must be a single lump sum payment that will be discounted to present value without taking inflation into account (except under the modern rule).”
What is the basic concept of nominal damages?
These are awarded where plaintiff has no actual injury. They serve to establish or to vindicate the plaintiff’s rights.
Hypo: Defendant regularly walks across dirt road on plaintiff’s land to get to a bus. P bothered, but no actual injury. But can lead to easement, so P wants to what?
establish rights.
What are the 3 rules to get punitive damages?
1st RULE: In order to get punitive damages, plaintiff must have first been awarded compensatory or nominal damages. (Note: Punitive damages can also be attached to restitutionary damages.)
2nd RULE: In order to get punitive damages, defendant’s type fault must be greater than negligence
3rd RULE: Generally, punitive damages are awarded in an amount relatively proportionate to actual damges
What did the US supreme court to limit punitive damages?
U.S. Supreme Court limited punitive damages to a single digit multiple of actual damages unless conduct facts are extreme.
What is the basic concept of restitution remedies?
These remedies are based on the theory that the defendant should not be unjustly enriched