Torts Flashcards
Strict Liability Tort
The intent does not matter, the tortfeasor (the defendant) will be liable if the wrongful act occurs, regardless if they are at fault
Strict Liability Tort Example
Parking ticket, dog owners (held liable no matter what)
Public Nuisance
Interference with the lawful use of public lands; often quasi-criminal in nature
Public Nuisance Example
blasting music in your backyard and neighbours cannot enjoy their own land (space)
Private Nuisance
Interference with an occupier’s use and enjoyment of their own land
Private Nuisance Example
keeping dangerous things on your land (animals), harmful toxins seeping into the ground
Intentional Tort
- Assault
- Battery
- Trespassing
- Intentional Infliction of Mental Distress
- False Imprisonment
- Malicious Prosecution
- Defamation
Assault
(1) Intentionally
(2) Uttering a threat
(3) That is likley to cause a reasonable apprehension of imminent physical harm
(4) Against a person or an identifiable group
Battery
(1) Intentionally
(2) Applying unlawful force
(3) Without consent
Trespassing
(1) Intentionally
(2) Entering Property
(3) Without consent
Intentional Infliction of Mental Distress
(1) The defendent’s conduct was flagrant and outrageous
(2) The defendant’s conduct was calculated to harm the Plantiff
(3) The defendant’s conduct caused the Plantiff to suffer a visbale and provable illness
Intentional Infliction of Mental Distress Example
Reporter who filmed dead bodies on TV – causes distress to the family
False Imprisonment
(1) Intentional
(2) Total confinement of a person against their will (no way out)
(3) Without lawful justification
False Imprisonment Example
Holding accused peolple in a room
Malicious Prosecution
(1) The proceeding must have been initiated by the defendant
(2) Terminated in favour of the Plaintiff
(3) Undertaken without reasonable and probable cause to commence or continue the prosecution
(4) Motivated by malice or a primary purpose other than that of carrying the law into effect
(reporting to the police when there is no good reason to believe that the person committed a crime)
Defamation
(1) The material is defamatory, in that it lowers the plaintiff’s reputation in the eye of a reasonable person
(2) The material must refer to the plaintiff
(3) The material must be communicated or published to at least one other person
(making untrue statements that cause injury to the reputation of another)
Defences to Intentional Torts
- Consent
- Self-Defence
- Necessity
- Incapacity
- Involuntariness
Consent
- Where the injured party consented to the act, there is no tort, consent must be informed
Ex – doctor telling you all the risks
Consent can be situational – doesn’t always need to be oral
Ex – playing hockey it is implied that you consent to the action in the game, to a reasonable amount
Self-defence
- The party asserting the defence needs to show that self defence was necessary
- No excessive force was used (the force used to deter the harm must be commensurated with the harm being recived)
- Can also assert self-defence on behalf of someone else being harmed
Necessity
Where there was no other option but to commit the tort
Ex – knocking down a building to prevent a fire from spreading, tresspassing on property is there was no other way to cross
Incapacity
All intentional torts require the mental capacity to form intent
Involuntariness
All torts must be voluntary
