Torts Flashcards
What torts require damages?
IIED
Conversion
Trespass to Chattel
IIED
extreme and outrageous act intended or substantially certain to cause severe emotional destress or reckless conduct
Res ipsa requires that:
- The accident is of a type that normally does not occur in the absence of someone’s negligence; 2. The evidence connects the defendant to the negligence (i.e., this type of accident ordinarily happens because of the negligence of someone in the defendant’s position); and 3. The injury was not attributable to the plaintiff or any third person.
Under joint and several liability, each defendant found by the trier of fact to be at fault for an indivisible injury is liable to the plaintiff for:
the entire amount of damages incurred, not just a portion of it.
Elements of conversion
Conversion consists of (i) an act by defendant interfering with plaintiff’s right of possession in the chattel, (ii) intent to perform the act bringing about the interference with plaintiff’s right of possession, (iii) causation, and (iv) damages—an interference that is serious enough in nature or consequence to warrant that the defendant pay the full value of the chattel.
Trespass to chattels consists of:
Trespass to chattels consists of: (i) an act by defendant interfering with plaintiff’s right of possession in the chattel, (ii) intent to perform the act bringing about the interference with the plaintiff’s right of possession, (iii) causation, and (iv) damages.
Conversion consists of:
(i) an act by defendant interfering with plaintiff’s right of possession in the chattel, (ii) intent to perform the act bringing about the interference with plaintiff’s right of possession, (iii) causation, and (iv) damages—an interference that is serious enough in nature or consequence to warrant that the defendant pay the full value of the chattel.
A state has no power to regulate activities of the federal government unless
Congress consents to the regulation.
The Contract Clause
The Contract Clause limits the ability of states to enact laws that substantially impair contract rights (i.e., destroy most or all of a party’s rights under an existing contract). Under the Clause, the Supreme Court will subject state actions that impair their own contracts to strict scrutiny. In any case, even if state action substantially impairs rights under an existing contract, the action still may be upheld if it: (i) serves an important and legitimate public interest; and (ii) is a reasonable and narrowly tailored means of promoting that interest.
A party may assert a cross-claim against a co-party only if
the cross-claim arises from the same transaction or occurrence as that of the original action or of a counterclaim
private nuisance
a substantial, unreasonable interference with another person’s use or enjoyment of her property
an interference in a private nuisance must be
offensive, inconvenient, or annoying to the average person in the community
public nuisance
an act that unreasonably interferes with the health, safety, or property rights of the community
trespass
an intentional physical invasion of another’s land
A prima facie case in products liability based on strict tort liability consists of the following:
(i) the defendant is a commercial supplier; (ii) the defendant produced or sold a defective product; (iii) the product was the actual and proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injury; and (iv) the plaintiff suffered damages to person or property.
