Vocab 4

Question 1

A wrongful act (other than a breach of contract) that results in harm or injury to another and leads to civil liability.

Answer 1

Tort

Question 2

A monetary award sought as a remedy for a breach of contract or a tortious action.

Answer 2

Damages

Question 3

A monetary award equivalent to the actual value of injuries or damage sustained by the aggrieved party.

Answer 3

Compensatory Damages

Question 4

In a tort case, an amount awarded to compensate the plaintiff for quantifiable monetary losses, such as medical expenses, property damage, and lost wages and benefits (now and in the future).

Answer 4

Special Damages

Question 5

In a tort case, an amount awarded to compensate individuals for the nonmonetary aspects of the harm suffered, such as pain and suffering. Not available to companies.

Answer 5

General Damages

Question 6

Monetary damages that may be awarded to a plaintiff to punish the defendant and deter similar conduct in the future.

Answer 6

Punitive Damages

Question 7

A reason offered by a defendant in an action or lawsuit as to why the plaintiff should not recover or establish what she or he seeks.

Answer 7

Defense

Question 8

A wrongful act knowingly committed.

Answer 8

Intentional Tort

Question 9

One of commits a tort.

Answer 9

Tortfeasor

Question 10

A legal principal under which a person who intends to harm one individual, but unintentionally harms a different individual, can be liable to the second victim for an intentional tort.

Answer 10

Transferred Intent

Question 11

Any word or action intended to make another person fearful of immediate physical harm- a reasonably believable threat.

Answer 11

Assault

Question 12

Physical contact with anther that is unexcused, harmful or offensive, and intentionally performed.

Answer 12

Battery

Question 13

Capable of serving as the basis of a lawsuit. An actionable claim can be pursued in a lawsuit or other court action.

Answer 13

Actionable

Question 14

Anything published or publicly spoken that causes injury to another’s good name, reputation, or character.

Answer 14

Defamation

Question 15

Defamation in writing or another permanent form (such as digital recording).

Answer 15

Libel

Question 16

Defamation in oral form.

Answer 16

Slander

Question 17

A special right, or immunity that enables a person or a class of persons to avoid liability for defamation.

Answer 17

Privilege

Question 18

The deliberate intent to cause harm that exists when a person makes a statement with either knowledge of its falsity or reckless disregard of the truth. Required to establish defamation against public figures.

Answer 18

Actual Malice

Question 19

In tort law, the use by one person of another person’s name, likeness, or other identifying characteristic without permission and for the benefit of the user.

Answer 19

Appropriation

Question 20

Any misrepresentation, either my misstatement or by omission of a material fact, knowingly made with the intention of deceiving another and on which a reasonable person would and does rely on his or her detriment.

Answer 20

Fraudulent Misreprsentation

Question 21

A salesperson’s exaggerated claims concerning the quality of property offered for sale. Such claims involve opinions rather than facts and are not legally binding promises or warranties.

Answer 21

Puffery

Question 22

Wrongful interference with another’s business rights and relationships.

Answer 22

Business Tort

Question 23

Entry onto, above, or below the surface of land owned by another without the owner’s permission or legal authorization.

Answer 23

Trespass to Land

Question 24

Wrongfully taking or harming the personal property of another or otherwise interfering with the lawful owner’s possession of personal property.

Answer 24

Trespass to Personal Property

Question 25

Wrongfully taking or retaining possession of an individual’s personal property and placing it in the service of another.

Answer 25

Conversion

Question 26

An economically injurious falsehood about another’s product or property.

Answer 26

Disparagement of Property

Question 27

The publication of false information about another’s product, alleging that it is not what the seller claims.

Answer 27

Slander of Quality (Trade Libel)

Question 28

The publication of a statement that denies or casts doubt on another’s legal ownership of property, causing financial loss to that property’s owner.

Answer 28

Slander of Title

Question 29

The failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in similar circumstances.

Answer 29

Negligence

Question 30

The duty of all persons, as established by tort law, to exercise a reasonable amount of care in their dealings with others. Failure to exercise due care, which is normally determined by the reasonable person standard, constitutes the tort of negligence.

Answer 30

Duty of Care

Question 31

The standard of behavior expected of a hypothetical “reasonable person.” It is the standard against which negligence is measured and that must be observed to avoid liability for negligence.

Answer 31

Reasonable Person Standard

Question 32

A person, such as a customer or client, who is invited onto business premises by the owner of those premises for business purposes.

Answer 32

Business Invitee

Question 33

Professional misconduct or the lack of the requisite degree of skill as a professional. Negligence on the part of a professional, such as a physician, is commonly referred to as this.

Answer 33

Malpractice

Question 34

An act or omission without which an event would not have occurred.

Answer 34

Causation in Fact

Question 35

Legal cause. It exists when the connection between an act and an injury is strong enough to justify imposing liability.

Answer 35

Proximate Cause

Question 36

A defense to negligence that bars a plaintiff from recovering for injuries or damage suffered as a result of risks he or she knew of and voluntarily assumed.

Answer 36

Assumption of Risk

Question 37

A rule in tort law, used in only a few states, that completely bars the plaintiff from recovering any damages if the damage suffered is partly the plaintiff’s own fault.

Answer 37

Contributory Negligence

Question 38

A rule in tort law, used in the majority of states, that reduces the plaintiff’s recovery in proportion to the plaintiff’s degree of fault, rather than barring recovery completely.

Answer 38

Comparative Negligence

Question 39

A doctrine under which negligence may be inferred simply because an event occurred, if it is the type of event that would not occur in the absence of negligence. Literally, the term means “the facts speak for themselves.”

Answer 39

Res Ipsa Loquitur

Question 40

An action or failure to act in violation of a statutory requirement.

Answer 40

Negligence Per Se

Question 41

A state statute stipulating that persons who provide emergency services to, or rescue, someone in peril cannot be sued for negligence unless they act recklessly and cause further harm.

Answer 41

Good Samaritan Statute

Question 42

A state statute that imposes liability on the owners of bars and taverns, as well as those who serve alcoholic drinks to the public, for injuries resulting from accidents caused by intoxicated persons when the sellers or servers of alcoholic drinks contributed to the intoxication.

Answer 42

Dram Shop Act

Question 43

Liability regardless of fault, which is imposed on those engaged in abnormally dangerous activities, on persons who keep dangerous animals, and on manufacturers or sellers that introduce into commerce defective and unreasonably dangerous goods.

Answer 43

Strict Liability