Business Law BL-DH47ISB-3
TORT LAW
Group 5
6.1
The Basis of
Tort Law
[Link] purpose of Tort Law
It is intended to offer remedies for the
infringement of particular protected rights.
Offer remedies for actions that cause body
harm or that impede physical security and
freedom of movement.
Offer remedies for activities that cause
destruction or harm to property.
2. Damages available in Tort Actions
Damage refers to physical harm or injury to individuals
or property
Damages relate to monetary recompense for similar
harm or injury.
Compensatory Damages
Compensatory damages are granted to a
plaintiff to compensate or recompense the
plaintiff for actual losses
Goal: Put the plaintiff to the same position
she or he would have occupied had the
tort not happened.
Special damages General damages
Pay the plaintiff for monetary Pay people (not businesses)
losses that may be quantified. for non-financial harms, such
as pain and suffering.
Punitive damages
Courts award punitive damages to the wrongdoer to
punish them for their behavior and deter others from
committing similar acts.
They may be awarded in cases involving gross
negligence
Legislative Caps on Damages
State laws may limit the amount of damages that can be
awarded to the plaintiff
Ranging from $250,000 to $750,000 on noneconomic
general damages
3. Classification of Torts 6.1 - 3
There are two basic categories of torts:
intentional torts and negligent torts
Intentional torts are caused by the
intentional violation of a person or their
property Save
Negligence is the failure of an obligation to
behave appropriately Cancel
4. Defenses
The defendant may assert a number of legitimate defenses.
Consent is a common defense to intentional torts committed
against persons
6.2
Intentional Torts
against Person
Intentional tort: The tortfeasor must intent to
commit an act
He/She knew with
He/She intents the substantial certainty
consequence of his that certain
or her act consequences would
result from the act
Transferred intent
Intent can be
transferred when
tortfeasor tends
to harm A BUT
unintentionally
harm B
Assault, Battery
Defamation
Intentional Torts Invasion of privacy
(against persons)
False imprisonment
Intentional infliction of
emotional distress.
Trespass to realty
ASSULT
Intentional and
unexcused threat of
immediate harmful or
offensive contact
(words or acts)
BATTERY
- Completion of assault
-Unexcused and harmful
or offensive physical
contact intentionally
performed
False Imprisonment
Intentional confinement or restraint of another
person’s activities without justification
Confinement can be accomplished by physical
barriers, physical restraint, or threats of
physical force
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
- The infliction of mental
distress
- A battery to the emotion
- Caused by outrageous
conduct resulting in severe
emotional distress
- The act must be extreme and
outrageous that exceeds the
bounds of decency accepted by
society
DEFAMATION
Defamation: involves wrongfully hurting a person’s
good reputation
Slander: Spoken or oral defamation
Libel: Breaching the duty in print or a
Defamation Involves
The defendant made a false statement of fact
The statement tended to harm the plaintiff’s
reputation
The statement was published to at least one
person other than the plaintiff
If the plaintiff is a public figure, she or he
must prove actual malice
Statement-of-fact Requirement: Published statement
must be a fact. Statements of opinions are protected
speech under the First Amendment and not actionable.
The Publication Requirement:
Publication: the defamatory statements are
communicated
The false statement must hold an individual up to
hatred, contempt, or ridicule in the community and be
“publicized."
Libel Slander
Specific damages are designed The plaintiff must prove
to compensate for the plaintiff special damages to accuse the
and there is no evidence defendant
necessary to prove that he or she
has actual injury
General Damages
Slander Per Se
No proof of damage is necessary to
prove when the statement involves:
loathsome communicable diseases,
business improprieties, serious
crime, or serious mixsexual conduct
Defense to Defamation
Truth is generally an absolute
defense for defamation
Privileged Communication
Public Figures
Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard
Amber Heard Johnny Depp
Intrusion into seclusion
INVASION OF
PRIVACY False light
Common law recognizes
for acts that qualify as Public disclosure of private facts
improperly infringing on
another's privacy
Appropriation of name or likeness
INTRUSION INTO SECLUSION
- Occurs when someone
intentionally intrudes into the
private affairs of another person.
- The standard to sue
successfully is that the intrusion
need to be intentional and highly
offensive .
FALSE LIGHT
- Stating something is wrong
and false about the target
- DOES NOT require
assertions that are false.
Public Disclosure of
Private Facts
- Disclosure of private facts
would be highly offensive to
a reasonable person.
- Be broadcasted to a huge
amount of audience.
Public Disclosure of
Private Facts
If the disclosure is
"newsworthy", the act is
legal.
Appropriation of name or
likeness
Occurs when someone
publicly uses the name or
likeness of another person
for his or her own benefits
(for advertising purposes or
purposes of trade)
DC COMICS CASE STUDY
vs
Johnny and Edgar Winter Johnny and Edgar Autumn
Fraudulent misrepresentation (Fraud)
A civil tort arising out of a contract law. It is a false statement of
fact that causes someone to enter into a contract. A defendant
commits Fraud when he or she lies or misrepresents a crucial fact
in order to induce the other party to enter into a contract. The
misrepresentation can be in the the form of anything that is
designed to deceive the other party when there exists a duty to
speak.
There are several elements are generally required to
improve the tort of fraudulent misrepresentation ........ Search
(1) A misrepresentation of material facts or
conditions with knowledge that they are false or
with reckless disregard for the truth.
(2) An intent to induce another party to rely on the
misrepresentation. Save
(3) A justifiable reliance on the misrepresentation by
the deceived party. Cancel
There are several elements are generally required to
improve the tort of fraudulent misrepresentation ........ Search
(4) Damages suffered as a result of that reliance
(5) A causal connection between the
misrepresentation and the injury suffered
Save
Cancel
Frivolous Litigation
A lawsuit which is filed
with the intent to harass,
annoy, or disturb the
opposite party.
6.2 Wrongful Interference
Three elements are necessary for wrongful
Wrongful interference with a contractual relationship to
Interference with occur:
a Contractual A valid, enforceable contract must exist
Relationship between two parties.
A third party must know that this contract
exists.
This third party must intentionally induce a
party to the contract to breach the contract.
6.2 Wrongful Interference
Established business relationship;
Wrongful The defendant uses predatory methods
Interference with
to cause the relationship to end; and
a Business
Plaintiff suffers damages.
Relationship
Defenses to Wrongful Interference
The interference was justified or permissible.
Bona fide competitive behavior (such as marketing) is
a permissible interference even if it results in the
breaking of a contract.
6.3
Intentional Torts
against Property
[Link] to Land
Occurs when a person, without permission:
Physically enters onto, above, or below the
surface of another’s land.
Causes anything to enter onto land owned by
another.
Remains on land owned by another or permits
anything to remain on it.
Liability for Harm Defences
The trespass is warranted
A trespasser is generally
liable for damage caused to (necessary) to assist
the property and generally some in danger.
cannot hold the owner The trespasser is a
liable for injuries sustained licensee (such as a utility
on the premises service person).
Reynolds v. Willson
"Attractive-nuisance doctrine"
imposes a duty on property owners
to treat trespassing children the
same as an invitee, and as a result,
must exercise reasonable care to
eliminate potential dangers or
provide adequate warning.
2. Trespass to Personal Property
Intentional interference with
another’s use or enjoyment of
personal property without
consent or privilege
3. Conversion
Any act that deprives an owner of
personal property or of the use of that
property without the owner’s permission
and without just cause can constitute
conversion.
Failure to return goods
Intension
4. Disparagement of Property
Occurs when economically
injurious falsehoods are made
about another’s product or
property rather than about
another’s reputation.
4. Disparagement of Property
Slander of Quality Slander of Title
Publication of false Publication falsely denies or
vs. casts doubt on another’s
information about another’s
product (trade libel). legal ownership of property,
resulting in financial loss.
The original taking of the personal property from the
owner was a trespass. Wrongfully retaining the property's conversion.
6.4
UNINTENTIONAL
TORTS-NELIGENCE
1 2 3 4
DUTY BREACH CAUSATION DAMAGES
Defendant owed
The defendant
The defendant's
The plaintiff
the plaintiff a
failed to fulfill
breach caused the
suffered a legally
duty of care that duty plaintiff's injury recognizable loss.
The duty of care & Its Breach
1 Concept: is based on a duty of care.
Whenever someone fails to follow a duty of reasonable care, it may
be considered a tort.
2
Courts consider several factors:
[Link] nature of the act (outrageous or commonplace).
[Link] manner in which the act was performed (cautiously vs carelessly).
[Link] nature of the injury ( serious or slight).
Reasonable
Defendant
VS. person
Reasonable Person The Duty Of
Standard Landowners
It is not necessarily how a
expected to exercise
particular person would act, but it
reasonable care to protect
is a social judgment of how a
individuals coming onto their
wise person should act property from harm.
The Duty of warn
business invitees of risks
requires owners to warn business
guests of unforeseen dangers, such
as wet areas or floors that the
owners knew or should have known.
Obvious risks provide an Exception
● Some risks are so obvious that an owner need not warn of them.
For example: Quỳnh does not need to warn Hải to open a door to go
inside the class.
The duty of Professionals
● If a professional violates his or her duty of care toward a client, the
client may sue the professional,
For instance: a patient might sue a physician for medical malpractice.
A client might sue an attorney for legal malpractice.
Is usually determined be asserting
Causation: Cause in Fact (actual cause)
1
Generally asks, "but for" the act of defendant,
would the injury have occured.
Applied to multiple defendant
3
A substantial, material factor in bringing about
the ịnury
Proximate Causation:
1
Reasonably Foreseeable in context, would this type of
conduct cause this type of injury.
- Ex: drunk driver
2
- Plaintiff (person injured) must be foreseeable
Courts Ask Two Questions
1. Is there causation in fact?
2. Was the act the proximate, or legal, cause of the injury?
Proximate cause(legal cause): exists when the association between
the act and the injury is strong enough to justify the imposition
3. Judges use proximate cause:
to restrict the scope of the defendant's legal
responsibility
The injury
requirement &
damages The plaintiff must have
suffered a legally
recognizable injury.
recover damages: depend
on the effect of the injury on
the plaintiff’s life or
profession
Protects medical professionals who stop &
Good
render emergency first aid
Samaritan
Relieves them from liability for ordinary
negligence
Laws No relief for gross negligence or
intentional or reckless conduct
Alec Baldwin
Asumption of risk
Defenses to Knowledge of the risk
Negligence Voluntary assumption
of the risk.
Superseding Cause - Relieves the liability for injuries
Contributory and Comparative Negligence
Contributory Negligence Comparative Negligence
Looking out for Negligence are
themselves computed
Could not recover A “pure” form
any thing
A “50 percent” rule
Thank you!
BL-DH47ISB-3
