business law final exam

torts

A civil wrong not arising from a breach of contract. A breach of a legal duty that proximately causes harm or injury to another.

actual manice

A condition that exists when a person makes a statement with either knowledge of its falsity or reckless disregard for the truth. In a defamation suit, a statement made about a public figure normally must be made with actual malice for liability to be incurred.

T/F: when a person consents to the act that damages her or him, there is generally no liability.

TRUE

_____ is normally an absolute defense against a defamation charge. In other words, if a defendant in a defamation case can prove that the allegedly defamatory statements of fact were true, normally no tort has been committed.

TRUTH

battery

If the act that created the apprehension is completed and results in harm to the plaintiff, it is a battery an unexcused and harmful or offensive physical contact intentionally performed

punitive damages

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

Case example: False imprisonment

Police arrested Adetokunbo Shoyoye for riding the subway without a ticket and for a theft that had been committed by someone who had stolen his identity. A court ordered him to be released, but a county employee mistakenly confused Shoyoye's paperwork with that of another person who was scheduled to be sent to state prison. As a result, instead of being released, Shoyoye was held in county jail for more than two weeks. Shoyoye later sued the county for false imprisonment and won.

slander per se:

1. A statement that another has a "loathsome" disease (such as a sexually transmitted disease). 2. A statement that another has committed improprieties while engaging in a profession or trade. 3. A statement that another has committed or has been imprisoned for a serious crime. 4. A statement that a person is unchaste or has engaged in serious sexual misconduct. (This usually applies only to unmarried persons and sometimes only to women.)

punitive damages are available in _____ tort actions and only rarely in negligence lawsuits.

intentional

two class of torts

intentional and unintentional (torts involving negligence)

Compensatory damages

A money award equivalent to the actual value of injuries or damages sustained by the aggrieved party

Case example of transferred intent

Alex swings a bat intending to hit Blake but misses and hits Carson instead. Carson can sue Alex for the tort of battery (discussed shortly) because Alex's intent to harm Blake can be transferred to Carson.

Defamation example #2

Eddy Ramirez, a meat cutter at Costco Wholesale Corporation, was involved in a workplace incident with a coworker, and Costco gave him a notice of suspension. After an investigation in which coworkers were interviewed, Costco fired Ramirez. Ramirez sued, claiming that the suspension notice was defamatory. The court ruled in Costco's favor. Ramirez could not establish defamation, because he had not shown that the suspension notice was published to any third parties. Costco did nothing beyond what was necessary to investigate the events that led to Ramirez's termination.

CASE EXAMPLE: EMOTIONAL DISTRESS

Hustler magazine once printed a false advertisement that showed a picture of the late Reverend Jerry Falwell and described him as having lost his virginity to his mother in an outhouse while he was drunk. Falwell sued the magazine for intentional infliction of emotional distress and won, but the United States Supreme Court overturned the decision. The Court held that parodies of public figures are protected under the First Amendment from intentional infliction of emotional distress claims. (The Court uses the same standards that apply to public figures in defamation lawsuits, discussed next.)

In other situations, a person will not be liable for defamatory statements because he or she has a _____ , or _____, privilege. An employer's statements in written evaluations of employees, for instance, are protected by a qualified privilege. Generally, if the statements are made in good faith and the publication is limited to those who have a legitimate interest in the communication, the statements fall within the area of qualified privilege. Example 6.10

QUALIFIED, CONDITIONAL

case example: actual manice

In Touch magazine published a story about a former call girl who claimed to have slept with legendary soccer player David Beckham more than once. Beckham sued In Touch magazine for libel, seeking $25 million in damages. He said that he had never met the woman, had not cheated on his wife with her, and had not paid her for sex. After months of litigation, a federal district court dismissed the case because Beckham could not show that the magazine had acted with actual malice. Whether or not the statements in the article were accurate, there was no evidence that the defendants had made the statements with knowledge of their falsity or reckless disregard for the truth.

Special damages

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)

Case example of battery

Ivan threatens Jean with a gun and then shoots her. The pointing of the gun at Jean is an assault. The firing of the gun (if the bullet hits Jean) is a battery.

example privilege

Jorge has worked at Google for five years and is being considered for a management position. His supervisor, Lydia, writes a memo about Jorge's performance to those evaluating him for the position. The memo contains certain negative statements, which Lydia honestly believes are true. If Lydia limits the disclosure of the memo to company representatives, her statements will likely be protected by a qualified privilege.

BOOK CASE: Seaway Marine Transport operates the Enterprise, a large cargo ship, which has twenty-two hatches for storing coal. When the Enterprise positioned itself to receive a load of coal on the shores of Lake Erie, in Ohio, it struck a land-based coal-loading machine operated by Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad Company. A federal court found Seaway liable and awarded $522,000 in special damages to compensate Bessemer for the cost of repairing the damage to the loading boom

LIT

In contrast to cases alleging libel, in a case alleging slander, the plaintiff must prove _____ to establish the defendant's liability. The plaintiff must show that the slanderous statement caused her or him to suffer actual economic or monetary losses.

SPECIAL DAMAGES

Transferred intent

intent can be transferred when a defendant intends to harm one individual, but unintentionally harms a second person

Damage

refers to harm or injury to persons or property

Damages

refers to monetary compensation for such harm or injury

Compensatory damages awards are often broken down into _____ and _____

special damages and general damages

Fun fact: Even if a plaintiff proves all the elements of a tort, the defendant can raise a number of legally recognized defenses (reasons why the plaintiff should not obtain damages). A successful defense releases the defendant from partial or full liability for the tortious act

that's a cool fact

Tortfeasor

the one committing the tort must intend to commit an act, the consequences of which interfere with another's personal or business interests in a way not permitted by law an evil or harmful motive is not required. The person committing the action may even have a beneficial motive for doing what turns out to be a tortious act

assault

any intentional and unexcused threat of immediate harmful or offensive contact—words or acts that create a reasonably believable threat An assault can occur even if there is no actual contact with the plaintiff, provided that the defendant's conduct creates a reasonable apprehension of imminent harm in the plaintiff Tort law aims to protect individuals from having to expect harmful or offensive contact

when are punitive damages appropriate?

when the defendant's conduct was particularly egregious (flagrant) or reprehensible (blameworthy).

What is the most widely used defense in negligence actions

comparative negligence

General damages

compensate individuals (not companies) for the nonmonetary aspects of the harm suffered, such as pain and suffering A court might award general damages for physical or emotional pain and suffering, loss of companionship, loss of consortium (losing the emotional and physical benefits of a spousal relationship), disfigurement, loss of reputation, or loss or impairment of mental or physical capacity

A plaintiff is awarded _____ to compensate or reimburse the plaintiff for actual losses

compensatory damages

A common defense to intentional torts against persons, for instance, is _____

consent

most states have a _____ that establishes the time limit within which a particular type of lawsuit can be filed. After that time period has run, the plaintiff can no longer file a claim. this last 2 years from the date of discovering the harm).

Statue of limitations

T/F: An appellate court will sometimes reduce the amount of punitive damages awarded to a plaintiff on the ground that it is excessive and thereby violates the due process clause

TRUE

T/F: Negligence results from the breach of a duty to act reasonably (fault without intent)

TRUE

T/F: Society also recognizes an interest in protecting property, and tort law provides remedies for acts that cause destruction of or damage to property

TRUE

T/F: Special damages might also be awarded to compensate for extra costs, the loss of irreplaceable items, and the costs of repairing or replacing damaged property

TRUE

T/F: To be actionable (capable of serving as the ground for a lawsuit), the act must be extreme and outrageous to the point that it exceeds the bounds of decency accepted by society

TRUE

T/F: intentional torts result from the intentional violation of person or property (fault plus intent)

TRUE

T/F: tort law provides remedies for acts that cause physical injury or that interfere with physical security and freedom of movement

TRUE

Fun fact: More than half of the states have placed caps ranging from $250,000 to $750,000 on noneconomic general damages (such as for pain and suffering), especially in medical malpractice suits. More than thirty states have limited punitive damages, with some imposing outright bans.

That's a cool fact

LIBEL

Defamation in writing or in some other form (such as in a digital recording) having the quality of permanence.

Defamation example

The statement "Lane cheats on his taxes," if false, can lead to liability for defamation. The statement "Lane is a jerk" cannot constitute defamation because it is clearly an opinion.

False and defamatory statements about public figures that are published in the media will not constitute defamation unless the statements are made with _____. To be made with actual malice, a statement must be made with either knowledge of its falsity or a reckless disregard of the truth.

actual manice

In tort law, INTENT means what

only that the person intended the consequences of his or her act or knew with substantial certainty that specific consequences would result from the act the law generally assumes that individuals intend the NORMAL consequences of their actions. Thus, forcefully pushing another—even if done in jest—is an intentional tort (if injury results), because the object of a strong push can ordinarily be expected to fall down

the cours award _____ in tort cases to punish the wrongdoer and deter others from similar wrongdoing

punitive damages

_____ of character involves wrongfully hurting a person's good reputation

DEFAMATION

CASE EXAMPLE DEFAMATION #3

David McKee, a neurologist, went to examine a patient who had been transferred from the intensive care unit (ICU) to a private room. In the room were family members of the patient, including his son. The patient's son later made the following post on a "rate your doctor" Web site: "[Dr. McKee] seemed upset that my father had been moved [into a private room]. Never having met my father or his family, Dr. McKee said 'When you weren't in ICU, I had to spend time finding out if you transferred or died.' When we gaped at him, he said 'Well, 44 percent of hemorrhagic strokes die within 30 days. I guess this is the better option.'" McKee filed suit for defamation but lost. The court found that all the statements made by the son were essentially true, and truth is a complete defense to a defamation action

SLANDER

Defamation in oral form.

privilege

In tort law, the ability to act contrary to another person's right without that person's having legal redress for such acts. Privilege may be raised as a defense to defamation.

Intentional tort

a wrongful act knowingly committed it requires intent

Privileged communications are of two types:

absolute and qualified

Gross negligence

intentional failure to perform a manifest duty in reckless disregard of the consequences of such a failure for the life or property of another

The tort of _____ involves an intentional act that amounts to extreme and outrageous conduct resulting in severe emotional distress to another

intentional infliction of emotional distress

False Imprisonment

is the intentional confinement or restraint of another person's activities without justification. False imprisonment interferes with the freedom to move without restraint. The confinement can be accomplished through the use of physical barriers, physical restraint, or threats of physical force. Moral pressure does not constitute false imprisonment. It is essential that the person being restrained does not wish to be restrained. (The plaintiff's consent to the restraint bars any liability.)

The goal of compensatory damages

to make the plaintiff whole and put him or her in the same position that he or she would have been in had the tort not occurred

purpose of tort law

to provide remedies for the violation of various PROTECTED INTERESTS