Tort Law Chapter 7

To establish resp ipsa loquitur in most sates, the plaintiff must demonstrate that:

1. The event was a kind that ordinarily does not occur in the absence of negligence. 2. Other responsible causes, including the conduct of third parties and the plaintiff, have been sufficiently eliminated. 3. The indicated negligence is within the scope of the defendant's duty to the plaintiff. **proof of these three elements does not require a finding of negligence.

Intentional tort

A civil wrong resulting from an intentional act committed on the person, property, or economic interest of another. This includes assault, battery, conversion, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, trespass to land, and trespass to chattels.

Negligent tort

A civil wrong that occurs when the defendant acts in a way that subjects other people to an unreasonable risk of harm.

defamation

The publication of false statements that harm a persons reputation.

Negligence Per Se

Violation of a salute as proof of negligence.

Prove Negligence

Duty Breach of Duty Causation (actual or proximate) Damages

Recklessness

disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk that harm will result.

Disclosure

is the publicizing of embarrassing private affairs

strict liability

liability without having to prove fault

false imprisonment

occurs whenever one person through force or the threat of force unlawfully detains another person against his or her will.

Compensatory damages

referred to also as actual damages awarded to compensate the plaintiff for the harm done to him or her. like medical bills lost time from work and pain and suffering

tortfeasor

the person who commits the tort

contributory negligence

Negligence by the plaintiff that contributed to his or her injury.

products liability

the theory holding manufacturers and sellers liability for defective products when the defects make the products unreasonably dangerous

appropriation

the unauthorized exploitative use of one's personality name, picture

intrusion

the unjustified intrusion into another's private activities

duty

this law imposes a duty to act with due care. How a reasonably prudent person would act in the same situation.

assumption of risk

voluntarily and knowingly subjecting oneself to danger

trespass to land

when someone enters or causes something to enter or remain on the land of another without permission.

trespass to personal property

when someone harms or interfere with the owners exclusive possession of the property but has no intention of keeping the property.

product misuse

when the product was not being used for its intended purpose or was being used in a dangerous manner; it is a defense to a products liability claim so long as the misuse was not foreseeable.

Duty

1. How likely was it that the harm would occur? 2. How serious was the potential harm? 3. How socially beneficial was the defendant's conduct that posed the risk of harm. 4. What costs would have been necessary to reduce the risk of harm.

Elements of Negligence

1) defendant must owe a duty to the plaintiff to act reasonably and 2) defendant must have breached that duty 3) thereby causing plaintiff harm

Tort major definition

A tort is a private wrong that causes harm to a person or property. Torts are generally classified as involving intentional acts, negligence or struck liability. Intentional torts occur whenever someone intents an actions that results in harm, like (assault, batter, false imprisionment) Recklessness involves a conscious decision to proceed despite a substantial and unjustifiable risk that harm will result.

Tort

A violation of another person's rights or a civil wrongdoing that does not arise out of a contract or statute; primary types are intentional, negligent, and strict liability torts.

Battery

An intentional act that creates a harmful or offensive physical contact.

Assault

An intentional act that creates a reasonable apprehension of an immediate harm or offensive physical contact.

proximate cause

Once the actual cause is found as policy matter, the court must also find that the east and the resulting hame were so foreseeably related as to justify a finding of liability .

RES IPSA LOQUITUR

The doctrine that suggests negligence can be presumed if an event happens that would not ordinarily happen unless someone was negligent. meaning The thing speaks for itself..

Negligence

The failure to act reasonably under circumstances. The most common type of tort.different from intentional torts which harm person or property.

respondent superior

The tort theory that an employer can be sued for the negligent acts of its employees.

comparative negligence

a method for measuring the relative negligence of the plaintiff and the defendant, with a commensurate sharing of the compensation for the injuries

nominal damages

awarded when a right has been violated but the plaintiff cannot prove any monetary harm. A trespasser may have caused harm to the land, but the landowner would still be entitled to a nominal award.

exculpatory clause

a provision that purports to waive liability

intentional infliction of emotional distress

allows plaintiffs to recover for emotional distress even absent another type of injury

punitive damages

also called exemplary damages = designed to punish the defendant. Awarded only for intentional torts.

actual cause

also known as cause in fact this is measured by the "but for" standard but for the defendants actions the planting would NOT have been injured.

false light

involves the use of a picture or some other means to infer a connection between the person and an idea or statement for which the individual is responsible.