MGT 201 Ch. 7- Torts

Consent

A defense to assault and battery. players on a sports team are presumed to have consented to be battered.

Defense of others

A defense to assault and battery. reasonable and proportionate force to defend another person or persons from harm or injury.

Self-defense

A defense to assault and battery. reasonable and proportionate force to defend oneself from harm or injury.

Plaintiffs

In tort law, anyone can sue you as long as they can show that you owed them a legally recognized duty

3 Types of Torts

Intentional, Negligence, Strict Liability

Types of Torts

Intentional, Property, Dignitary, Economic

Tortious interference

prohibits the intentional interference with a valid and enforceable contract. If the defendant knew of the contract and then intentionally caused a party to break the contract, then the defendant may be liable

Puffery

promotional statements expressing subjective views is not fraud

Trover

recovery of damages for the taking of personal property

Replevin

recovery of property unlawfully taken

Fraudulent misrepresentation

requires the tortfeasor to misrepresent facts (not opinions) with knowledge that they are false or with reckless disregard for the truth.

Damages

For a tort claim you can recover both compensatory and punitive damages.

3 areas of strict liability

1. carrying out ultrahazardous activities ; 2. serving of alcohol to minors or visibly intoxicated persons; and 3. the manufacture, distribution, and sale of unreasonably dangerous products.

Open and Obvious doctrine

A defense used mostly in Premise liability cases. The general rule is that a premises possessor owes a duty to an invitee to exercise reasonable care to protect the invitee from any unreasonable risk of harm caused by a dangerous condition on the land. The open and obvious doctrine is a major exception to this general rule

False light

A false light claim is similar to a defamation claim in that it allows an individual to sue for the public disclosure of information that is misleading (or puts that person in a "false light"), but not technically false

Dignitary Torts

Alienation of affection and other "heart balm" torts Malicious prosecution Invasion of privacy Defamation

Intentional Torts

Assault False imprisonment Intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) Battery

Shopkeeper's privilege

Businesses are permitted to detain suspects until police arrive at the establishment .The detention must be reasonable

Comparative negligence

Contributory negligence has led to harsh results in some cases, and the majority of states have replaced the doctrine with an alternative called comparative negligence . The doctrine of comparative negligence reduces a plaintiff's recovery by the percentage in which the plaintiff is at fault for his or her damages.

Negligence

Duty of care Breach of that duty Proximate causation Damages

vicarious liability

Frolic and detour is a defense. Tort litigation is perhaps the most frequent user of the vicarious liability theory; this theory allows someone injured by an employee to sue and collect a settlement from that person's employer.

Commonly known danger doctrine

If a manufacturer can convince a jury that the plaintiff's injury resulted from a commonly known danger, then the defendant may escape liability.

forseeability test

If an injury is foreseeable, then proximate cause exists. If it is unforeseeable, then it does not.

Product misuse

If the consumer misuses the product in a way that is unforeseeable by the manufacturer, then strict liability does not apply. Manufacturers are still liable for any misuse that is foreseeable, and they must take steps to warn against that misuse.

Assumption of the risk

If the plaintiff knowingly and voluntarily assumes the risk of participating in a dangerous activity, then the defendant is not liable for injuries incurred.

Intentional Tort

If the tortfeasor acted with intent to cause the damage or harm that results from

Negligence

If the tortfeasor didn't act intentionally but nonetheless failed to act in a way a reasonable person would have acted.

Intrusion of Solitude

Intruding upon another's solitude or private affairs, physically or otherwise, is subject to liability if this intrusion would be considered highly offensive to a reasonable person

4 main types of invasion of privacy claims

Intrusion of Solitude Misappropriation of Name or Likeness Public Disclosure of Private Facts False Light

Invasion of Privacy

Invasion of privacy is the intrusion into the personal life of another, without just cause, which can give the person whose privacy has been invaded a right to bring a lawsuit for damages against the person or entity that intruded.

Doctrine of joint and several liability

Joint and several liability" allows a plaintiff to "sue for and recover the full amount of recoverable damages from any [defendant]."

Misppropriation of Name or Likeness

Plaintiffs may make a claim for damages if an individual (or company) uses their name or likeness for benefit without the other party's permission

Strict Liability

Product liability Ultrahazardous activity (examples include transportation of explosives, possession of wild animals, radioactive materials, etc.)

Proximate cause

Proximate cause relates to the scope of a defendant's responsibility in a negligence case. A defendant in a negligence case is only responsible for those harms that the defendant could have foreseen through his or her actions.

but-for causation

This form of causation is fairly easy to prove. But for the defendant's actions, would the plaintiff have been injured? If yes, then but-for causation is proven.

Public Disclosure of Private Facts

This type of invasion of privacy claim must be weighed against the First Amendment's protection of free speech. Unlike defamation (libel or slander), truth of the disclosed information is no defense

Economic Torts

Tortious interference Fraud Restraint of trade

Breach of Duty

a defendant breaches such a duty by failing to exercise reasonable care in fulfilling the duty. Unlike the question of whether a duty exists, the issue of whether a defendant breached a duty of care is decided by a jury as a question of fact

Detinue

action by a person who believes they have a greater legal right to immediate possession of property rather than the current posessor

Negligence

all persons, as established by state tort law, have the duty to act reasonably and to exercise a reasonable amount of care in their dealings and interactions with others.

Contributory negligence

an absolute defense in situations where the plaintiff contributed to his own injuries.

Ultrahazardous activity

an activity so inherently hazardous that those who undertake the activity and cause injuries are held strictly liable.

Tort

any legally recognizable injury arising from the conduct (or nonconduct, because in some cases failing to act may be a tort) of persons or corporations

Affirmative defense

are raised by the defendant essentially admitting that the four elements for negligence are present, but that the defendant is nonetheless not liable for the tort.

Duty

arises when the law recognizes a relationship between the defendant and the plaintiff, and due to this relationship, the defendant is obligated to act in a certain manner toward the plaintiff.

Assumption of the risk

as in negligence the user must know of the risk of harm and voluntarily assume that risk.

3 types of affirmative defenses

assumption of the risk contributory or comparative negligence Good Samaritan statutes

Trespass to land

occurs whenever someone enters onto, above, or below the surface of land owned by someone else without the owner's permission. The trespass can be momentary or fleeting. Soot, smoke, noise, odor, or even a flying arrow or bullet can all become the basis for trespass.

Compensatory damages

compensation for actual injuries suffered by the plaintiff. Compensatory damages can be awarded for medical injuries, economic injuries (such as loss of a car, property, or income), and pain and suffering.

Unreasonably dangerous

defective product; and design defect.

Conversion

deprives person of their property (destruction of property, willful interference, etc.)

Four elements of negligence

duty, breach, causation, damages

Nuisance

exists when a tortfeasor acts in a manner that interferes with someone else's use or quiet enjoyment of land. A public nuisance occurs when a tortfeasor's actions interfere with public health, safety, or welfare.

Elements of intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED)

extreme and outrageous conduct (measured objectively); and emotional distress - some states require plaintiff must demonstrate some physical manifestation of the psychological harm (such as sleeplessness or depression) to win any recovery.

Negligence per se doctrine

if someone is convicted of a crime, he or she is also automatically liable in civil tort law.

Strict Liability

if the tortfeasor is engaged in certain activities and someone is injured or killed, the tortfeasor is held liable no matter how careful or careless he or she may have been.

Battery

is a completed assault. It is any unconsented touching, even if physical injuies are not present. The touching does not have to be direct, it can be through an object.

Defamation

is a false and unprivileged statement of fact that is harmful to someone's reputation, and published "with fault," meaning as a result of negligence or malice. Oral defamation is considered slander, while written defamation is libel.

Assault

is an intentional, unexcused act that creates in another person a reasonable apprehension or fear of immediate harmful or offensive contact. Actual fear is not required for assault—mere apprehension is enough.

Dram shop laws

many states have laws that impose strict liability in these circumstances.

Good Samaritan Law

may be a defense in a negligence suit. Good Samaritan statutes are designed to remove any hesitation a bystander in an accident may have to providing first aid or other assistance.

Punitive damages

money awarded to the plaintiff in addition to compensatory damages to deter the defendant's future bad conduct. Punitive damages are available in cases where the defendant acted with willful and wanton negligence, a higher level of negligence than ordinary negligence.

Compensatory Damages

money damages to compensate for economic losses stemming from injuries. (easy to calculate for breach of contract claim, difficult to calculate for tort claim.)

Punitive Damages

money damages to punish the defendant for gross and wanton negligence to deter future wrongdoing.

public figure

someone who has actively sought, in a given matter of public interest, to influence the resolution of the matter

Injurious falsehood (or trade disparagement)

takes place when someone publishes false information about another person's product.

Strict liability

the defendant is liable no matter how careful the defendant was in preventing harm.

Tortfeasor

the person committing the tort

Design Defect Theory

the product is defective because it was designed incorrectly or in a manner that causes the product to be unreasonably dangerous.

Defective Product Theory

the product was defective because of a flaw in the manufacturing process.

Trespass to personal property

the unlawful taking or harming of another's personal property without the owner's permission

Respondeat superior doctrine

when an employee is working for the employer's benefit and commits a tort, the employer is liable. The employee was on a frolic and detour at the time he or she committed the tort.

Malpractice

when professionals such as doctors, accountants, dentists, architects, and lawyers who owe a special duty to act as a reasonable person in their profession violate that duty. Professional negligence by these professionals is known as malpractice.

False imprisonment

when someone intentionally confines or restrains another person's movement or activities without justification.

Conversion

when someone takes your property permanently; it is the civil equivalent to the crime of theft

Attractive nuisance

when there is an item or condition on a property that would be attractive or dangerous to children, even if they are trespassing, the homeowner must take care to both warn children about the attractive nuisance and protect them from harm posed by the attractive nuisance.