LGST Ch 9 key terms & concepts

Qualified Privilege

A defense to a defamation claim whereby the defendant must offer evidence of good faith and be absent of malice to be shielded from liability; provided for the media and employers.

Absolute Privilege

A defense to a defamation claim whereby the defendant need not proffer any further evidence to assert the defense; provided to government officials, judicial officers and proceedings, and state legislatures.

Assumption of the risk

A defense to claims of negligence in which the injured party knew that a substantial and apparent risk was associated with certain conduct and the party went ahead with the dangerous activity anyway.

Comparative negligence

A defense to claims of negligence in which the injured party's conduct has played a factor in the harm suffered and, thus, the proportion of negligence should be divided.

Proximate (legal) cause

A fundamental element that must be proved to recover in a negligence lawsuit against a tortfeasor: The injured party must prove a legally recognized and close-in-proximity link between the breach of duty and the damages suffered.

Breach of duty

A fundamental element that must be proved to recover in a negligence lawsuit against a tortfeasor: The injured party must prove that the tortfeasor failed to exercise reasonable care in fulfilling her obligations.

Duty

A fundamental element that must be proved to recover in a negligence lawsuit against a tortfeasor: The injured party must prove that the tortfeasor owed him a duty of care.

Cause in fact

A fundamental element that must be proved to recover in a negligence lawsuit against a tortfeasor: The injured party must prove that, except for the breach of duty by the tortfeasor, he would not have suffered damages.

Actual damages

A fundamental element that must be proved to recover in a negligence lawsuit against a tortfeasor: the injured party must prove that she suffered some physical harm that resulted in identifiable losses.

Merchant's Privilege

A narrow privilege, provided for in the Restatements, that shields a merchant from liability for temporarily detaining a party who is reasonably suspected of stealing merchandise.

Trade libel

A tort in which a competitor has made a false statement that disparaged a competing product.

Articulate a basic definition of a tort and identify the source of law governing various types of torts

A tort is a civil wrong where one party has acted, or in some cases, failed to act, and that action or inaction causes a loss to be suffered by another party. Criminal Law and Contract Law relationship? Common law of torts is primarily intended to provide compensation for the victim. May also be used to deter wrongful conduct in the future. Sources of Law: - Mostly governed by state common law principles - ALI Restatement of Torts -- Restatement (Second) of Torts -- Restatement (Third) of Torts Courts are not bound by any of the Restatements, but they do recognize them as widely applied principles of law. The Second Restatements have the benefit of volumes of case law and wide acceptance Products Liability Laws: Laws that cover individuals who are injured by a product, and may take the form of state common law or state statutes that are based primarily on the Restatements and are relatively uniform from state to state.

Negligence

Accidental Act -General Liability -Product Liability A category of torts in which the tortfeasor was without willful intent in bringing about a particular event that caused harm to another party.

Misfeasance

An act by one party that harms or endangers another party.

Restatement of Torts

An influential document issued by the American Law Institute that summarizes the general principles of U.S. tort law and is recognized by the courts as a source of widely applied principles of law. ALI has amended the Restatements twice, resulting in the Restatement (Second) of Torts and the Restatement (Third) of Torts.

Strict liability

Automatic Liability -Ultra-hazardous activities -Product liability A category of torts in which a tortfeasor may be held liable for an act regardless of intent or willfulness; applies primarily to cases of defective products and abnormally dangerous activities.

Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996

Federal legislation that extends immunity to Internet service providers (ISPs) by protecting them from any defamation liability as a "publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider."

Special relationship

In tort law, a heightened duty created between certain parties, such as that of a common carrier to its passengers, innkeepers to guests, employers to employees, businesses to patrons, a school to students, and a landlord to tenants and landowners.

Apply the elements and defenses of the torts of defamation, trade libel, and product disparagement and discuss the applicability of each in the business environment

Intentional Torts Defamation is a false statement that specifically concerns an individual, company, or product, is communicated to a third party, and results in pecuniary harm to the victim. A victim of fraud must show intentional misrepresentation by the tortfeasor of a material fact, reliance on that fact, and damages resulting from that reliance. False imprisonment is an intentional tort unless the tortfeasor is a merchant who temporarily and reasonably detains a suspected thief. When a business competitor's actions exceed standard competitive practices, that company may be liable for intentional interference with a contract by a third party if the company has specific knowledge of a contract and intentionally disrupts its proper execution.

Give specific examples of how tort law applies in the business environment

Intentional Torts Business Examples -Fraud -Intentional Interference with a Contract -Product Disparagement Elements Negligence Business Examples -McDonald's hot coffee case and assumption of the risk Strict Liability Business Examples -

Tortfeasor

One who commits a civil wrong against another that results in injury to person or property.

Slander

Oral defamation, in which someone tells one or more persons an untruth about another that will harm the reputation or honesty of the person defamed or subject a party to hate, contempt, or ridicule.

Intentional torts

Purposeful Act -Creatures of state law -Type based and each is proved differently -Where the defendant took a purposeful (willful) act that he/she knew or should have known would harm the plaintiff. Two types: 1. Wrongs against persons 2. Wrongs against property A category of torts in which the tortfeasor was willful in bringing about a particular event that caused harm to another party.

Product disparagement statutes

Statutes intended to protect the interest of a state's major industries, such as agriculture, dairy, or beef.

Nonfeasance

The failure to act or intervene in a certain situation.

Tortious Conduct

The wrongful action or inaction of a tortfeasor.

Determine the classification of tort based on the conduct of the wrongdoer

Three General Categories 1. Intentional Torts 2. Negligence 3. Strict Liability 1. An Intentional Tort is one in which the tortfeasor is willful in bringing about a particular event that causes harm to another party. --> Willful Conduct: Intentional behavior directed by the "will" 2. Negligence is an accidental event (without willful intent) that causes harm to another party. Difference between intentional torts and negligence in the mind-set and intent of the tortfeasor. 3. Strict liability torts are when a tortfeasor may be held liable for an act regardless of intent or willfulness. --> Apply primarily in cases of defective products and abnormally dangerous activities. ex: construction demolition

Tort

Violation of a duty imposed by the civil law where the goal is to compensate the injured party. A civil wrong in which one party's action or inaction causes a loss to be suffered by another party.

Libel

Written defamation, in which someone publishes in print (words or pictures), writes, or broadcasts through radio, television, or film an untruth about another that will do harm to that person's reputation or honesty or subject a party to hate, contempt, or ridicule.