tort law
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Business Law. Tort Law. Today’s Objectives. Define tort law. Distinguish between a crime and a tort. Identify common torts. Explain penalties associated with torts. What is tort law?. The Nature of Tort Law. Based on the idea that everyone has certain rights - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
TORT LAWBusiness Law
Today’s Objectives Define tort law. Distinguish between a crime
and a tort. Identify common torts. Explain penalties associated
with torts.
What is tort law?
The Nature of Tort Law Based on the
idea that everyone has certain rightsWalk freely without
being falsely arrested
Right to privacyRight to a good
name & reputation
Everyone has the duty to respect the rights of others.
Tort law enforces those rights and duties.
What is a tort? A private
wrong committed by one person against another.
Elements of a Tort1. Possession of
certain rights by an innocent party
2. Violation of those rights by the tortfeasor
3. Resulting injury that somehow hurts the innocent party
Key Terms in Tort Law Victim– the person who is
injured; may be referred to as the plaintiff or innocent party
Tortfeasor – the defendant in the lawsuit; person who committed a tort
Tort Law vs. Criminal Law
Criminal Law vs. Tort Law
Crime Tort
Committed against the public good
Follows criminal trial procedure
Purpose of criminal law is to protect society by punishing criminal offenders
Committed against a particular person or property
Considered a civil or private wrong
Purpose of tort law is to compensate a victim for injuries suffered
Intentional Torts Intentional torts are
actions that deliberately hurt, embarrass, or scare people.
Torts Against Persons
Intentional Torts
Assault and Battery An assault is
threatening to harm an innocent person
An assault has occurred as soon as you are afraid of immediate harm to your body.
Example: someone pulls a knife on you
Battery involves the unlawful, unwanted touching of another person.
Can also be touching something closely associated with a person’s body (like a backpack or hat)
Example: pulling a chair out from under someone
False Imprisonment People have a right
to move around freely.
Example – security guards must have reasonable grounds to suspect a shoplifter and may only hold the person in a reasonable way for a reasonable amount of time
Defamation Defamation occurs
when someone lies about another person in a way that hurts the innocent person’s reputation.
Libel – written, printed, or recorded lies about a person
Slander – verbal or spoken lies
Invasion of Privacy Interfering with a
person’s right to be left alone
Examples:Patient confidentiality
at the doctor’s officePermission required
to use your photograph, likeness, or name for advertising, publicity or marketing
Torts Against Property
Intentional Torts
Trespassing Interfering with
someone’s real property (land)
Includes things built on the land (storage shed) and things attached to the land permanently (house or tree)
Nuisance Anything that
interferes with the enjoyment of property
Examples:Loud music at
nightFoul odors
NegligenceUnintentional Torts
Accidents Happen… Negligence is a tort that results
when one person carelessly injures another.
Negligence is being less careful than a REASONABLE person should be in the same situation.
To succeed in a tort suit for negligence, the plaintiff must prove that all FOUR elements existed.
Elements of Negligence1. Defendant owed the plaintiff a
duty of care2. Defendant breached that duty by
being careless3. Defendant’s carelessness was the
cause of the harm4. Plaintiff was actually harmed by
the defendant’s carelessness
Elements of Negligence
Duty Breach
Obligation to use a reasonable standard of care to prevent injury to others
Reasonable Person Test – a reasonable person considers how likely a certain act is to cause harm, how serious the harm would be, and the burden involved in avoiding the harm
Elements of Negligence
Cause Actual Harm
Action or behavior must be the proximate cause of injury
Proximate cause, also called legal cause, exists when the link between the negligent conduct and the injury is strong enough to be recognized by law.
The victim must suffer an injury, have property destroyed, or lose a lot of money.
LiabilityUnintentional Torts
Strict Liability Strict liability is a legal doctrine that
says that some activities are so dangerous that liability will always follow any injury that results.
These activities involve a great risk to people and property … the risk is so great that no amount of care will eliminate it.
Example: using explosives, keeping wild animals as pets
Product Liability When people are
injured by defective products, both the firm that manufactured the product and the seller of the products are liable for injuries.
Fault does not matter.
Limits to Product Liability
Does not apply if the seller does not usually sell that type of item
Does not apply if the only damage done by the product is to the product itself
Penalties
Penalties Associated with Torts Damages can be awarded to
the injured party.The plaintiff gets something (like
money) from the defendant. Court may issue an injunction
to the defendant.The court orders the defendant to
do or NOT do something.