Law
Tort Law
Tort law is a branch of civil law that deals with civil wrongs, other than breaches of contract, that cause harm or loss to individuals or their property. It provides a legal framework for individuals to seek compensation for injuries or damages caused by the wrongful actions of others. Tort law encompasses a wide range of issues, including negligence, intentional torts, and strict liability.
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eBook - PDFForensic Science and Law
Investigative Applications in Criminal, Civil and Family Justice
- Cyril H. Wecht, John T. Rago, Cyril H. Wecht, John T. Rago(Authors)
- 2005(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
9 Fundamental Principles of Tort Law KELLEN M C CLENDON Introduction What Is a Tort? In one of the leading works on torts, Prosser and Keeton on Torts , 1 the authors begin their answer to this question by observing that “a really satisfactory definition of a tort is yet to be found.” 1 (§1, p. 1) Torts have been around long enough, however, such that the same authors are able to “broadly” define a tort as “a civil wrong, other than breach of contract, for which the court will provide a remedy in the form of an action for damages.” 1 (§1, p. 2) This definition is one that is pretty much accepted and is similar to the definitions that many other scholars and courts have ascribed to the word. 2 The author of an early 1900 treatise on torts defined a tort as “a breach of a duty (other than a contractual or quasi-contractual duty) which gives rise to an action for damages.” 3 Most courts have defined the word tort in a similar fashion. The U.S. Supreme Court, referring to the Prosser and Keeton definition, has adopted the same definition. 4 The Interests Protected by Tort Law Tort Law protects various tangible and intangible human interests. The 1965 version of the Restatement (Second) of Torts (hereinafter referred to as “the Restatement ”) defines “interest” as “the object of any human desire.” 5 The tangible interests can be divided into personal physical interests and certain property interests. Examples of these types of inter-ests include the interests in being free from bodily injury (a personal physical interest) and the interest in being free from damage to property (a property interest). The intangible interests are those such as freedom from injury to reputation misrepresentation. Three General Categories of Tort Liability In the effort to protect these interests, the Tort Law imposes liability on the person or the entity that causes damages to these interests.
eBook - ePubAgricultural Law and Economics in Sub-Saharan Africa
Cases and Comments
- Frederick Owusu Boadu(Author)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- Academic Press(Publisher)
Chapter 10Tort Law
Abstract
A tort is a civil wrong committed by a party against another party or their property. The three main tort actions are intentional tort, negligence, and strict liability. These torts require different elements of proof but all require a plaintiff to show that the defendant owes a duty of care. The agriculture-related intentional tort actions are trespass, nuisance, and conversion. An intentional tort action requires the plaintiff to prove that there was a voluntary act by the defendant. A negligence action focuses on the conduct of a defendant. A court determines whether a defendant’s conduct fell below what a reasonably prudent person would do under the same or similar circumstances. Strict liability imposes liability without fault. A plaintiff may recover specific and general damages. The cases explain the principles of duty of care, different approaches for proving negligence, and application of the rule in Rylands v Fletcher in proving strict liability.Keywords
Entitlement; transaction cost; negligence; duty of care; breach of duty; causation; res ispa loquitur; damages; liability; trespass; balance of probabilities; statute of limitations10.1 The Economics of Tort Law
Calabresi and Melamed’s seminal paper on entitlements is central to an understanding of the law and economics of torts (Calabresi and Melamed, 1972 ). According to the authors, law in all societies must address two fundamental questions when a dispute arises between two members of that society. First, as between the two parties, who must prevail, that is entitled? Second, once the entitlement has been determined, how should it be protected?1According to the authors, an entitlement may be protected by property , liability , or inalienability rules. When an entitlement is protected by a property rule, then one must negotiate with the holder of the entitlement if they seek to destroy the entitlement. For example, if one wishes to use land belonging to another, one must seek the landowner’s permission and pay appropriate compensation to use the land. If an entitlement is protected by a liability rule, one does not need to obtain permission to destroy the entitlement but they must compensate the holder of the entitlement once they have destroyed the entitlement. For example, one is free to drive their car on the road but if they hit another car they must pay compensation for any damages and injury caused. Under the liability rule parties do not negotiate ex ante
eBook - PDFLaw
Made Simple
- D. L. A. Barker, C. F. Padfield(Authors)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Made Simple(Publisher)
Such is the area of the law with which we are concerned. A tort has been defined as 'a civil wrong for which the remedy is a common law action for unliquidated damages, and which is not exclusively The Law of Torts 193 the breach of a contract or the breach of trust or other merely equitable obligation' (Salmond: Law of Torts). Prof. P. H. Winfield, another important authority in this field, asserts that 'tortious liability arises from the breach of a duty primarily fixed by law; such duty is towards persons generally, and its breach is redressible by an action for unliquidated damages'. {Law of Tort) What is the essential difference between these two writers? One school maintains there is a general principle of liability in tort, and that all harm is actionable in the absence of just cause or excuse: i.e. there is a law of tort (not torts). The other school maintains that there are a number of specific torts, and that unless the damage or injury suffered can be brought within the scope of one or more of these torts there is no remedy. Damage and Liability As a general rule, where one person suffers unlawful harm or damage at the hands of another, an action in tort for that damage or injury arises. An action in tort lies, for example, in the situation where A negligently collides with 2Ts stationary car on a road and causes damage to it. Sometimes we find instances where harm is done by one person to another yet the law does not provide a remedy: this is described as damnum sine injuria ('damage without legal wrong'). Ordinary trade competition is the most common example. Let us suppose that a giant supermarket sets up adjacent to, and in competition with, a small family grocer, selling all goods cheaper and thereby commanding the custom of the housewives. The result could well be that the family grocer, unable to compete, is forced out of business. Harm is done to him in that he loses his livelihood, yet the law offers no remedy to him.
eBook - PDF- Paul Bates(Author)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- Goodfellow Publishers(Publisher)
So, that’s what we’ll do. 101 5 The law of tort The basic principles As is the case with contract law, torts are civil wrongs. For our purposes, we can say that a tort is any civil offence which is not covered by contract law. I’m aware that sounds like a cop out but it really isn’t. So, a tort is a civil wrong that has been normally performed by one person against another person. It doesn’t amount to a criminal offence against the other person. It involves a breach of a duty which you owe to another person or some unlawful intrusion of the rights of another person. Tort cover a vast area of law. Just to give you an idea of how far reaching tort is, it covers amongst other things: Trespass: See example below. Negligence: This where someone owes a duty of care to other people, are careless as to their actions and cause damage to others which is directly due to their careless actions. An obvious example here is that a driver of a vehicle has a duty of care not to injure other road users. If a driver is careless when driving a vehicle and causes damage to other road users, then he is likely to be sued by anyone damaged by his actions. Occupier’s liability: A duty to protect the safety that an occupier of ‘prem-ises’ has to visitors to their premises. This duty of care to others, which all occupiers have, operates in your own home or any offices, shops or buildings that might be used by your business including outbuildings and any land occupied by you or your business. Nuisance: There are two types of these – private and public nuisance. An example of private nuisance might be you playing the Rolling Stones at full volume every night for eight hours at a time, disturbing the old lady who lives in the flat above you. This is a tort. A public nuisance is where you disturb a great many people all in one go.
eBook - ePub- John Nockleby, John T. Nockleby, John Nockleby, John T. Nockleby(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
5TortsJohn T. NocklebyProfessor of Law and Director of the CivilJustice Program, Loyola Law SchoolThe civil justice system involves many different types of claims, including cases as diverse as divorce, contracts, and zoning. Cases might be profoundly important, such as constitutional disputes between states, or involve local small claims between two strangers, such as routine fender benders. One type of civil suit involves tort claims. Because tort suits are often covered in the media, and regulate a wide range of conduct, this chapter will outline some of the most common tort disputes that arise.What is a Tort? General DefinitionTort is a French word meaning “wrong.” Torts consist of injuries to person or property usually not involving enforcement of a contract. Tort Law is enforced through lawsuits brought by individuals or entities who believe they’ve suffered injury. In contrast to crimes, which are brought by government prosecutors, the rights protected by Tort Law must be enforced by the individual person or entity. Ordinarily the state is not a party except when the state itself brings a lawsuit to enforce tort rights.Tort Law arose as judge-made law. As described in the introduction (chapter 1 ), Tort Law is part of the common law system in which judges make the law. Judges have historically determined what behaviors constitute those wrongs that are subject to redress. Apart from a few special situations, Tort Law is also a matter of state law, not federal law. State legislatures of course may change the common law consistent with individual state constitutions, or adopt new torts or modify ancient ones, but in the United States, state courts continue to modify their state’s Tort Law in accordance with judicial judgment.Many torts have ancient roots in the English common law, going back hundreds of years. However, judges have historically been willing to transform Tort Law—sometimes dramatically—as they are persuaded that changed conditions or a different policy judgment requires it.
eBook - PDFLaw and Economics
An Introductory Analysis
- Werner Z. Hirsch(Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Academic Press(Publisher)
6 Tort Law'S BASIC LEGAL PREMISES INTRODUCTION Though Tort Law has a long and distinguished history, it is today a most dynamic branch of the law, dealing with situations where an initial enti-tlement has been unintentionally destroyed. In this chapter, some major legal concepts and premises are explored, starting with the nature of a tort. The concepts of negligence, duty, and proximate cause are exam-ined, and tort defenses are reviewed. Thereafter, major liability rules are presented and compared, before an examination of damages is un-dertaken. Trends in Tort Law are reviewed last. WHAT IS A TORT? Broadly speaking, a tort is a civil (seldom a criminal) wrong. Such a wrong occurs when one party, usually unintentionally, destroys another party's initial entitlement by imposing a negative externality on him. The courts can then provide a remedy in the form of damages. When exter-nalities result in the forcible taking of initial entitlements—for example, when a slaughterhouse pollutes the air of the surrounding neighbor-hood—liability rules can be invoked. Concomitantly, government as-sumes responsibility for the imposition of objectivity determined com-pensation and its prompt payment to the party harmed. 165 166 6 Tort Law'S BASIC LEGAL PREMISES This issue can be related to transaction cost. Although property rules assume that voluntary transactions can be carried out at relatively low transaction costs, in many circumstances they cannot. When market eval-uation of entitlements involves high transaction costs (i.e., market evalu-ation is either unavailable or very costly compared to collective valua-tion), and therefore is inefficient, a property rule can be replaced by a liability rule. Thus, for example, accidental damages are a special case of externalities with very high transaction costs, and such damages are covered by liability rules under Tort Law.
eBook - PDFPhilosophy of Law
The Fundamentals
- Mark C. Murphy(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Wiley-Blackwell(Publisher)
Chapter 5 The Nature and Aims of Tort Law 5.1 Torts and Crimes The previous chapter was concerned with crimes, violations of authori-tative legal standards for which punishment is an authorized response. This chapter is concerned with torts. To commit a tort is also to violate a legal standard, but the authorized response to a tort is (typically) the payment of damages: 1 victims of torts are authorized to seek recom-pense from the violator of the standard (the ‘‘tortfeasor’’) in compen-sation for the injury suffered by the victim. Torts can be distinguished into three types: intentional torts, torts of negligence, and torts of strict liability. The world of torts revolves around torts of negligence, and I will take this type as the paradigm for discussion, returning to intentional torts and torts of strict liability at the end of the chapter. 5.2 Torts and Damages Torts are to damages what crimes are to punishment: just as no violation of an authoritative legal standard counts as a crime unless there is punishment authorized for it, no violation of an authoritative legal standard counts as a tort unless damages are authorized for it. The elements of a tort – of a tort of negligence, that is – are four, and these elements must be related to one another in a very specific way. 2 Torts are always relations between parties: A commits a tort against B. (While one can argue about whether there ought to be victimless crimes, there is no incoherence in the very idea of a victimless crime; 146 a victimless tort, on the other hand, is a contradiction in terms.) The first of the elements that is necessary for a tort, the element of duty , is that A has a duty of care with respect to B: that is, A is under some legal duty to show due care with respect to B’s interests. The second element that is necessary for a tort, the element of breach , is that A did not live up to this duty: A somehow failed to show due care with respect to B’s interests.
eBook - ePub- V.H. Harpwood(Author)
- 2009(Publication Date)
- Routledge-Cavendish(Publisher)
Morgans v Launchbury [1973] AC 127). Nevertheless, insurance is a useful way of spreading the cost of compensating people who suffer injury as a result of negligence. Insurance allows people to recover damages for negligent driving from close relatives, so easing the burden of caring within families.1.5 AN OVERVIEW OF THE LAW OF TORT
In order to understand tort, it may be helpful to withdraw for a moment from the problems of definition and take an overview of the subject to consider the nature of the duties which are imposed and the interests which are protected by this branch of the civil law.Tort has been used for many centuries to protect personal interests in property. Some of the earliest actions known to English law are those concerned with protecting interests in land. These include the torts of nuisance and trespass to land.Tort has also been concerned with protecting people from intentional interference, through actions for assault and battery and false imprisonment, and the reputation, through the torts of libel, slander, malicious prosecution and injurious falsehood. Purely financial interests (economic and trading interests) have more recently been brought within the province of tort and their scope is still unclear, but personal property has been protected by tort for hundreds of years.The evolution of the law of tort has been somewhat haphazard, and it is an area of law which is still developing. The process of evolution is in part a response to changes in social and economic conditions and social values. This is acknowledged by the judges as they develop the law. For example, in Chester v Afshar [2004] UKHL 41, Lord Steyn said:I am glad to have arrived at the conclusion that the claimant is entitled in law to succeed. The result is in accord with one of the most basic aspirations of the law, namely to right wrongs. Moreover, the decision … reflects the reasonable expectations of the public in contemporary society.
eBook - PDF- John C. P. Goldberg, Benjamin C. Zipursky(Authors)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Belknap Press(Publisher)
1 Introduction A nxious law students are often pleasantly surprised to discover that the required first-year course with the odd name—“Torts”—is in many ways down to earth. True, the assigned judicial opinions often feature memorably exotic facts. But even these convey an idea so familiar and compelling that it is easily taken for granted: One who wrongfully injures another can be held accountable by the victim. The various torts—negligence, trespass, and products liability, to name just three—all partake of this idea. A physician who commits malpractice (professional negligence) faces the prospect of paying compensatory dam-ages to her patient. A homeowner who builds a shed that extends onto his neighbor’s land, if sued by his neighbor, might be ordered by a court to tear it down. A manufacturer that sells a defectively designed drug with devas-tating side effects faces liability to consumers who suffer them. This is the stuff of Torts courses and Tort Law, and it is hardly exotic. Ironically, it is those who spend their time studying Tort Law who often are least in tune with its commonsensical aspects. For more than a century, in law school classes and in books and articles, leading torts scholars, particularly in the United States, have been prone to insist that Tort Law is not what it appears to be. If there is any rhyme or reason to the subject, they say, it can only be grasped by locating its hidden economic, historical, philosophical, or political logic. To get a hold on tort requires mastery of microeconomics, of Weber’s rationalization thesis, of Aristotle’s ethics, or of public choice or critical theory. No R E C O G N I Z I N G W R O N G S 2 wonder the timorous have stayed at home, safely away from the daunting thickets of tort theory. We are theorists, and this book will present readers with some termi-nology and concepts that may try their patience.
eBook - ePubThe Legal Rights and Responsibilities of Teachers
Issues of Employment and Instruction
- Allan G. Osborne, Jr., Charles J. Russo(Authors)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- Corwin(Publisher)
This chapter reviews the different types of torts and the standard of care that teachers must exercise to avoid liability. The chapter begins with the definition of a tort and descriptions of the various types of torts before examining the intentional torts of assault, battery, false imprisonment, and defamation. The chapter proceeds with discussions of negligence, the standard of care expected of educators, the elements of negligence charges, how to avoid negligence, and the various defenses to charges of negligence. The chapter rounds out with information on educational malpractice and civil rights torts. As with previous chapters in this book, it ends with a summary of major points and a list of frequently asked questions.DEFINITIONS AND TYPES OF TORTS
Torts are civil, as opposed to criminal, wrongs or injuries, other than breaches of contracts, for which courts provide remedies, generally in the form of monetary damages. The word tort is derived from the Latin and Old French words for twisted . There are essentially four types of torts: intentional torts, negligence, products liability, and constitutional torts.Torts are civil, as opposed to criminal, wrongs or injuries, other than breaches of contracts, for which courts provide remedies, generally in the form of monetary damages. Intentional torts, as the term implies, occur when individuals purposefully violate the rights of others and cause them harm. Negligence, on the other hand, involves unintentional behavior, such as when students are injured because those responsible for their care failed to properly fulfill their duties. Educational malpractice takes place when teachers fail to provide proper instruction. Products liability, which is beyond the scope of this book because it has little impact on the professional activities of teachers, deals with injuries that buyers, users, or bystanders suffer as a result of defective products. Finally, constitutional torts arise when those responsible acted to intentionally discriminate, with deliberate indifference, or with gross misjudgment with regards to the civil rights of others.
eBook - PDF- Peter Cane, James Goudkamp(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
In the criminal law, it is seen as a basic requirement of justice that ‘the punishment fit the crime’ in terms of the seriousness of both the offender’s conduct and the consequences of that conduct. In Tort Law, on the other hand, there is no such idea that the compensation payable should be proportional to the tortfeasor’s fault. 1 Fault is like a magic talisman: once it is established, all shall be given to the injured party. It is generally immaterial whether the fault was gross or trivial, 2 or whether the consequences of the fault 1 This contrast between the criminal law and Tort Law is explored in P. Cane, ‘Retribution, Proportionality, and Moral Luck in Tort Law’ in P. Cane and J. Stapleton (eds), The Law of Obligations: Essays in Celebration of John Fleming (Oxford, 1998) 141. 2 There are some exceptions. For example, people are expected to take more care for the safety of others than for their own safety, and adults are expected to take more care of their own interests than children. In some cases, too, a defendant will be held liable for negligence only if their 164 An Appraisal of the Fault Principle were catastrophic or minor. A degree of fault on the part of someone results in the injured person being compensated for all the losses suffered, provided the claimant was in no way personally at fault. Yet the seriousness of the consequences of a negligent action often bears no relation to the degree of fault which gave rise to it. A piece of momentary thoughtlessness on the road may cost someone their life and cause great loss to their family; but similar acts of thoughtlessness – or much more serious acts of negligence – may be committed by scores of others every day with only minor or even no adverse consequences.
eBook - PDF- Douglas Wood, Paul Chynoweth, Julie Adshead, Jim Mason(Authors)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- Wiley-Blackwell(Publisher)
If there is no actual defect there is no liability. If the defendant is not a supplier, or is an exempt supplier, there will be no liability. Where the defect is attributable to compliance with any statute or European Community rules prescribing how the product is made there is a defence. More problematical is the ‘ development risks ’ defence. Manufacturers who can demonstrate that the state of scienti fi c and technical knowledge, at the time the product was put on the market, was such that they could not be expected to have discovered the relevant defect are exempt from liability. 303 s46 The Law of Tort 169 3.13 Remedies and limitation periods The law of tort provides a number of remedies depending on the category of tort which has been committed by the defendant. Much depends on the nature of the tort and the circumstances in which it has arisen. As a general rule remedies tend to be judicial in nature or extra-judicial. As far as judicial remedies are concerned the main remedies are damages and injunctions. 3.13.1 Damages Damages are the principal remedy in tort as in contract. They are compensatory in nature and in tort their aim is to put claimants in to the position they would have been in had the wrong not been committed. The claimant should not be worse or better off as a result of the tort being committed. This is the principle of restitution in integrum. Damages may be either general or special. General damages include matters such as loss of future earnings, pain and injury suffered, losses which result from the decrease in value of a house because a surveyor negligently failed to recognise defects when carrying out a valuation and loss of the ability to enjoy life as you did before the tort was committed. This is sometimes called amenity loss. General damages are not capable of being precisely quanti fi ed. Special damages relate to costs which can be precisely identi fi ed such as itemised repair costs.
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