Download Tort Law

Tort Law…

A body of rights, obligations, and remedies
that is applied by courts in civil proceedings
to provide relief for persons who have
suffered harm from the wrongful acts of
others.
Plaintiff vs. Tortfeasor

The person who sustains injury or suffers
pecuniary damage as the result of tortious
conduct is known as the plaintiff,
pecuniary damages are losses which
can be quantified in monetary terms
and the person who is responsible for
inflicting the injury and incurs liability for
the damage is known as the defendant or
tortfeasor.
Three elements must be
established in every tort action

1. First, the plaintiff must establish that the
defendant was under a legal duty to act
in a particular fashion.

2. Second, the plaintiff must demonstrate
that the defendant breached this duty by
failing to conform his or her behaviour
accordingly.
3. Third, the plaintiff must prove that he
suffered injury or loss as a direct result of
the defendant's breach.
Tort vs Criminal Act

The law of torts is derived from a combination
of common-law principles and legislative
enactments.
Common Law = judge made law
Tort vs Criminal Act-Cont

Unlike actions for breach of contract, tort
actions are not dependent upon an
agreement between the parties to a
lawsuit.
Unlike criminal prosecutions, which are
brought by the government, tort actions
are brought by private citizens.
Tort vs Criminal Act-Cont

Remedies for tortious acts include money
damages and injunctions (court orders
compelling or forbidding particular
conduct).
Tortfeasors are subject not subjected to
incarceration in civil court.
Remedies in Tort Law

 Financial compensation for damages. Often hard to
calculate accurately.
 A common remedy in environmental lawsuits is an
injunction. Which is an order of the court requires a
party to either do or not do a certain action. For
example: stop dumping a particular substance into a
water system.
Types of Remedies

 Remedy: the relief (compensation) sought by the
plaintiff
 Damages: compensation for a wrong suffered
 Non-pecuniary damages: compensation for losses
that do not involve an actual loss of money and are
hard to quantify
 Special damages: compensation for out-of-pocket
expenses
 Punitive: damages imposed to punish the defendant
for bad conduct
Types of Remedies

Injunction: a court order requiring or
prohibiting an action
Garnishment: a court order requiring a third
party to collect money from the defendant
to pay the plaintiff
Types of Remedies

 Remedy: the relief (compensation) sought by the
plaintiff
 Damages: compensation for a wrong suffered
 Non-pecuniary damages: compensation for losses
that do not involve an actual loss of money and are
hard to quantify
 Special damages: compensation for out-of-pocket
expenses
 Punitive: damages imposed to punish the defendant
for bad conduct
Scope of Tort Law

Over the last century, tort law has touched
on nearly every aspect of life in the United
States.
In economic affairs, tort law provides
remedies for businesses that are harmed by
the unfair and deceptive trade practices of a
competitor.
Scope of Tort Law

In the workplace, tort law protects
employees from the intentional or
negligent infliction of emotional distress.
Tort law also helps regulate the
environment, providing remedies against
both individuals and businesses that
pollute the air, land, and water to such an
extent that it amounts to a Nuisance.
What is Nuisance

Nuisance allows a plaintiff to sue if there
has been an unreasonable interference
with use or enjoyment of property.
Two type of Nuisances
1. Public
2. Private
Public Vs Private

Public Nuisance
 Occurs when an
individual’s right to use
and enjoy property has
been unreasonably
interfered with.
Private Nuisance
 Occurs when a group’s
and or community’s
use and enjoyment of
property has been
unreasonably
interfered with.
Finding of Fault

Means that the defendant intentionally,
negligently, or recklessly interfered with the
plaintiff's use and enjoyment of the land or
that the defendant continued her conduct
after learning of actual harm or substantial
risk of future harm to the plaintiff's interest
Tort Negligence

 Negligence is when the defendant did not live
up to the required standards of care.
 In case of negligence the following must be
proven:
1. Defendant had a duty of care to the plaintiff
2. The action/harm was foreseeable (reasonably
expected to occur)
3. That the defendants actions or inactions
caused the damage
Strict Liability

One person may be required to compensate
another for injury or damages even though
the loss was neither intentionally nor
negligently inflicted.
Rylands v. Fletcher

 "In the case of Rylands v. Fletcher the defendant's
underground water reservoir caused an old mine shaft
owned by the plaintiff to collapse. Although the court
found that Mr. Rylands and Mr. Horrocks (the
defendants) were not negligent, they were still strictly
liable for damages. Mr. Justice Blackburn stated“ 'We
think that the true rule of law is, that the person who
for his own purposes brings on his lands and collects
and keeps there anything likely to do mischief if it
escapes, must keep it in at his peril, and, if he does not
do so, he is answerable for all the damage which is the
natural consequence of his escape.