Download Tort Law Unit Highlights/Matching (All About Law, Gibson, p

Law 12
Tort Law
Ms. Ripley
1
Tort Law Unit Highlights/Matching (All About Law, Gibson, p.333)
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Civil (private) law involves disputes between individuals, or between individuals and
businesses or governments.
The main purpose of civil law is to compensate victims for harm or loss suffered.
Tort law, family law, contract law, and labour law are examples of civil law.
Small Claims Court provides a simple, inexpensive way to settle many civil disputes by a
judge without a jury.
The litigants (persons suing) in a civil action are the plaintiff (the person suing) and the
defendant (the person being sued).
The process of suing is litigation.
In civil actions, plaintiffs must prove their case on the balance of probabilities.
The claim is the document the plaintiff files to begin a civil action.
Defendants who receive a claim may enter a defence, make a payment into court, or
make a counterclaim or a third party claim.
A default judgment is a decision made in the plaintiff's favour when the defendant has not
replied to the claim within the required time.
A pre-trial conference is the last chance for the litigants to reach a settlement without a
formal trial, and many cases are now settled on this basis.
There are five types of damages that may be awarded to a successful plaintiff: general,
special, nominal, punitive, and aggravated damages.
An injunction is a court order requiring the defendant to do or not do something.
Legal remedies available to a plaintiff to enforce a judgment against a defendant are
garnishment, seizing assets, or an examination of the debtor.
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) has become a practical and popular alternative to civil
litigation.
The three ADR models are negotiation, mediation, and arbitration.
Name the key terms that are described below.
a) party who is being sued in a civil lawsuit
b) person who is suing in a civil lawsuit
c) legal document in a civil action outlining the plaintiff's case against the defendant
d) a court order requiring a person to do or not do something
e) money awarded to a plaintiff for pain and suffering and for cost of future care
f) money awarded to a plaintiff for specific out-of-pocket expenses
g) money awarded to a plaintiff to punish the defendant for bad or uncaring behaviour
h) proof needed in a civil action
i) a process more formal than mediation for resolving disputes between persons through a third
party
j) an attempt by a neutral third party to get two opposing parties to come to an agreement
k) an informal and voluntary dispute resolution process between the parties involved without the
involvement of a third party
1) a defendant's response to a plaintiff's claim
m) decision made in the plaintiff's favour when the defendant does not reply to the plaintiff's claim
within the required time period
n) the procedure by which a defendant's money in the hands of a third party is claimed by a
plaintiff to settle an unpaid judgment
o) the process of suing
p) a valid reason for suing
Law 12
Tort Law
Ms. Ripley
2