Business Law 210 Sections 3 5 April 2016 Dr Smith Hill Spring 2016 Examination 3 Study Guide CHAPTER 12 Torts What is a tort and what are A tort A civil wrong not arising from a breach of the main categories of torts contract A breach of a legal duty that proximately causes harm or injury to another Wrongs and compensation serve as the basis of notions for torts Two classifications of torts Intentional torts and unintentional torts What are the main intentional torts we studied Intentional a wrongful act knowingly committed Case 12 1 McKee V Lauurion Palsgraf v Long Island Railroad Business Torts Involve wrongful interference with another s business rights Involving wrongful interference generally fall into two categories interference with a contractual relationship or business What are the elements of negligence unintentional torts Occurs when someone suffers injury because of another s failure to live up to a required duty of care injury was not intended or desired conduct has just created a foreseeable RISK What is a Good Samaritan statute Someone who is aided voluntarily by another cannot turn around and sue the good Samaritan for negligence Defendant can raise a number of legally recognized defenses Intentional torts common defense is consent explicit or implied When a person consents to the act that damages them there is generally no liability Negligence comparative negligence A successful defense releases the defendant from partial or fully liability for the tortious act Ask the question Does a defendants duty of care extend only to those who may be injured as a result of a foreseeable risk or does it also extend to a person whose injury could not be reasonably foreseen Case Palsgraf established foreseeability as the test for proximate cause What are the various defenses to the different torts What is foreseeability in tort law i e the famous Palsgraf case What are the different categories of available damages in tort cases trespass assault battery defamation conversion trade libel fraudulent misrepresentation What is negligence per se Compensatory damages A plaintiff is awarded to compensate or reimburse a plaintiff for actual losses Is broken into 1 special damages compensate the plaintiff for quantifiable monetary losses Slander 2 General compensate individuals for the nonmonetary aspects of harm suffered such as pain and suffering Lible Punitive Damages punish the wrongdoer and deter others from similar wrong doing Only appropriate when the defendant s conduct was particularly egregious reprehensible Trespass attractive nuisance doctrine Occurs if an individual violates a statute or an ordinance providing for criminal penalty and that violation causes to be injured CHAPTER 13 Strict Liability and Product Liability Strict liability liability without fault Under the Strict liability and abnormally dangerous doctrine of strict liability a person who engages in activities owners of wild animals and strict liability Negligence theory product liability In a product liability situation who can be liable in the chain of distribution certain activates can be held responsible for any hard that results to others even if the person used the utmost care Abnormally dangerous although there is no fault there is still responsibility because of the dangerous nature of the undertaking Owners are strictly liable for any harm inflicted by the animals Defined as the failure to exercise the degree of care that a reasonable prudent person would have exercised under the circumstances If an manufacturer fails to exercise due care to make the product safe a person who is injured by the product may sue the manufacturer for negligence Product liability action based on negligence does not require privity of contract refers to the relationship that exists between the parties to a contract The legal liability of manufacturers sellers and lessors of goods to consumers users and bystanders for injuries or damages that are caused by the goods Those who make sell or lease goods can be held liable for physical harm or property damages caused by those goods to a consumer user or Manufacturers Product defects Manufactures fraud Manufactures duty to check out components parts made by other sub contractors manufacturers Manufactures duties to inspect and test products Manufactures products fit for their intended use Abuse of products by consumers What kind of damages are available bystander Three types of product defects manufacturing defects design defects and inadequate warnings Manufacturing defects According to section 2 a of the Restatement Third of Torts a manufacturing defect is a departure from a products unit design specifications that result in products that are physically flawed damaged or incorrectly assembled This happens with manufacture fails to assemble test or adequately check the quality of a product Liability is imposed on the manufacture regardless of whether the quality control efforts were reasonable Design Defects a product with a design defect is made in conformity with the manufactures design specifications A plaintiff must show a reasonable alternative design was available and the defendants failure to adopt alterative design rendered the product not reasonably safe Manufacturer is liable only when the harm was reasonably preventable Use risk utility analysis and comsumer expecation test Inadequate warnings or instructions Important factors for a court to consider include the risks of a product the content and comprehensibility intensity of expression of warnings and instructions and the characteristics of the expected user groups Courts apply a resonablness test to determine When a user or consumer is injured a a result of a manufacturer s or sellers fraudulent misrepresentation Risk utility analysis user and public and consumer expectations design was defictive Not liable if product was not used for intended use Product misuse occurs when a product is used for a purpose for which it was not intended It is only recognized as a defense when the particular use was not foreseeable Market share liability a court can hold each manufacturer responsible for a percentage of the plaintiffs damages that is equal to the percentage of its market share CHAPTER 14 Intellectual Property Rights Broad definition of intellectual property rights Trademarks dilution and infringement certification marks service marks patents and what is patentable What are copyrights used for Any property that