Slide 1Slide 2Slide 3Slide 4Slide 5Slide 6Slide 7Slide 8Slide 9Slide 10Slide 11Slide 12Slide 13Slide 14Slide 15Slide 16Slide 17Slide 18TortsIntentional TortsNegligence01/01/2021 BUSA 2106 101/01/2021 BUSA 2106 2What is a TORT?•A civil wrong, where the actions/behavior of one unfairly cause harm or injury to another•Not illegal, just injurious•Non-contractual•Usually involves (plaintiff must prove):•An act•If the act is intended = intentional tort•If the act is unintentional = negligence•A result•DamagesTorts01/01/2021 BUSA 2106 3Intentional Torts01/01/2021 BUSA 2106 4What is INTENT?•Tortfeasor (defendant) actually meant to take the complained-of action•If the tortfeasor intended a specific harm to result from the act, it is specific intent•If the tortfeasor just intended the act itself (not the specific harm), having knowledge that the act would have some consequence, it is general intent•Transferred intent occurs when the tortfeasor intends to act towards/upon one party; however, that intentional act actually injures someone completely different01/01/2021 BUSA 2106 5FRAUD•Defendant makes a false statement (or material/important omission);•With scienter (knowledge of the falsity);•Having intent to induce the plaintiff to do or not do something; and •The plaintiff justifiably relies on the false statement and does/does not do that thing •Resulting in damage to plaintiff01/01/2021 BUSA 2106 6INVASION OF PRIVACY•Public disclosure of private facts;•Which facts are private, secluded, or secret facts and not public record;•The publication of which would be offensive and objectionable to a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities under the circumstancesFALSE IMRISONMENT•a detention, which is•unlawful01/01/2021 BUSA 2106 7CONVERSION•Intentional act of dominion;•Over the personal property of another (both tangibles and intangibles reduced to physical form);•So inconsistent with the owner’s rights; •As to warrant payment of the full value of the property (damages)•Examples•Wrongful acquisition (theft)•Wrongful transfer (selling)•Wrongful detention (refusing to return)•Substantially changing•Severely damaging or destroying01/01/2021 BUSA 2106 8TRESPASSTo Chattels (personal property):•Intentional act by Defendant;•Interfering with Plaintiff’s right of possession in personal property;•Resulting in damages•Interference can be: (1) an intermeddling – directly damaging the property (dent the car); or (2) a dispossession – depriving lawful right of possession (“joyride” in the car)•Actual damages required, although not necessarily to the property itself (missed work, gas used)•Not as serious an interference as conversion (joyride with a scratch v. wrapped around a tree)01/01/2021 BUSA 2106 9TRESPASSTo Land:•Intentional, physical invasion of Plaintiff’s real property;•Which causes injury/damage•Physical invasion can be by person or object (baseball) and, possibly, intangible objects (vibrations, odor)•Real property includes airspace and subterranean space•“Intent” only requires intent to enter land, not intent to enter a specific owner’s land01/01/2021 BUSA 2106 10Negligence(Unintentional Torts)01/01/2021 BUSA 2106 11NegligencePeople (and companies) owe those around them a DUTY to act a certain way. If they BREACH that duty, and that breach CAUSES some level of injury, or DAMAGES, they are liable for Negligence.01/01/2021 BUSA 2106 12NegligenceDuty•Legal obligation to act with a certain level of care•Generally, everyone is expected to act as a reasonable, ordinarily prudent person, and avoid unreasonable risks which may injure others, i.e., Duty of Reasonable Care•People owe a Duty of Reasonable Care to who could “foreseeably” get hurt if you don’t act with reasonable care•But, who is foreseeable (to whom is the duty owed)?•Majority View – P2 recovers only if a reasonable person would have foreseen a risk of injury to another person under the circumstances (“zone of danger”)•Minority View – If D breached duty owed to P1, duty extended to everyone injured by that breaching action01/01/2021 BUSA 2106 13NegligenceDuty•Under the Duty of Reasonable Care, conduct is measured against what an average person (similarly situated, with same circumstances and limitations) would do•What is “Reasonable” can differ based on the person•Professionals (not just a reasonable person, but a member in good standing in similar community)•Children (not just any child, but one of like age, education, intelligence, experience)•Common Carriers/Innkeepers (not just like any reasonable business, but have a heightened duty)•Owners/Occupiers of Land (owe certain people more than just reasonableness; licensees/warn v. invitees/warn + inspect)01/01/2021 BUSA 2106 14Duty typically does NOT require you to act, unless:•You start helping someone, then you must do so with reasonable care; Good Samaritan statutes exempt doctors, nurses, etc. from liability for ordinary (NOT gross) negligence•You negligently or innocently placed someone in danger•There is a special relationship (parent-child) can create duty to act; •You are a common carriers, innkeepers, shopkeepers (gather public for profit), then you owe duties to aid/assist patronsGenerally, no duty to prevent third person from injuring another, unless:•You have the actual ability or authority to control the third person’s actions, AND •You know or should know the person is likely to commit acts requiring exercise of that controlNegligence01/01/2021 BUSA 2106 15Duty to Visitors (when you own/occupy of land)•Always have a duty of reasonable care, PLUS•Duty to Licensees•Enter land with owner’s permission for their own purpose or business, rather than owner’s benefit•Owner/Occupier has an affirmative duty to warn of, or make safe, known conditions, if non-obvious and dangerous•Duty to Invitees•Enter land upon invite from owner/occupier for purpose connected with the business (business visitor)•Owner/Occupier has an affirmative duty to make reasonable inspections to discover non-obvious dangerous conditions and warn of or make safeNegligence01/01/2021 BUSA 2106 16Breach•Conduct falls short of the required duty•Using less care than expected•Conduct creates more risk than the law allows•Can be established by:•Custom•Violation of Statute (Duty & Breach established by Negligence Per Se)•Res