Tort I Definition a civil wrong other than breach of contract for which the law provides a remedy in the form of a lawsuit for money damages a Ex Civil Wrong Committed can sue person for money b Negligence c Comes from word meaning Tortus crooked twisted i Not straight path people are expected to follow II A tort involves a direct interference with a A person your body they hit you over the head with a lead pipe i This is the tort of battery ii Car Crash you are in the car and someone hits the car you were in b Property theft conversion had possession and control of something that is not yours i You go on your motorcycle and drive through someones front law and ruin their garden Intangiable interest patents copyrights c i Law of defamation slander Libel ruins a reputation III Tort Liability responsibility pay damages a Intentional Tort something along the lines of criminial intent i Example you hit me in the head with a lead pipe you meant to do it and it was intentional b Negligence automobile negligence most common speeding or drunk driving i These are careless you were negligent ii This isn t don t with intent iii You don t mean to hit someone iv Professional negligence Dr or Lawyer didn t mean to harm you c Strict Liability you didn t intend to do this nor were you negligent i You are responsible regardless of your level of care ii Example Explosives IV Intentional Torts a Assault used interchangibly with battery there isn t uniformity It is defined as intentional act of putting another person in apprehension for his physical safety EX pointing at gun at you Actual physical contact is not required i 1 The trigger doesn t need to be pulled you are pointing a gun and I am afraid ii There must be present apparent ability to carry out the threat 1 When a gun is pointed threat doesn t have to be verbal because he can pull the trigger and you can be killed 2 What if the gun isn t loaded It looks like it could be and therefore you can be a victim of assault 3 Apparent appearance what does it look like to you iii THE SAME ACT COULD BE BOTH A TORT AND A CRIME 1 You can be arrested for criminal act but sued civilly through a tort Example sue someone for killing OJ simpson was fund not guilty but then sued by the family for 30 million since there is a different burden of proof in civil court than in criminal court b Battery The intentional touching of another person without consent or justification i Consent 1 Express by works oral or written or a consent form Implied by conduct behavior draw conclusion that 2 you gave consent Informed consent consent without knowledge is no consent at all 3 a Doctor comes in and you sign a release giving consent however if the doctor doesn t tell you about the negative side effects because he didn t want to scare you b Example doctor branded uterus of woman before removing it ii When you actually shoot the person iii Touching doesn t have to be through direct touching of a body part I can touch you with a knife or bullet iv 2nd hand smoke is considered touching and so is spitting it doesn t have to harm you c Damages in Intentional Tort Cases i Actual compensatory damages non economic loss of life consortium Economic medical bills ii Punitive Damages punishing deterrence V
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