Chapter 4 and 5 Torts Chapter 4 I II III Definition an omission failure to act or a wrongful act other than a breach of contract against a person or his property Purpose of Torts a To compensate the innocent victim b Civil action Tortfeasor or Joint Tortfeasors a Person who commits the crime b Liability i Joint and several liability Joint Tortfeasors theory to benefit the plaintiff c Egg shell Theory i Driver and a person stealing stealer has a coat on makes it look like he has a gun the old guy at the register knows he is stealing he has a heart condition and he has a heart attack They are responsible for all of it Both are liable ii Plaintiffs can collect as much as they can from both the driver and the stealer d Deep Pocket theory i Sue as many defendants as possible especially those with ii money If an employee does something wrong the employer can also be sued and liable IV Three theories of Tort Liability a Intentional torts i Assault 1 If you swing and miss you can still be charged with assault If you have a gun with no bullets and go to harm someone its still assault 2 You have to prove that there was reasonable harm and reasonable to be in fear ii Battery 1 Difference between assault and battery a Where no there is contact Swing at someone and actually hit him or her 2 Unprivileged contact 3 iii Mental distress If you consent to getting hit its not battery 1 Something that makes something physically sick headaches iv False imprisonment 1 Keeping someone detained for an unreasonable amount of time when they were actually not guilty 2 Restricting the mobility of someone who is not guilty 3 without a reasonable way to escape If there was a door unlocked you could get out of the charges v Malicious prosecution false arrest 1 Office arrests someone with no reason 2 You have to be able to prove they were just harassing you vi Defamation 1 Where a party communicates untrue information to a 3rd party that ruins their reputation 2 You have to prove that it was communicated to 3rd parties you can say it to the person but its defamation if a 3rd person hears 3 Kim K She would have a harder time sueing for this because she is a public figure 4 Libel 5 Slander a Written communicated over and over again to new audiences Damages is greater a Verbal spoken once then forgotten The damage is done once then over vii Invasion of privacy 1 Celebrity s use this more 2 Under 4th amendment a Say you have a right of privacy b If you can prove you were in your home you have a right of privacy c Search if the don t have a warrant anything they find wont stand up in court 3 Landline someone tapping into it is an invasion of 4 Baby monitors if you listen into the channel that isn t privacy an invasion of privacy viii Fraud 1 Definition 2 5 Elements a Misstatement b Material Fact c Reasonably relied upon d Resulting in damage detriment or injury e Scienter ix Tresspass 1 To land 2 To personal Property x Conversion 1 Similar to trespass 2 Taking someone else s personal property without there property You convert its original state and can never be put back to the original state 3 Dry cleaners they give your clothes to someone else 1 Own personal property have an activity that disturbs people around you 2 Residential area operate beauty solon out of basement A lot of traffic chemicals in drains xi Nuisance 3 Noise violation xii Business Torts 1 At common Law a Injurious falsehood or trade disparagement i Defamation to a business ii Competitor publishes false information about your business b Intentional interference with contractual relations i Hybrid between contact and tort law ii When someone has wronged you it s a iv iii win win for plaintiff If you have a contract with another party and someone comes in and tries to get you not to sign the contract Jim works for bioplant He signed a 3 year contract with them Chem plant took him out for dinner and tried to get Jim to sign a contract with them Bioplant can sue Chem plant for interfering but they can also sue Jim Most likely they would sue Chem plant and get money off of them but then they would still keep Jim as their employee if he benefitted them more then they could make off of him from suing him c Trade secret violations 2 Statuary a Unfair competition i Clayton act violation of anti trust laws b Trademark infringement and false advertising i Lanham act of 1946 1 First gave this protection ii Trademark law revision act of 1988 iii Trademark 1 Distinctive mark that a firm uses exclusively for 5 years continuous years c Patent infringement i To apply you have to have an invention that is distinctive ii You want a patent attorney iii You own the patent for 20 years 1 If another company tries to use it you can sue for patent infringement iv Coke isn t patent because they don t want to disclose the recipe after 20 years Its just a secret recipe i Copyright act of 1976 ii Computer software iii iv Good for the life of the author and then 75 Its easy to get a copywriter years after death d Copyright infringement b Negligence i Malpractice ii 4 elements 1 Duty of care 595 a Good Samaritan example b Jim fell off his bike and is so hurt he is dying Karen drives by and sees Jim Karen just drives by She doesn t own Jim a duty of care If she stops and begins to help then there is a duty of care c Definition is a legal obligation which is imposed on an individual requiring that they adhere to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others 2 Breach of duty of care 597 a Res Ipsa Loquitur Doctrine 3 Causation a Link injury to the breach of a duty of care b This is the hardest to do c Breach of duty of care has to cause the injury 4 Injury detriment or damage a You need to prove that you have injury iii Affirmative Defense 1 Contributory Negligence a Last clear chance doctrine 2 Comparative Negligence 3 Assumption of the Risk doctrine iv Degrees of Negligence 598 1 Slight Negligence 2 Ordinary Negligence 3 Gross Negligence v Duty of Care owed by landowner to person on his property 1 Classification of persons on property of another a Invitee i Legally allowed on property ii Highest degree of duty of care iii Person you invited over for dinner iv Holes in the ground must be warned to invitee if not you can be liable If your dog bites guest you are liable v i Girl Scout cookies ii At your house legally but not invited You don …
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