Tort Law Tort any non criminal wrongful action other than breach of contract civil case o Tortfeasor one who commits a tort o CAN ALSO be a crime case itself is a civil case you ve been hurt in some way besides just breaking contract o Typically physical injuries o Emotional damages emotional distress ruin reputation etc o Must be intentional to be a crime criminal intent o Unintentional tort ex Negligence slip and fall in a grocery store example not intentional accident but super market at fault because they should have cleaned mess quicker Intentional torts o Intent desire to bring about certain or substantially likely results Intentionally doing something that leads to an injury ex Push someone lightly and person falls and breaks wrist tortfeasor is liable for all medical bills and injuries o Assault and Battery Assault placing another in immediate apprehension for his her physical safety making someone afraid for their physical safety Ex Someone points a gun at you Even if they never shoot it it is still considered assault because you are afraid for your physical safety life Battery touching of another without justification or consent even if there is no injury Assault without battery someone coming up behind you Battery without assault someone coming up behind you and putting hand on shoulder o Intentional infliction of emotional distress outrageous intentional conduct carrying a strong probability of causing mental distress Someone says or does something to you and it has a strong possibility for great emotional distress Ex University employee calls parents and tell them you re dead He calls back later to tell parents he is joking Remember Westboro Baptist Church case where they protested soldier s funeral Church won because they were protesting on public property i e sidewalk Law is about 30 to 40 years old relatively new compared to others o Invasion of privacy 1 misappropriation of a person s name or likeness Michael Jordan says that our burgers are the best he s ever had unless Michael Jordan actually did say this it is illegal to use his name Paris Hilton s face and catch phrase that s hot on Hallmark card 2 intrusion upon person s physical solitude Eavesdropping peeping Tom intruding on privacy in physical private space 3 public disclosure of highly objectionable private information Have information that s extremely private and personal someone publishes that information i e medical records are to be kept private by law EXCEPTION presidential candidate or high official has some type of medical issue that might sway some people s vote ex presidential candidate 1 has lung cancer o False Imprisonment intentional unjustified confinement of a non consenting person Ex A person that shoplifts is held by store until the police arrive how long were they held against their will How much proof do you have that they committed a crime o Trespass entering another s land without consent or remaining after being asked to leave o Conversion wrongful exercise of power and control over personal property Ex Theft stealing someone s stuff o Defamation publication of untrue statements about another leading to damage to the person s character or reputation must be all things highlighted in red Ex Lying about a competitor with false statements Slander oral defamation Libel defamation which is written or broadcast over radio or television Defenses to defamation 1 truth if you can prove what you said is true 2 privileged communications someone says something in a court or legislative proceeding 3 public figure celebrities only guilty if you know untrue or completely obscured Everyone knows it is not true it s untrue have to PROVE an intentional lie o Fraud intentional misrepresentatioin of material fact s justifiable relied upon by someone leading to an injury Business torts product o Injurious falsehood untrue statements disparaging another business product or quality Only in business content one business lies about quality and or safety of another business s Ex 4 5 people prefer McDonald s fries over Wendy s McDonalds must have some proof of that survey even if the survey is bias o Intentional interference with contractual relations maliciously including another to breach or fail to fulfill a valid contractual obligation persuading someone to break a contract Unintentional torts o Negligence an unintentional injury resulting from the defendants failure to use reasonable care