BUL 3310 TEST 3 STUDY GUIDE Most of the examples provided are not necessarily a part of the test but are provided for your overall understanding of the concepts those pointed out by Dr Stauber as included on the test are highlighted Business Torts Definition Tort is 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 tort involves a direct interference with Person or Such as Battery someone physically hurts you without reason such as Negligence someone is careless and hurts you o Ex running a red light and causing you physical harm Property or Such as Intangible interests Such as Trespass Theft taking something that is not yours Stealing your patented idea Defamation damaging a good name or reputation of a person Invading your privacy o Stealing a person s identity Tortus means crooked twisted In a tort someone is engaged in crooked dishonest wrongful act Tort Liability responsibility Fault Based Intentional Tort The act was intended The same act may be a tort and a crime There would be separate proceedings o You may be found guilty of one and innocent in the other one since the burdens of proof are different Criminal cases must find you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt Civil cases must only find you responsible by the preponderance of the evidence o Ex Michael Jackson was found innocent of the crime of sexual abuse on children However he was then sued civilly for the same wrongful act He then settled in a confidential agreement with the victim Negligence No fault based Strict liability Act was not deliberate but it s careless Says that even if you did not intend to commit an act or weren t careless you are still liable Ex when using explosives if someone gets hurt you are liable even if you were careful and did not mean to hurt anyone Intentional Torts in detail Punishment in intentional torts is money Types of monetary awards to plaintiff Actual Compensatory Ex Lost wages medical expenses etc Ex Loss of companionship pain and suffering etc Responsibility fault is determined by preponderance of the evidence since torts are civil cases Punitive damages may also be added to deter the individual or company from offending again Another sample case Recall the bmw case where they were being deceptive and selling less than new cars as new o When sued the court awarded the plaintiff 2 million for punitive damages to deter BMW from engaging in such an activity An individual diluted cancer patient drugs and the court awarded the victims punitive damages of 10x the actual damages in the civil case o He was also found guilty in the criminal case and sentenced to jail time Definition intentional act of putting another person in apprehension for his physical safety Actual physical contact is NOT required There must be present apparent ability to carry out the Ex pointing a gun at someone pulling the trigger is not Actual ability would mean having to have a bullet threat necessary in the gun Assault tort awarded Battery tort Apparent ability which is all that is necessary to commit the assault tort means it just has to look like there is a gun present that can shoot you It could be a water gun and you would still be guilty for the tort of assault For intentional torts punitive damages can be Definition intentional touching of another person without consent or justification Examples of possible justifications Self defense Being provided with medical assistance Law enforcement officer performing an arrest Types of consent to being touched these definitions are important for the test Express consent writing by words either orally or in Ex signing a medical consent form for surgery Implied consent by conduct Ex by participating in playing flag football with a group of friends implies that you consent to people touching you consent without knowledge is Informed consent no consent at all The person consenting must be knowledgeable of what they re consenting to Ex if you sign a medical consent form but don t read it and are not explained the form you are not participating in informed consent Example case this case is on the test o A doctor branded the letters UK on multiple women s uteri before removing it during surgery o The women consented to the surgery but did not consent to having their uterus branded and therefore sued the doctor o The doctor argued that he was marking the incision site using the UK sign creating justification o The case was settled The touching does not only include body on body touching it also includes projectiles Ex spitting second hand smoke bullets Assault can occur without battery Battery can occur without an assault ex you can shoot someone in the back they didn t expect to be shot so they were never fearful and therefore the victim was not assaulted Ex of battery Actually being shot Assault and battery can occur in the same act The assault would be being threatened with the gun and the battery would be the bullet entering the body False imprisonment tort Definition Intentional confinement or restraint of a person without consent or justification Example Accusing you of shoplifting and confining you to the manager s office at a store It becomes false when the accusation is false However the justification exists and is therefore not false imprisonment This is the same justification that a police officer has when arresting you Example of consent to confinement Abuse of process tort The groundless institution Houdini consented to being confined by chains etc as part of his show Examples where false imprisonment does exist A teenager was confined to a psychic ward against her will She was subdued with drugs and confined with shackles It was justified to keep her at first because she was a threat to herself center failed to re evaluate her condition It became false imprisonment when the You are sued by another person when that person has no grounds to sue These are called frivolous or spite suits and lack seriousness of the court This abuses the process of justice and is used to bother annoy the defendant The person sued in a spite suit can then sue the plaintiff for the tort of abuse of process Vexatious litigants the specifics of this section are def on the test If a person does the following they qualify as a vexatious litigant Within a 5 year period files 5 or more lawsuits Loses the lawsuits Law suits are filed pro se without an attorney The law assumes that an attorney will evaluate your case
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