B LAW 210 1st Edition Lecture 5 Outline of Last Lecture 1 Business Ethics Terms 2 Ethical Decision Examples Outline of Current Lecture I Basis of Tort Law a Damages Available in Tort Actions II Intentional Torts Against Persons a Types of Intentional Torts III Business Torts IV Intentional Torts Against Property Current Lecture Basis of Tort Law Doing business today involves risks both legal and financial DEFINITION o Damages Available in Tort Actions Compensatory Reimburse plaintiff for actual losses Actual out of pocket expenses car repairs Special Quantifiable losses such as medical expenses lost wages and benefits Not necessarily in a receipt General Non monetary such as pain and suffering reputation Jury comes up with amount of general amount given to plaintiff Punitive Punish the wrongdoer Not meant to compensate the plaintiff but to punish the defendant Intentional Torts Against Persons Tortfeasor person committing the tort must intend to commit an act the consequences of which interfere with the personal or business interests of another in a way not permitted by law o Assault and Battery Battery An unexcused and harmful or offensive physical contact intentionally performed These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute o o o o EX Getting punched at a bar Assault Any intentional and unexcused threat of immediate harmful or offensive contact including words or acts that create in another person a reasonable apprehension of harmful contact EX Unwanted grabbing groping Defenses to Assault and Battery Consent Self Defense Reasonable force Defense of Others reasonable force Defense of Property False Imprisonment False Imprisonment Intentional confinement or restraint of another person s activities without justification Infliction of Emotional Distress An intentional act that is Extreme and outrageous that results in severe emotional distress in another o Westboro Baptist Church Most courts require some physical symptom or illness Defamation Defamation Wrongfully hurting a person s good reputation Law imposes duty to refrain from making false statements of fact about others Orally breaching this duty is slander breaching it in print or media or internet is libel Damages for Libel Damages are presumed Damages for Slander Plaintiff must prove special damages to establish the defendant s liability Defenses to Defamation Truth is generally an absolute defense o IF it s true it doesn t count Privileged or Immune Speech o Absolute Judicial Legislative proceedings o Qualified Employee Evaluations Defamation Public Figures Public figures exercise substantial governmental power or are otherwise in the public limelight To prevail they must show actual malice statement was made with either knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth Invasion of Privacy Every person has a fundamental right to solitude freedom from public scrutiny Use of Person s name or likeness Constitutes the tort of appropriation Use of another s name likeness or other identifying characteristic for commercial purposes without the owner s consent Intrusion on Individual s Affairs or Seclusion Invading someone s home or searching someone s personal computer without authorization is an invasion of privacy Publication of Information that Places a Person in False Light Publication of information that places a person in a false light is another category of invasion of privacy Public Disclosure of Private Facts This type of invasion of privacy occurs when a person publicly discloses private facts about an individual that an ordinary person would find objectionable or embarrassing o Fraudulent Misrepresentation Elements Misrepresentation of material facts conditions knowing falsity Intent to induce another to rely on the misrepresented Justifiable Reliance by the deceived party Damages suffered as a result of reliance Causal Connection between the misrepresentation and the injury o Abusive or Frivolous Litigation Generally each of us has the right to sue when we have been legally injured Torts related to abusive or frivolous litigation include Malicious prosecution Abuse of process Business Torts o Wrongful Interference With a Contractual Relationship occurs when Defendant knows about contract between A and B Defendant intentionally induces a party to the contract to breach the other contract Intentional Torts Against Property o Trespass to Land Occurs when a person without permission Physically enters onto above or below the surface of another s land Causes anything to enter onto the land Remains on land after being asked to leave unwanted o Trespass to Personal Property Intentional interference with another s use or enjoyment of personal property without consent or privilege o Conversion Wrongful possession or use of property without permission EX Stealing a neighbor s lawnmower they can t use it EX Borrowing a neighbor s lawnmower don t return it EX Borrowing a neighbor s lawnmower it breaks Cyber Torts o Identifying the Author of Online Defamation usually a threshold barrier to filing suit