Torts: Understanding Private Laws, Duties, and Civil Wrongs, Papers of Agricultural engineering

Download Torts: Understanding Private Laws, Duties, and Civil Wrongs and more Papers Agricultural engineering in PDF only on Docsity! TORTS TORT-- A private or civil wrong or injury, including action for bad faith breach of contract, for which the law will provide a remedy in the form of an action for damages. There must always be a violation of some duty owing to plaintiff, and generally such duty must arise by operation of law and not be mere agreement of the parties. The law of torts is based on the doctrine that every individual has certain legal rights and duties. An invasion of a legal right or a failure to perform a legal duty results in a tort, and the injured party is entitled to recover damages to the extent of the injury. A TORT may be committed in any of the following ways: 1. It may be an act which, without lawful justification or excuse, is intended by the agent to cause harm, and does cause he harm complained of. INTENTIONAL TORT 2. It may be an act in itself contrary to law, or an omission of specific legal duty, which causes harm not intended by the person so acting or omitting. INTENTIONAL TORT or NEGLIGENCE 3. It may be an act or omission causing harm which the person so acting or omitting did not intend to cause, but might and should with due diligence have foreseen and prevented. NEGLIGENCE 4. It may, in special cases, consist merely in not avoiding or preventing harm which the party was bound absolutely, or within limits, to avoid or prevent. STRICT LIABILITY INTENTIONAL TORTS TO PROPERTY TRESPASS TO LAND 1. Physical invasion of plaintiff's real property 2. Intent 3. Causation TRESPASS TO CHATTELS 1. An act by defendant that interferes with plaintiff's right of possession in a chattel 2. Intent 3. Causation 4. Damages CONVERSION 1. An act by defendant that interferes with plaintiff's right of possession in a chattel. 2. The interference is so serious that it warrants requiring defendant to pay the chattel's full value. 3. Intent 4. Causation DEFENSES TO INTENTIONAL TORTS 1. Consent (Express, implied, capacity required, exceeding consent) 2. Self-defense 3. Defense of others 4. Defense of property 5. Necessity TORTS THAT HARM ECONOMIC AND DIGNITARY INTERESTS DEFAMATION (libel and slander) 1. Defamatory language 2. of or concerning the plaintiff 3. Publication thereof by defendant to a third person and 4. Damage to plaintiff's reputation. INVASION of RIGHT to PRIVACY 1. Appropriation of plaintiff's picture or name 2. Intrusion upon plaintiff's affairs or seclusion 3. Publication of facts placing plaintiff in a false light 4. Public disclosure of private facts about plaintiff MISREPRESENTATION 1. Affirmative misrepresentation of a material fact 2. Defendant knew that statement being made was false 3. Intent 4. Causation d. damages NEGLIGENCE Necessary Elements 1. A duty on the part of defendant to conform to a specific standard of conduct for protection of plaintiff against an unreasonable risk of injury. 2. Breach of that duty. 3. The breach is the actual and proximate cause of plaintiff's injury. 4. Damages. Duty of Care 1. Duty is owed to all foreseeable plaintiffs. 2. Standard of care--objective reasonable person is the typical standard. Account for physical limitations. Professionals are held to the standard of other professionals in similar situations. Children are held to the standard of a child of like age, education, intelligence and experience. 3. Special duties owed by owners or occupiers of land to those who come on land--discussed later. 4. Affirmative duties to act. Generally one does not have a legal duty to act. a. One may assume a duty to act by acting--once defendant undertakes to aid someone, he must do so with reasonable care. b. One has a duty to assist someone he has negligently placed in peril. c. A special relationship between the parties may create a duty to act. d. Generally, there is no duty to prevent a third person from injuring another. An affirmative duty may be imposed, however, if one has the Damages 1. Personal injury 2. Property Damage 3. Punitive Damages--available only if defendant's conduct is "wanton and willful," reckless, or malicious. 4. Duty to mitigate 5. Collateral Source Rule Defenses to Negligence 1. Contributory Negligence (not a defense to intentional torts) 2. Assumption of Risk 3. Comparative Negligence STRICT LIABILITY Necessary Elements 1. Existence of an absolute duty on the part of the defendant to make safe. 2. Breach of that duty. 3. The breach of the duty was the actual and proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury. 4. Damages to the plaintiff's person or property. LIABILITY FOR ANIMALS 1. An owner is strictly liable for reasonably foreseeable damage done by a trespass of his animals. 2. An owner is strictly liable to licensees and invitees for injuries caused by wild animals as long as the injured person did nothing to bring about the injury. 3. An owner is not strictly liable for injuries caused by domestic animals unless he has knowledge of that particular animal's dangerous propensities that are not common to the species. 4. Strict liability will generally not be imposed in favor of trespassers in the absence of the owner's negligence. An exception is recognized for injuries inflicted by vicious watchdogs.