Business Law: Understanding Torts, Cyber Torts, and Remedies, Slides of Commercial Law

Download Business Law: Understanding Torts, Cyber Torts, and Remedies and more Slides Commercial Law in PDF only on Docsity! Business Law Chapter 5 Torts and Cyber Torts Docsity.com Objectives • State the purpose of tort law • Explain how torts and crimes differ • Identify intentional torts against persons Docsity.com Tort • Through tort law, society compensates those who have suffered injuries as a result of the wrongful conduct of others. Docsity.com Remedies for acts that: • Cause physical injury • Interfere with physical security • Freedom of movement • Destruction or damage to property Docsity.com Crime vs. Tort • Crime – a wrong against society as a whole, as well as the individual victim • The state prosecutes and punishes persons who commit criminal acts Docsity.com Against Persons • Assault and Battery • False Imprisonment • Defamation • Invasion of the Right to Privacy • Misrepresentation • Wrongful Interference Docsity.com Assault and Battery • Assault – any word or action intended to make another person apprehensive or fearful of immediate physical harm • Battery – the unprivileged, intentional touching of another Docsity.com Defenses • Reasons why plaintiffs should not obtain what they are seeking Docsity.com Defenses • Probable cause – when the evidence to support the belief that a person is guilty outweighs the evidence against that belief Docsity.com Defamation • Anything published or publicly spoken that causes injury to another’s good name, reputation, or character • False statements about a person’s product, business, or title to property Docsity.com Defamation • Slander – oral • Libel – in writing Docsity.com Defenses • Truth • Privilege (attorneys and judges, public figures) • Actual malice – with either knowledge of falsity or a reckless disregard for the truth Docsity.com Invasion of Privacy • Use of a person’s name, picture, or likeness for commercial purposes without permission (appropriation) • Intrusion in an individual’s affairs or seclusion in an area in which the person can expect privacy Docsity.com Invasion of Privacy • Publication of information that places a person in a false light • Public disclosure of private facts that an ordinary person would find objectionable Docsity.com Misrepresentation (Fraud) • Puffery (seller’s talk) – a salesperson’s often exaggerated claims concerning the quality of property offered for sale –Opinion rather than fact –Subjective Docsity.com Business Torts • Torts occurring within the business context • Wrongful interference with another’s business rights • When does zealous competition cross over into tortious interference? Docsity.com Wrongful Interference • With a contractual relationship • With a business relationship Docsity.com Defenses • Justification –Legitimate competitive behavior Docsity.com Against Property • Trespass to land (real property) • Trespass to personal property • Conversion • Disparagement of Property Docsity.com Trespass to Land • The entry onto, above, or below the surface of land owned by another without the owner’s permission Docsity.com Defenses • Trespass is warranted (to assist someone in danger) • Purported owner did not actually have the right to possess the land Docsity.com Trespass to Personal Property • Unlawfully harms the personal property of another or otherwise interferes with the owner’s right to exclusive possession and enjoyment of that property Docsity.com Defenses • Artisan’s lien –Ex. Automobile repair shop can hold a customer’s car if the customer refuses to pay for repairs already completed Docsity.com Disparagement of Property • Economically injurious falsehoods made about another’s product or property • Slander of quality • Slander of title Docsity.com Slander of Quality • Publication of false information about another’s product, alleging it is not what its seller claims • Trade libel • Must prove actual damages Docsity.com Slander of Title • Publication of a statement that denies or casts doubts upon another’s legal ownership of any property, causing financial loss to that property’s owner • Intent of discouraging a third person from dealing with the person slandered Docsity.com Duty of Care and Its Breach • The duty of all persons to exercise a reasonable amount of care in their dealings with others. – An act – An omission – Intentional, careless or carefully performed Docsity.com Reasonable Person • Society’s judgment on how people should act • To be careful, conscientious, even tempered, and honest Docsity.com Duty of Landowners • Exercise reasonable care to protect from harm persons coming onto their property • Protect tenants from harm in common areas, such as stairways Docsity.com Injury Requirement • Plaintiff must suffer a legally recognizable injury • Some loss, harm, wrong, or invasion of a protected interest Docsity.com Causation • The wrongful activity must have caused the harm for a tort to have been committed Docsity.com Causation • Causation in fact – “but for” the wrongful act, the injury would not have occurred • Proximate cause – the connection is strong enough to justify imposing liability – Foreseeability Docsity.com Cyber Torts • Torts committed in cyberspace • Who is liable for defamatory messages posted online • Proof of identity Docsity.com Defamation Online • Liability of Internet Service Providers –Communications Decency Act of 1996 – ISPs not liable –Under court order, ISPs may reveal identity of customers Docsity.com Spam • Bulk, unsolicited, commercial e- mail (“junk” e-mail) • Some states prohibit or regulate Docsity.com