Civil Law An overview of Tort Law – the largest branch of civil law Highlight the differences between tort law and criminal law How torts developed historically Various circumstances under which a person can sue or be sued The processes by which torts are adjudicated The role of insurance in tort law

Torts: A Civil Wrong The Idea of Liability Under criminal law, wrongs committed are called crimes. Under civil law, wrongs committed are called torts. In civil cases, the injured party (the plaintiff) can sue the person believed to be legally responsible for the harm (the defendant). Tort law establishes an expectation that people should act with responsible care toward other people and their property. A defendant found responsible for injuring the plaintiff will usually be ordered to pay the plaintiff money, called damages.

Damages are meant to compensate the plaintiff for any financial, physical, or emotional costs associated with the injury. The plaintiff does not always need to sue in order to receive damages. Often the two parties can meet and make an agreement – or settlement – on compensation for the injury.

The Idea of Torts: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow Tort law has changed over time to reflect changes in society and its values. State courts handle most tort cases. Tort law is generally based on common law, which is created through court decisions written by judges. Tort law can also be based on written laws, known as statutes, which are passed by state legislatures.

Types of Torts There are three major types of tort liability – intentional wrongs, acts of negligence, and strict liability. An intentional wrong occurs when a person purposefully harms another person or his or her property. Negligence – the most common unintentional tort – occurs when one person unintentionally inflicts injury upon another person. Even though the injury was not intentional, the person who caused injury can still be held liable for acting carelessly and causing harm. Strict liability requires people engaged in certain dangerous activities to assume extra responsibility for the consequences of their actions.

Taking Your Case to Court Tort law deals with disputes between individuals or groups of individuals. Unlike criminal law, the government is not responsible for bringing the case to court, and defendants never go to prison. While both criminal law and tort law require substantial evidence to prove the defendant is responsible, criminal cases require more convincing evidence. Although a tort and a crime are different legal actions, the same harmful activity can sometimes be both a crime and a tort.

Almost anyone can be sued. Employers may be responsible for many of the torts committed by their employees, and in some states parents can be sued if it can be proven that the child acted unreasonably for a person of that age. A class action suit occurs when a group of plaintiffs sues a defendant as a group. Liability insurance is an agreement in which the insured person makes regular payments to an insurance company.

Intentional Torts Intentional torts are actions taken with the intent to harm another person or another’s property. The intent to harm does not have to be hostile or immoral. The law of intentional torts requires that the person causing the harm either knew or should have known that his or her actions would result in harm. Types of Damages A victim of an intentional tort can recover damages. There are three types of damages – compensatory, nominal, and punitive.

Damages that pay, or compensate, an injured person for being harmed are called compensatory damages. They may include costs that have resulted or are expected to result from the injury. If a plaintiff is unable to show financial loss, the jury may award nominal damages. Nominal damages involve a small amount of money that the defendant must pay in order to show that the defendant was wrong. Punitive damages are awarded to punish a defendant whose actions were malicious, willful, or outrageous. Juries usually decide how much money is appropriate.

Torts That Injure Persons One category of torts is torts that cause injury to persons. These types of torts include battery – in which a person intentionally makes contact with another person in a harmful or offensive way – and assault – which occurs when a person intentionally causes someone to fear immediate harm. Other examples of torts that injure persons are infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, and defamation. Defamation includes acts that harm a person’s reputation. Slander is the intentional attack on someone’s reputation through spoken words that are false. Libel is intentionally writing untruthful information to injure another person’s reputation.

Torts That Harm Property Intentional torts may harm a person’s real, personal, or intellectual property. Trespass is a tort in which a person enters another person’s private property without permission. A nuisance is a tort that occurs when someone interferes with your ability to use and enjoy your own property, even if the person has never physically entered your property. The tort of conversion occurs when someone unlawfully takes, damages, or interferes with another’s personal property.

Patents and copyrights exist to protect the ideas, inventions, and creative works of an individual. A person who interferes with someone’s patent or copyright through unauthorized use of the ideas may be found guilty of the tort of infringement.

Defenses to Intentional Torts There are certain defenses a person may use to try to prove that he or she should not be found liable for an intentional tort. These reasons include consent, privilege, self-defense, and defense of property. Consent is the most common defense to a tort. The defendant argues that the plaintiff agreed to the harmful conduct and should not be able to sue. Privilege justifies behavior that would otherwise be a tort when it serves the public interest. Self-defense and defense of property justify the use of certain force to protect one’s person or property.