1 BSAD B18 Business Law Bakersfield College

2 Torts n Purpose of Tort Law is to provide remedies for the invasion of various protected interests. n Personal Physical Safety

3 Torts = Remedies for Damage or Injury Compensatory Damages Punitive Damages

4 Compensatory Damages Lost Wages Medical Reimburse actual loss To make Plaintiff whole

5 Punitive Damages Deter others Punish Punish Wrongdoer when act conduct was particularly egregious or reprehensible. Deter others from similar wrongdoing.

6 Intentional Torts n Requires Intent. n Tortfeasor (Person who committed the act) intended to commit the act, and consequences n Which interfered with business or personal interest. (i.e. suffered a loss.)

7Assault n An intentional act that creates in another person, a reasonable apprehension of immediate harmful or offensive contact. n (A threatened Battery) n Apprehension is not fear!

8 Battery n Unexcused harmful or offensive contact. n Completion of the act (contact) that caused the apprehension. n Contact can involve any part of the body, or anything attached to it.

9 False Imprisonment n n Intentional confinement or restraint of another person’s activities without justification. n n Interference of movement. n n Can be accomplished through use of physical barriers, physical restraint, threats or physical force. n n “Moral pressure” does not constitute restraint.

10 Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress An Intentional act that amounts to extreme and outrages conduct that results in severe emotional distress to another. The act exceeds the bounds of decency accepted by society. “Truly outrageous behavior.” Indignity or annoyance not enough.

11Defamation n n An attack on reputation. n n Wrongfully hurting a person’s good reputation. n n The law imposes a general duty to refrain from making false, defamatory statements of fact about others. n n Can be by speech or writing

12 Defamation n n Only false statements that represent something as a fact constitute defamation. n n Expressions of a personal opinion are protected by First Amendment.

13 Defamation n n Publication Requirement n n The basis of the tort is the publication of a statement that holds a person in contempt, ridicule or hatred. n n Communication to another (either intentionally or accidentally). n n A person that repeats or republishes a defamatory statement can be liable.

14 Libel n n Making a false defamatory statement in writing or electronic recording. n n Law presumes general damages – nonspecific harms such as disgrace or dishonor in the eyes of the community, humiliation, injured reputation, emotional distress.

15 Slander n n Oral communication n n Plaintiff must prove special damages – caused him/her to suffer actual economic or monetary losses. n n Oral statements have a temporary quality. n n Exception: Slander Per Se

16 Invasion of Privacy n n Persons have a right to solitude and freedom from prying public eyes. n n Four acts qualify as Invasion of Privacy:

17 Invasion of Privacy n n Appropriation of Identity n n Using a person’s name, picture, or other likeness for commercial purposes without permission.

18 Invasion of Privacy n n Intrusion into an individual’s affairs or seclusion n n Invading someone’s home, searching their computer. n n Eavesdropping n n Scanning of bank records n n Searching Medical Records

19 Invasion of Privacy n n False Light n n Publication of information – ideas or actions of someone that did not occur. n n “Taken out of context”

20 Invasion of Privacy n n Public Disclosure of Private Facts n n A person publicly discloses private facts about someone that an ordinary person would find objectionable or embarrassing. n n When it is not a public concern.

21 Appropriation n n The use of another’s name, likeness, or other identifying characteristic, without permission and for the benefit of the user. n n People have the right to exclusive use of their identity. n n Does not require the use of the name or actual likeness.

22 Fraudulent Misrepresentation n n A misrepresentation made to another to believe in a condition that is different from the condition that actually exists. n n False or incorrect statement. n n Intentional deceit for personal gain. (Not accidentally made.) n n Reckless disregard for the truth.

23 Abusive or Frivolous Litigation n n Malicious prosecution n n Law suit brought out of malice and without probable cause (legitimate legal reason) and looses the law suit (or is dismissed by the court). n n Abuse of Process n n Using a legal process against another in an improper manner or to accomplish a purpose for which the process was not designed.

24 Wrongful Interference with a Contractual Relationship n n 1) Valid, Enforceable Contract must exist between two parties n n 2) A Third party knows of the contract n n 3) Third party intentionally induces a party to the contract to breach the contract.

25 Wrongful Interference with a Business Relationship n n Businessperson unreasonably interfering with another’s business in their attempt to gain a greater share of the market. n n Attempting to attract customers is legitimate. n n Whereas targeting specific customers of a competitor can be predatory.

26 Trespass to Land n n Occurs anytime a person enters onto, above or below the surface of land of another without permission. n n Actual harm to land is not required.

27 Trespass to Personal Property n n When someone without consent, takes or harms personal property, or otherwise interferes with the lawful owner’s possession and enjoyment of the personal property.

28 Conversion n n Theft of property. n n When a person possesses or uses the personal property of another as if the property belonged to him or her. n n Duration and extensiveness of use. n n “Failure to return” when required to do so.

29 Disparagement of Property n n Economically injurious falsehoods are made about another’s product or property (rather than about a person’s reputation). n n “Slander of quality or title.”

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