1. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western CHAPTER 5 Civil Law and Procedure 5-1Private Injuries vs. Public Offenses 5-2Intentional Torts, Negligence, and Strict Liability 5-3Civil Procedure

2. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 2 5-1 5-1Private Injuries vs. Public Offenses GOALS Distinguish a crime from a tort Identify the elements of torts Explain why one person may be responsible for another’s tort

3. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 3 FOCUS What is a crime? An offense against society What is a tort? A private or civil wrong What is the difference between crimes and torts?

4. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 4 HOW DO CRIMES AND TORTS DIFFER? Offense against society Offense against individual damages If someone commits a tort, the person injured as a result can sue and obtain a judgment for damages From society’s standpoint, the money is meant to restrain the injured individual’s desire to exact revenge by taking the law into her or his own hands

5. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 5 What is the difference between a crime and a tort?

6. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 6 ELEMENTS OF A TORT Duty Violation of the duty Injury Causation

7. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 7 DUTY The following are duties created by tort law: 1.The duty not to injure another (including bodily injury, injury to someone’s reputation, or invasion of someone’s privacy) 2.The duty not to interfere with the property rights of others 3.The duty not to interfere with the economic rights of others, such as the right to contract

8. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 8 VIOLATION OF THE DUTY Violation must be proved before the injured can collect damages Intentional torts: breach must be intentional Negligence: these torts do not have to be intentional Strict liability: neither intent nor negligence needs to be proved to be found guilty

9. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 9 INJURY Generally, injury resulting from the breach of duty must be proved

10. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 10 CAUSATION Means that breach of the duty caused the injury Proximate cause: exists when it is reasonably foreseeable that a breach of duty will result in an injury

11. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 11 Did Mason commit a tort? What duty did Mason have? He owed a duty to the neighbors not to injure their property. How did Mason violate this duty? He breached the duty when he left the fire unattended so it spread to the neighbor’s property. What injury was caused? The neighbor’s house burned down Was Mason’s violation the cause of the injury? Leaving the fire unattended was a proximate cause of the loss of the fence, the tool shed, and the house.

12. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 12 Name the four elements of a tort.

13. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 13 RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANOTHER’S TORTS With few exceptions, all persons, including minors, are personally responsible for their conduct and are therefore liable for their torts Vicarious liability- when one person is liable for the torts of another (parents)

14. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 14 What parties might be held responsible for another person’s tort?

15. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 15 5-2 5-2Intentional Torts, Negligence, and Strict Liability GOALS Identify common intentional torts Recognize the elements of negligence Explain the basis for strict liability

16. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 16 FOCUS What things are unique about the intentional torts?

17. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 17 WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON INTENTIONAL TORTS? Assault- occurs when one person intentionally puts another in reasonable fear of an offensive or harmful bodily contact Battery- harmful or offensive touching False imprisonment- the intentional confinement of a person against the person’s will and without lawful privilege

18. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 18 WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON INTENTIONAL TORTS? Defamation- if a false statement injures a person’s reputation or good name Slander- if the defamation is spoken Libel- if the defamation is written or printed To be legally defamatory, the statement must: Be false Be communicated to a third party Bring the victim into disrepute, contempt, or ridicule by others

19. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 19 WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON INTENTIONAL TORTS? Invasion of privacy: uninvited intrusion into an individual’s personal relationships and activities This right includes freedom from unnecessary publicity regarding personal matters Publication of even a true statement about someone may be an invasion of privacy The right to privacy also includes freedom from commercial exploitation of one’s name, picture, or endorsement without permission Bans illegal eavesdropping by any listening device, interference with telephone calls, and unauthorized opening of letters and telegrams

20. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 20 WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON INTENTIONAL TORTS? Trespass: entry onto the property of another without the owner’s consent (intent is required) Dumping rubbish on the land of another or breaking the windows of a neighbor’s house also are trespasses Conversion: using property in a manner inconsistent with the owner’s rights This right is violated when property is stolen, destroyed, or used in a manner inconsistent with the owner’s rights

21. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 21 WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON INTENTIONAL TORTS? Interference with contractual relations: a third party encourages a breach of contract from one party to a contract, the third party may be liable to the non- breaching party Fraud: occurs when there is an intentional misrepresentation of an existing important fact The misrepresentation must be relied on and cause the victim to part with a legal right or something valuable Ordinarily a statement of opinion is not considered fraudulent

22. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 22 Name at least six of the nine most common intentional torts.

23. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 23 WHAT CONSTITUTES NEGLIGENCE? Duty imposed by negligence Reasonable-person standard: requires that you act with the care, prudence, and good judgment of a reasonable person so as not to cause injury to others Children under age seven are held to be incapable of negligent conduct Other children are only required to act as a child their age is expected to act Professionals and skilled tradespersons are held to a higher degree of care in their work

24. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 24 WHAT CONSTITUTES NEGLIGENCE? Breach of the duty The “reasonable-person” standard defines the duty Causation and Injury Must be the proximate cause of the injury

25. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 25 DEFENSES TO NEGLIGENCE Contributory negligence: in some states, a plaintiff cannot recover for loss caused by another’s negligence if the plaintiff also was negligent Comparative negligence: when a plaintiff in a negligence action is partially at fault; in such a case the plaintiff is awarded damages, but they are reduced in proportion to the plaintiff’s negligence Assumption of the risk: if the plaintiff is aware of a danger, but decides to subject themselves to the risk

26. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 26 Name the four elements that must be proven for an act to be negligent.

27. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 27 WHY IS STRICT LIABILITY NECESSARY? Engaging in abnormally dangerous activities Owning dangerous animals Selling unreasonably dangerous goods

28. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 28 What is strict liability and why is it necessary?

29. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 29 5-3 5-3 Civil Procedure GOALS State the legal remedies that are available to a tort victim Describe the procedure used to try a civil case Explain how civil damages are collected

30. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 30 FOCUS What remedies are available in a civil suit?

31. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 31 REMEDIES AVAILABLE IN A CIVIL SUIT Injunction- a court order for a person to do or not to do a particular act Damages- a monetary award to the injured party to compensate for loss Compensatory damages: places the injured party in the same financial position as if the injury had not occurred Punitive Damages: designed to punish

32. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 32 Contingency Fee Lawyers at times handle a civil lawsuit for a percentage of the recovery 25% if the case is settled before trial 33% if the case is won at trial 40% if the case is won on appeal

33. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 33 Name the two remedies available in a civil suit.

34. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 34 WHAT PROCEDURE IS USED TO TRY A CIVIL CASE? Judge or jury Opening statements and testimony Closing arguments and instructions to the jury Jury deliberation and the verdict

35. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 35 Judge or Jury If a jury is to be used, it is selected Judges always decide any issues of law; issues of fact are left to the jury When there is a right to a jury, both the plaintiff and the defendant may decide to forgo this right When there is no jury, the judge decides both law and fact

36. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 36 Opening Statements and Testimony After jury has been selected, attorneys make opening statements These statements briefly outline what the plaintiff and the defendant will try to prove The evidence is then presented Key words: evidence, testimony, witness, subpoena (SEE NOTES)

37. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 37 Closing Arguments and Instructions to the Jury Each attorney summarizes the case The judge gives instructions to the jury These instructions tell the jury what rules of law apply to the case Instructions also tell the jury what issues of fact they must decide

38. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 38 Jury Deliberation and the Verdict The jury retires to the jury room for deliberation in secret to decide the case Each juror must determine whether a preponderance of the evidence supports the plaintiff’s case A unanimous vote of the jurors is not required (10 out of 12) If either party believes the party made a mistake, an appeal may be made to a higher court

39. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 39 List the steps in the procedure used to try a civil case.

40. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 40 HOW ARE CIVIL DAMAGES COLLECTED? Defendant is ordered to pay Writ of execution- the process by which a judgment for money is enforced The court directs that the defendant’s property be seized or sold

41. Law for Business and Personal Use © Thomson South-Western Chapter 5 Slide 41 How does a plaintiff collect damages if the defendant refuses to pay?