1. Chapter 5 – Civil Law & Procedure
Torts

2. Tort A private or civil wrong. An offense against an individual.
When suing over a tort we hope to receive DAMAGES- monetary compensation.

3. Criminal or Civil or Both?
JJ worked for a delivery service from 3:30am until school started at 9:00am. After attending his school classes he would go coach basketball. He would then go home and take care of the kids until his wife got home at 10:00pm.
Early one morning JJ fell asleep at the wheel and crashed head on into another car. Both drivers were injured and the vehicles were totaled.
What type of crime is this?

4. BOTH! Criminal – crime against society Crime = reckless driving
Police will investigate, give him a ticket or arrest him. District attorney may prosecute in a criminal trial.
Tort – crime against an individual
Tort – injured other person and totaled her car
Go to civil court. She may get a judgment against him as compensation for damages.

5. A Crime has 3 –first 2 are the same – last is Criminal Intent
Elements of a Tort
Duty – obligation to do or not do something.
Breach – violation of the duty
Injury – a harm that is recognized by the law
Causation – proof that the breach caused the injury
What is the difference between the elements of a tort and a crime?
A Crime has 3 –first 2 are the same – last is Criminal Intent

6. Who decides if a duty does exist in a situation?
What are your duties?
Not to injure another (Bodily, Reputation, or Privacy)
Not to interfere with property rights (trespassing)
Not to interfere with economic rights (contract)
Who decides if a duty does exist in a situation?
The judge

7. Violation of Duty This must be proved before damages can be collected.
Who decides if you violated your duty?
Usually the jury
Intentional – You meant to do it.
Negligent – You were careless.
Strict liability – It was simply your responsibility.

8. If you acted recklessly and nothing or nobody was hurt is it a tort?
Injury
Injury must be proved.
If you acted recklessly and nothing or nobody was hurt is it a tort? No

9. Causation The breach of your duty caused an injury.
Proximate cause – when your causation is great enough to be recognized by law.

10. Tort or not?
On a windy autumn day, Mason was burning dry leaves in his backyard. When he went inside to answer a telephone call, flames from the fire leaped to the next-door neighbor’s fence and then to a tool shed where a small can of gasoline exploded. Soon the neighbor’s house was ablaze, and it burned to the ground.

11. Yes – Why? He had a duty to his neighbor to not injure their property.
He breached the duty when he left the fire unattended so it spread to the neighbor’s property.
The injury occurred when the neighbor’s house was burned.
Leaving the fire unattended was a cause of the loss of the fence, tool shed, and house.
So the neighbor can receive judgment for the loss.

12. Intentional Torts Assault Battery Trespassing
Interference with Contracts
False Imprisonment
Defamation
Invasion of Privacy
Conversion
Fraud

13. Assault Battery Intentional Torts Threat
Raising your fist
Threat
Put reasonable fear into another through words or gestures (must be an ability to carry it out)
May also be offensive
Battery
Usually follows an assault.
Shooting, pushing, hitting, etc.
Intentional Torts

14. Trespassing or Dumping
Entry onto the property of another
Dumping or Damaging the property of another
Interference with Contract
Third party encouraging a breach or interfering with a contract
Intentional Torts

15. False Imprisonment Intentional Torts
Holding someone against their will
Handcuffs, locked in a room, etc.
What about the police?
With probable cause they are “privileged”
Intentional Torts

16. Defamation Intentional Torts Slander (spoken) Libel (written or taped)
The statement:
Must be false
Must be communicated to a third person
Must bring the victim into disrepute, contempt, or ridicule by others
You must show a physical loss or damages as a result in slander cases.
If against public figures, statement must have been made with malice (must have KNOWN it was false).
Intentional Torts

17. Invasion of Privacy Intentional Torts
Uninvited intrusion – in a way likely to cause shame or mental suffering
Eavesdropping
Two way mirror
What about public figures? Public figures give up their right to privacy when they step into the public domains.
Intentional Torts

18. Conversion Intentional Torts
Right to control your possessions and their uses
Property is stolen, destroyed, or used inappropriately Read “What’s Your Verdict” on page 89
Intentional Torts

19. Fraud Intentional Torts Lying
The lie must be relied on and cause the victim to impart a legal right or something valuable
Intentional Torts

20. Negligence “Reasonable Person”
Careless behavior – a breach of duty to due care
“Reasonable Person”

21. Defenses to Negligence
Contributory Negligence – OLD – not one-sided – got nothing
Comparative Fault – percentage See example on page 93 – What’s Your Verdict
Assumption of the Risk
Strict Liability See examples - What’s Your Verdict (pg 87) and pictures on pages 94 & 95

22. Assignment
Handout - Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 Vocabulary