Torts Overview and Damages

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Questions and Answers

What is the legal principle regarding a plaintiff’s responsibility to limit their damages?

Plaintiffs are not required to take any actions to reduce damages.

Plaintiffs only have to mitigate damages if ordered by the court.

Plaintiffs can recover full damages regardless of their actions.

Plaintiffs must actively seek treatment to mitigate their damages. (correct)

In which situation can a plaintiff's negligence completely bar their recovery?

If they were not wearing a seatbelt.

If their negligence is less than 50%.

If their conduct contributed to their own injury at any level. (correct)

If they did not follow safety protocols.

What distinguishes pure comparative negligence from modified comparative negligence?

The requirement for the plaintiff to be less than 50% at fault for recovery.

The consideration of intervening acts in the recovery process.

The ability to recover regardless of the fault percentage. (correct)

The method of assigning damages based solely on plaintiff's fault.

What must be proven for an express assumption of risk defense to be enforced?

The plaintiff signed a release and understood its contents. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following describes the 'Discovery Rule' pertaining to statutes of limitations?

The period begins only when the plaintiff is aware of the injury and its cause. Signup and view all the answers

What is the legal standard that must be met to establish actual malice in a defamation case involving public figures?

The defendant must have acted with reckless disregard for the truth. Signup and view all the answers

Which type of damages is specifically intended to punish the defendant for wrongful conduct in a negligence case?

Punitive Damages Signup and view all the answers

In terms of proving negligence, what does the term 'proximate cause' refer to?

The actual cause of the injury that is foreseeable. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a basic defense against negligence claims?

Faulty Evidence Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'contributory negligence' imply in a negligence case?

The plaintiff is partially responsible for their own injury. Signup and view all the answers

What defines slander per se in defamation law?

A statement that imputes serious criminal conduct. Signup and view all the answers

Under what circumstance may a defendant’s liability be cut off due to an independent intervening act?

If the act is unforeseeable. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes the concept of 'fault' in the context of negligence?

It suggests a breach of duty resulting in injury. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary requirement for establishing negligence?

The defendant breached a duty of care Signup and view all the answers

In the context of `res ipsa loquitur`, which of the following must generally be established?

The accident would not normally occur without negligence Signup and view all the answers

What does 'proximate cause' refer to in negligence law?

Whether the defendant is liable for all consequences Signup and view all the answers

Which test is used to determine if multiple tortfeasors are responsible for a plaintiff's injury?

The Substantial Factor Test Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of known trespassers in negligence law?

The landowner owes them no duty of care Signup and view all the answers

What does 'actual cause' signify in negligence cases?

The result of the defendant's conduct Signup and view all the answers

What must be proven for a defamation claim based on slander per se?

General damages are not needed Signup and view all the answers

Which scenario would exemplify joint tortfeasors?

Multiple defendants act independently but cause the same injury Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Torts Overview

A tort is a breach of duty causing injury or damage to a person or property.
Tort law aims to compensate those who have suffered a loss or injury.
Torts are categorized as intentional or unintentional (negligence). Intentional torts include defamation, invasion of privacy, and business torts, while unintentional torts cover negligence and strict liability (product liability).

Damages

Compensatory damages aim to compensate a plaintiff for harm suffered.
They comprise special damages (quantifiable monetary losses, e.g., medical bills, lost wages) and general damages (non-monetary losses such as pain and suffering).
Punitive damages punish the defendant for outrageous conduct. These are only awarded when the defendant's actions were more serious than ordinary negligence.
Nominal damages are awarded when there is minimal or no measurable financial loss, typically a small sum (e.g., $1).

Intent

Intent is when a person acts with the desire to cause a specific result or knowing that a result is substantially certain to occur.
Variations:
- Children: Are held to a different standard based on age.
- Mental illness: If a person acted with intent despite mental health issues, that intent is still considered.
- Transferred Intent: If intent to cause harm to one person is directed at another person, the intent transfers to the actual victim. The same applies to torts.

Intentional Torts

To Person: Assault, Battery, False Imprisonment, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress.
To Property: Real Property (Trespass to Land), Personal Property (Trespass to Chattels, Conversion).

Assault

Placing another in reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact without consent or privilege.
Physical contact is not needed. Words alone are not sufficient unless the defendant has the ability to carry out the threat.
The plaintiff must be aware of the threat.

Battery

Intentional harmful or offensive touching of another without consent or privilege.
Trivial touching is sufficient.
Awareness is not required.

False Imprisonment

Intentional physical or psychological confinement of another within fixed boundaries for any period of time without consent or privilege.
No reasonable means of escape.
Awareness of confinement is not required, but a person may still recover.

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

Extreme and outrageous conduct intended to cause severe emotional distress.
Beyond bounds tolerated by civilized society.
Distress must be lasting.
No transferred intent.

Trespass to Land

Intentional entry upon land in possession of another without consent or privilege.
Requires some tangible entry.
Mistake is not a defense.

Trespass to Chattels

Minor intentional interference with personal property of another without consent or privilege.
Chattel is an item of personal property.
Mistake is not a defense.
Actual damage or interference must occur.

Conversion

Major intentional interference with personal property of another without consent or privilege.
Mistake is not a defense.
More than minor or temporary interference. Damage or taking may be irreversible.
Damages are the fair market value at the time of conversion.

Defamation

To prove defamation, a plaintiff must show the statement was false and defamatory, published to a third party, and understood by the third party as defamatory. The plaintiff also must show that damages resulted from the defamation.
Common Law Defamation includes: False statements; Defamatory statement; Published statement; Statements must concern the person; and Causation of Damages.
Damages differ depending on if it is slander (oral) or libel (written) and if the plaintiff is a public figure. Per se slander automatically includes damages, but slander does not, requiring proof of actual damages.
Defamation in a matter of public concern requires actual malice (knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth) by the defendant.

Private vs. Public Figure in Defamation

Public Figures (Pervasive/Achieved Fame): Celebrities and people in public office are held to a higher standard in defamation cases, requiring proof of actual malice.
Private Figures (Limited Purpose): Someone who only is a public figure in one specific context.
Private vs. Private (Matter of Private Concern): Common law negligence is sufficient to show liability.

Fraudulent Misrepresentation

False statement of material fact with knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard.
Intent to induce reliance.
Justifiable reliance by the deceived party.
Actual damages must be caused.

Negligence

Unintentional tort resulting in harm; the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff, breached that duty, and the plaintiff suffered damages proximately caused by the breach.

Negligence: Duty

The defendant had a legally recognizable duty to the plaintiff.
This depends on the foreseeable relationship between parties.

Negligence: Standard of Care

Reasonable person test: What a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances.
Professionals have a higher standard of care.

Negligence: Breach

The defendant acted unreasonably.
Res Ipsa Loquitur: "The thing speaks for itself"; used when the act is so obviously negligent that it requires no further explanation.

Negligence: Causation – Actual Cause

The defendant's actions are the cause of the plaintiff's injury.
Concurrent tortfeasors: Separate negligent acts resulting in an injury; both defendants are responsible.
Joint tortfeasors: Negligent acts were completed by multiple individuals in a coordinated effort.
Successive tortfeasors: Negligent acts by two parties leads to a single injury.

Negligence: Causation–Proximate Cause

Was the defendant's negligence the legal cause of the plaintiff's injury?
Direct cause: There weren't any intervening or unrelated events.
Indirect cause: There was an intervening event or another factor that affects whether the result was foreseeable.
Dependent intervening act: A normal reaction to the actions.
Independent intervening act: An abnormal/unforeseeable reaction to the actions.

Negligence: Damages

Plaintiff must show actual harm.
Compensatory damages (special and general), punitive, and nominal damages are all available.

Defenses to Negligence

Basic defenses (denial, statute of limitations, failure to mitigate damages).
Affirmative defenses (contributory negligence, comparative negligence, assumption of risk).

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Description

This quiz covers the essentials of tort law, including the definitions and classifications of torts, types of damages available to plaintiffs, and the concept of intent in tort cases. Test your understanding of intentional and unintentional torts, and the different ways damages are assessed and awarded. Explore key terms and principles fundamental to tort law.