Tort Law - Chapter 1, Unit 1 PDF

**Tort Law -- Chapter 1, Unit 1** Historically tort law was developed as a means of regulating and balancing the interests of people who often lived in close proximity in rural society -- focused on protecting an individual's rights to property and on allowing a citizen to protect their own persona...

**Tort Law -- Chapter 1, Unit 1** Historically tort law was developed as a means of regulating and balancing the interests of people who often lived in close proximity in rural society -- focused on protecting an individual's rights to property and on allowing a citizen to protect their own personal integrity from deliberate interference by other -- as law evolved, focus went to providing compensation for injuries often caused by carelessness in a society which became increasingly mechanised - Tort provides the main way in which victims of 'wrongs' can achieve redress **Meaning of Tort** - Essentially means 'wrong' - Involves the infringement of a legal right (or breach of legal duty) and it gives rise to a claim in the civil courts - Person who commits a tort is called 'a tortfeasor' and their liability is described as tortious - Body of civil law which governs what happens when one person sues another person because of what the other person has done **Remedies in Tort** - Claimants would be seeking financial compensation as a result of what has happened - Also an injunction **Tort distinguished from crime** Consider the situations set out below and whether they have tortious consequences, criminal consequences or both. Situation Consequences Tortious Criminal 1\. Driving at 35 mph in a 30 mph area on an empty road. -- criminal 6\. Andrew hits Carol and breaks her nose. Both criminal and tortious - Trespassers will generally not be prosecuted. - Many significant differences between tort and criminal - Tort claims are brought by the injured person who will be seeking a remedy to compensate them whereas criminal actions are usually brought by a public official (eg. The Crown Prosecution Service) rather than the victim - The main function of a tort claim is compensation of the victim. The main function of criminal proceedings is punishment of the offender - Tort cases are dealt with by the civil courts (county or High Court). Criminal cases are dealt with by the criminal courts (magistrates or Crown Court) **Distinguish Tort from Contract** Situation Contract -- with whom No contract 3\. You agree to give your friend a lift to the pub after work. No Contract 6\. You go to a solicitor for some advice. Contract with solicitor 7\. You book a holiday. Contract with holiday company 8\. You take a ride in a taxi. Contract with taxi firm - Many similarities between contract and tort - Both are civil claims which will be in the County Court or High Court - Claimants in both contract and tort actions will usually seek damages as the principal remedy - The principal functions of the two areas of law are similar, namely, to compensate the claimant for the loss suffered due to the defendants wrongdoing - Important Differences - Contract -- parties obligations are fixed by the terms of the contract. In some cases terms may be implied into the contract by law but most terms are usually expressly agreed by the parties - Tort -- liability does not depend on any consensus between the parties; it is determined by rules (largely judge made) which dictate whether the defendants wrongdoings constitutes a tort - In contract there has to be a contractual relationship between a claimant and a defendant before a claim for a breach of contract can arise -- only the parties to the contract can sue - In tort -- the potential scope of liability is much wider. As obligations in tort are imposed by law, they are owed to the world at large and are not dependent on an agreement between parties - Obligations in contract law are generally said to be voluntarily undertaken in the sense that the parties agree to enter the contract. Obligations in tort are imposed on a defendant by law - One other difference relates to the function of damages. Aim of damages in tort is to put the claimant back into the position they would have been in had the tort not been committed -- in contrast, contract damages the aim is to put the claimant into the position they would have been in had the contact been properly performed