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Torts (Economic harm & Dignitary Torts (Defamation (Constitutional…
Torts
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Intentional Torts
Requirements: 1) Voluntary act, 2) Intent, 3) Elements of a prima facie claim for that tort 4) Causation, 5) Harm, and 6) Lack of a privilege or defense
Intent is established if the D either 1) desires that his act will cause the harmful result or 2) knows with substantial certainty that the result will follow. Children and mentally incompetent persons can be held liable for an intentional tort if the required intent is met.
Sometimes the D intended to commit one tort (assault) but commits a different tort against that person or another person (battery). The D's intent is transferred to the second tort [limited to assault and battery, false imprisonment, trespass to land, and trespass to chattels -- everything but IIED and conversion]
Against Property
Trespass to Land: Tortfeasor's intentional act is a physical invasion of P's land, interfering w/ P's possessory interest in the land
D is not liable for reckless or neg (unintentional) entry, unless he causes damage
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P's land = P must be in actual possession or have the right to immediate possession of that land (NOT ownership) -- LL, tenant, APer, etc.
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Intent 1) D desired to enter the land/caused something to enter or 2) D knew that land entry was substantially certain to result
Entry: 1) D enters or causes someone/something to enter, 2) D enters the land lawfully but then refuses to leave when req'd, or 3) D fails to remove/eject from P's land when under legal duty to do so
Trespass to chattels: Intentional act that interferes with the P's chattel (movable personal property), causing harm.
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Interference = uses or borrows w/out authorization. includes dispossession or intermeddling. More serious interference may amount to conversion.
Vs. Larceny: larceny req's an intent to permanently deprive the owner of possession. Tort req's only an intent to take, regardless of knowl of ownership
Intent: 1) D intentionally performs the physical act that interferes, 2) liable even though D did not intend to trespass w/ good faith
Actual damages: unlike trespass to land, need damages, not necessarily to the chattel but actual damages req'd by loss of use in case of dispossession
Remedies: Damages: cost of repair, FMV, punitive if bad actor. Replevin: get back personal property of which one has been wrongfully dispossessed
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Against Persons
Assault: P experiences a reas apprehension of an immediate harmful or offensive contact. D intended such apprehension
Exaggerated fears are only actionable if D knew about the fear and used it to put P in apprehension. Fear itself is not required, only apprehension of a harmful/offensive contact.
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Intent: D must 1) act w/ desire to cause immediate harmful or offensive contact or the apprehension of such contact, or 2) know that such a result is substantially certain to result
Reasonable apprehension: if reas, doesn't matter whether D could actually carry out the threat (if gun is unloaded, can still be assault)
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Battery: D intends a harmful or offensive contact with the victim or something closely connected with the victim, and a harmful or offensive contact results.
To the person or something physically closely connected thereto (cars? lecturer: no. Qbank: yes ...)
direct touching not required (poison). Includes setting in motion a force that brings about harmful contact (throwing a baseball).
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Lack of consent. if a Doctor goes outside of consent scope (even if no harm results), there is a battery
Intent: D must either 1) desire to cause an immediate harmful of offensive contact, or 2) know that such contact is substantially certain to occur
Harmful or offensive contact: 1) inflict pain or impairment of any body function, 2) offensive to reas person, 3) P need not be aware of the contact (unlike assault)
P does not have to prove injury, will get compensatory damages just by showing the elements
False Imprisonment: Intentional act that causes a P to be confined or restrained to a bounded area against P's will and the P knows of the confinement OR is actually harmed
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Not confined if there is a reas means of escape that P is actually aware exists. Reas = no threat of harm to P or property, can't expose P to risk of embarrassment
Intent: 1) D desires to confine or restrain P in a bounded area or 2) knows that such confinement is virtually certain to result
Confinement in bounded area: confining by physical barriers; failing to release the P where the D has a legal duty to do so; or asserting invalid legal authority
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IIED: 1) Intentional (intent that P suffer ED) OR reckless act 2) amounting to extreme AND outrageous conduct that 3) causes the P 4) severe mental/emo distress.
Extreme and outrageous conduct: exceeds all bounds tolerated by civilized society. Offensive or insulting language generally not enough, except when: 1) D is a common carrier/innkeeper, 2) D knows of P's particular sensitivity, or 3) authority figure using racial/ethnic slurs against underling
Severe ED: 1) P does not have to prove physical injury, but distress must be severe--greater than reas person would expect to endure. 2) Must be substantial/long-lasting as opposed to trivial/transitory
Intentional or Recklessness: Intentional = D acts w/ desire to cause severe ED or knows that such severe ED is virtually certain to occur. Recklessness = D acts in conscious disregard of a high degree of probability that ED will follow
Defenses: POPCANS
Self-defense: D may use force reas necessary to protect against injury when he honestly and reas believes there is an imminent and unprivileged attack. D only needs to be reas and respond w/ proportionate force--deadly force cannot be used against non-deadly threat. D cannot be the initial aggressor and reas mistakes as to the danger are allowed. Look for when a duty to retreat may be imposed -- it will only apply when deadly force is threatened, and if the person threatened has a reas safe means of escape. If they do not (are confined), then they still may use reas force.
If a person is about to be attacked but knows the attack is based on a mistake as to identity, the person is not privileged to await the attack and then use force to defend IF he has time to correct the mistake and prevent the attack.
Property (Defense of): D can NEVER use deadly force to protect personal/real property -- only reas force. May use reas force to eject a trespasser AFTER first asking him to leave. Recapture of chattels: reas, non-deadly force ok to get back own personal property if request first or request would be futile and P is in hot pursuit
Necessity requires that injuring P's property was reas necessary to avoid a substantially greater harm to the public, to the D, or to save the D's more valuable property. Reas person standard is used.
Public Necessity: D injures a private property interest to protect the public at-large from severe harm. A complete defense.
Private Necessity: D injures a private property interest to protect a private interest valued greater than the appropriated or injured property. Incomplete defense--D is privileged to interfere w/ the property, but liable for the damage
Consent (usually battery and assault) Can be express (affirmative communication through words) or implied (under the circs, conduct of P reas conveys consent), and D will still be liable if he exceeds the scope of consent. Consent can also be implied by law (emergency medical treatment when victim is unconscious). Mistake can negate consent when it goes to the consequences or nature of the act
taking part in a game manifests a willingness to submit to such bodily contacts ONLY as are permitted by the game rules.
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Others (Defense of): see self-defense. Can threaten someone in order to save the life of another person, even if the one threatened did not initiate any sort of attack. Can threaten more force (deadly) than they are privileged to actually use.
Authority: Arrest: 1) Cop can arrest if reas believes D committed a felony, 2) cop can arrest for misdemeanor if D's action constituted a breach of the peace, 3) private person acts at own peril--if wrong, liable for tort. Discipline: Parent/teacher may use reas force to discipline child.
Shopkeeper's privilege defense: requires detention that is: 1) in a reas manner on the premises/immediate vicinity, 2) for a reas period of time, and 3) based on a reas belief as to theft. [Can use reas force to detain -- so also can apply in battery.]
Negligence
Defenses
Contributory neg and comparative fault: same analysis, diff. impact. D has BOP to show that P's conduct was unreas and fell below RPP standard. Determination of legal effect depends on jx.
Contributory Negligence: Minority rule--only use if fact pattern says its a contributory neg jx. Any neg/fault by P bars their recovery. Last clear chance rule: Neg P can still fully recover if he can show the D had the last clear chance to avoid the injury and failed to do so (D's neg came after P's) -- LCR is usually the wrong answer.
Pure Comparative Fault: assume applies unless told so: P can recover no matter how much at fault -- recovery is whole amt of damages - P's % of fault. J/S applies: If multiple D's, subtract P's % of fault and then P can sue one D for full remaining amt and that D can seek contribution from the other. Comparative fault does not apply to intentional torts.
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Assumption of Risk: P, through written or oral words (express), relieves D of responsibility to be non-neg. Or P may impliedly assume the risk. (Basically, consent).
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P's recovery is barred or reduced if D shows that P: 1) knew the risk, 2) understood the risk, and 3) voluntarily chose to confront the risk.
Firefighter's Rule: where P is a professional rescuer and is injured due to inherent risk of that job, cannot recover in neg against person who created need. Different from good doers who we want to encourage to come rescue, so they can sue for neg.
Primary assumption of risk: in certain contexts, there is no duty to be non-neg. I.e. playing basketball --> in agreeing to play, you relieve duty
Joint and Several Liability occurs when 2 or more tortious acts combine to cause an indivisible injury. When this occurs, each D is liable for the entirety of P's damages. If P recovers in full from one D, then there is satisfaction and she cannot recover from the second. The rule of contribution allows the tortfeasor that paid to seek recovery for the amt that was more than his share from the other D. This occurs when the fault is apportioned, like in pure comparative fault.
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If one tortfeasor committed an intentional tort, the negligent tortfeasor can be indemnified for FULL damages (paid to P) from the intentional tortfeasor
Release: When a tortfeasor makes a pretrial agreement to pay her share of damages to the P, such settlements usually precede the ct's determination of each tortfeasor's relative liability. The settling D's % of fault is deducted from the damages awarded the P regardless of the actual payment made by the settling D.
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Elements
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Causation
Cause-in-Fact/Actual Cause: Connects D' breach to P's injury: P must show that, more likely than not, but for D's neg, P would not have been injured. Or, that the D's actions were a significant factor in bringing about the injury. POTE: as long as "but for" is more than 50% likely, then D is liable for FULL extent of damages
Multiple Causes: Substantial factor test (instead of but for). When 2 or more Ds have been neg and each alone would have been suff. to cause entire harm, but uncertainty exists about which one caused the injury, then each D is a cause-in-fact if that D was a substantial factor in causing the harm (ex: 2 arsonists' fires burn down the same mansion).
Assume j/s liability --> can sue one or both Ds and collect entire amt from 1 D alone, who can then seek contribution from the other D.
Loss of chance (typically med mal situations) -- NOT majority. P must show that but for the med mal, P would not have lost chance/died (if doc found cancer, P would have had a 40% chance of survival --> P loses. 60% chance --> P wins)
many jxs now recharacterize injury to loss of chance, and damages are reduced but not extinguished
Alternative liability theory (Summer v. Tice, hunters shoot bush that's actually P). Burden shifts to Ds to show that they were not the cause. If D cannot do so, they will be j/s liable. Factors when to apply:
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Market share liability: Generic product and P cannot show which of a large group of neg D's was responsible. P can sue those who might have caused her harm and each D is responsible based on its share of the market. Several liability: X had 10% of relative market, will pay 10% of P's dmgs unless it can show it could not have made the product that harmed
Proximate/Legal Cause: Policy reasons to cut off liability: a LIMITATION on liability. Ds are liable for the normal incidents w/in the increased risk caused by their acts. The risk must be foreseeable.
Unforeseeable extent of harm: Doesn't matter that P suffered more harm than one could foresee --> D responsible for full extent as long as TYPE of harm is foreseeable
Eggshell skull/plaintiff rule. Ds take the full consequence for P's injuries, even if the injuries are more severe than they would have been w/ a normal person (brittle bone disease). "Take your victim as you find them."
If there is an uninterrupted chain of events b/w a D's neg act and the P's injury, then it is a direct cause and D is liable for all foreseeable harmful results
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Unforeseeable type of harm: was injury suffered w/in the risk created by D's neg conduct? (ex: rat poison on the spice rack. Poison is foreseeable, its explosion is not).
Damages: P must affirmatively prove: actual harm or injury. Personal injury and property damages are recoverable. P cannot recover nominal damages. Punitive damages may be recoverable if D's actions were wanton and willful, reckless, or malicious (but not just for neg)
Compensatory damages: Return P to pre-injury position. Must be: 1) type must be foreseeable (not the extent but the type of damage), 2) reas certain (not speculative), 3) not avoidable
Special damages: Pecuniary (med costs), lost wages, cost of repair. Can recover past, present and future (reduced to present value) damages. Collateral source rule: the fact that P has insurance doesn't mean D doesn't have to pay them. Also applies to gratuitous services.
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Punitive damages: never recoverable just for neg -- must be more culpable than neg, like willful, malicious, or reckless. Wealth of D is highly relevant. Due process Clause limits amt -- more than 10% ratio to compensatory is unconst'l
Strict Liability: D is liable for injuring P regardless if D exercised due care --> P does not have to show proof of fault
Common Law
Defective Products
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Defect
Design Defect: Made as intended by manufacturer but still presents a danger of personal injury or property to P.
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Reas alternative design must exist at the time of the original design. Later improvements (state of the art) do not constitute a RAD
2 tests:
Risk-utility balancing: jury determines the danger it threatens (cost in human injury and property damage) outweighs its utility to society. Product will be found defective if an alternative design could have reduced the danger at about the same cost, EVEN if there is a warning. Easy alternative? High likelihood of harm? Utility?
Ordinary consumer expectation test: product is more dangerous than would be contemplated by the ordinary consumer, w/ ordinary knowl common to the community
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Absence of Warnings
P is asserting a warning is inadequate: reasonableness. Does warning reas inform reader of risks? Look at language, placement, size of font.
P is asserting there is no warning: manufacturer has to warn about risks of which it knows or should know and gravity and probability of harm. 1% risk of death: should warn. 1% risk of tooth discoloration, probably not.
Causation: Both actual cause (but for) and proximate cause req'd. Proximate: D knows or should have known about the risk --> but ANYONE in marketing chain can be liable (no superseding causes)
Changes: Product must reach the user w/o substantial change in the condition in which it was supplied
Damages: Compensatory and punitive damages avail for personal injury or property damage other than to the product itself (when harm is only to defective product, only claim is breach of warranty). Most states deny recovery under SL when the sole claim is for econ loss (missing an expensive delivery due to car problems -- no recovery unless garage gets damaged from flames)
Defenses: Assumption of the risk (comparative fault/general unreas conduct by P), adequate warning, product misuse by P (neither intended nor foreseeable), alteration (employer removes safety devices to increase efficiency)
Proper P: any P who is a user, consumer, or bystander (rescuer) physically injured using defective product
Proper D: commercial suppliers AT ALL LEVELS of distribution chain and those in market of selling it -- wholesaler, store, commercial lessers and sellers of used goods, etc. Only commercial suppliers held liable, not casual sellers
Proper context: PRODUCTS. Generally, services are not enough. When both a product and service, goods must dominate.
Product Liability on Negligence Theory: Any foreseeable P entitled to bring action. Analyze conduct of each D and ask if reas (differentiate from strict products, which consider the product, not person). Res ipsa loquitur takes place of manufacturing defect in neg theory (toe in tobacco). All neg defenses apply. Test: Would the defect be discoverable upon reas inspection (if D reas inspected, not neg, OR not neg if the goods come from a reputable manufacturer)
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Abnormally Dangerous Activity: NONDELEGABLE (to IC's, hirer is still always liable). must create a foreseeable risk of serious harm (to land, chattels, or P) even w/ the exercise of reas care, and must be an activity that is not a matter of common usage in the area (so car driving doesn't count). Needs to be a foreseeable TYPE of harm.
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Wild Animals: Injury due to something characteristic of a wild animal will almost always result in SL even if the D claims it is "domesticated" and no matter how unforeseeable the harm. SL for domestic pets typically arises by statute and is dependent on the owner's knowledge ("one free bite:" not liable unless on notice of danger).
Assumption of the risk of injury (i.e. attending dogfighting) is a defense (knowingly and unreas subjecting oneself to harm), but NOT for rescuers
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Other Torts
Vicarious Liability
Independent Contractor: D not liable for torts committed by IC's, b/c no right to control
Whether IC or employee depends on whether hirer dictates the means, method and manner of work. The more control exercised by hirer, more likely employee rather than IC.
Parent/Child: Parent generally not VL for torts of child absent statute saying otherwise. Can be liable for own neg or neg supervision or entrustment
Employer/Employee (respondeat superior): Employer liable for injuries caused by neg or SL of employee if occurred w/in scope of employment
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intentional torts by employee are generally outside scope except when employee uses force in duty (bouncer)
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