Torts
First semester torts materials
What is a Tort? (not torte)
Torts comprise a body of law dealing with civil damages not arising from breach of contractual obligations. Tort law focuses on compensating an injured party for damages suffered, which is different than criminal law that punishes a wrongdoer for their actions. With that in mind, tort law is designed to protect the individual, while... »
Tort Law: Compensatory Damages in Personal Injury Cases
While compensatory damages awarded in personal injury cases will differ between jurisdictions, there are three widely recognized categories of damages, which include: »
Tort Law: Compensatory Damages for Physical Harms to Property
Damages for invasion of land are measured by the diminution in the land’s value, the reasonable cost of restoration, or loss of use of the land (rental value) Damages for conversion of chattel is the replacement value of the converted (or destroyed) property. Damages for damaged chattel are awarded for diminution of value. In... »
Tort Law: Liability of Owners of Animals
To determine the scope of liability of owners of animals, it is important to first determine the legal classification of the animal in question. Animals can be classified as either wild or domestic. The Restatement of Torts 2d defines these two classes in ยง506 as the following: A wild animals as the term is... »
Tort Law: Trespasser
A trespasser is one who enters (or stays) on the land of another without any right or privilege to do so. Generally speaking, a landowner owes no duty to a trespasser except to refrain from injuring him by “willful and wanton” misconduct. Three exceptions: Traps – a landowner must warn everyone, including trespassers, of... »
Tort Law: Invitee
An invitee can be either a public invitee or a business visitor. A public inviteee is a person who is invited to enter or remain on land as a member of the public for a purpose for which the land is held open to the public. A business visitor is a person who is... »
Tort Law: Licensee
A licensee is a person who is privileged to enter the land of another by virue of the posessor’s consent. A landowner owes a licensee a duty only to warn the licensee of any hidden dangers the owner knows or has reason to know of, if the licensee does not know or have reason... »
Tort Law: Duty
The element of duty establishes whether or not there is a legally recognized relationship between the defendant and the plaintiff. Duty obligates the defendant to act (or to refrain from acting) in a certain manner toward the plaintiff. Duty is often a policy-based determination and, thus, it is left to the judge to make... »
Tort Law: Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (IIED)
Recovery for IIED exists to protect the mental tranquility and peace of mind of persons in our country. Mental or emotional anguish of a serious quality generally refers to a mental or emotional quality that persists continually or at least regularly over a significant period of time »
Tort Law: Damages
There are three categories of damages under tort law and include nominal damages, compensatory damages, and punitive damages. »