Answers Graded A+
Tort ✅A civil wrong
Purpose of a tort ✅to provide remedies for the violation of various protected interests
Damage v.s damages ✅- damage: injury/destruction of property
- damages: monetary compensation for the wrong doing
Damages available in tort actions ✅- compensatory: special/general
- punitive
Compensatory damages ✅money intended to restore a plaintiff to the position he was
in before the injury
Special damages and general damages ✅- special: compensate the plaintiff for
quantifiable monetary losses (now & future)
- general: compensate individuals (not companies) for the non monetary aspect of the
harm
Punitive damages ✅damages exceeding simple compensation and awarded to punish
the defendant
Punitive damages are only awarded when? ✅in intentional tort actions & rarely in
negligence lawsuits
Gross negligence ✅an action committed with extreme reckless disregard for the
property or life of another person
Punitive damages are subject to what? ✅limitations under the due process law
Does the government have the right to limit punitive damages? ✅yes
Classifications of torts ✅-intentional torts
-unintentional torts (negligence)
What is the purpose of a defense? ✅even if the plaintiff can prove all elements of the
tort the defendant can argue a defense to limit or eliminate the liability of the act
Types of defenses ✅- consent
- comparative negligence (most common)
- statue of limitations (2 year time limit)
,Tortfeasor ✅person who commits a tort
Do intentional torts require motive? ✅no the defendant can commit the tort without any
bad intentions
Transferred intent ✅when a defendant intends to harm one individual, but
unintentionally harms a second person
Assault ✅intentional & inexcusable threat or immediate harmful of offensive contact
(verbal or physical) that can occur without any physical contact being made (if plaintiff
can prove immediate harm was about to happen)
Battery ✅intentional harmful or offensive physical contact unwanted by the plaintiff
(doesn't need physical injury) OR something set in motion to harm the plaintiff
Offensive contact is determined by what? ✅reasonable person standard
Plaintiffs compensation for battery ✅- emotional distress
- physical harm
- damage to reputation
Defenses to battery ✅- consent
- self defense
- defense of others or property
False imprisonment ✅confinement or restraint of another person's activities without
justification (interferes with freedom to move without restraint)
What is the privilege to detain? ✅granted to businesses, a law in most states allowing
them to detain shoplifters with reasonable force for the police
Intentional infliction of emotional distress ✅an intentional tort in which the harm results
from extreme and outrageous conduct that causes serious emotional harm
To sue for emotional distress the plaintiff needs what? ✅actionable proof
Which amendment limits the emotional distress claim? ✅first
Defamation ✅wrongfully hurting another's reputation
Libel ✅written or recorded defamations that are permanent
Breaching libel orally is called what? ✅slander
, Does defamation apply to businesses & their products? ✅yes
4 steps to establishing defamation ✅1. Defendant made a false statement of fact
2. Statement was understood to be about the plaintiff and tended to harm the plaintiffs
reputation
3. The statement was published to at least one other person besides the plaintiff
4. If the plaintiff is a public figure, he or she must prove actual malice
What type of damages are rewarded for breach of libel/defamation? ✅general
damages
Slander ✅defamation in oral (temporary) form that causes the plaintiff to suffer
economic or monetary loss
To establish slander, the plaintiff must prove what? ✅special damages (economic or
monetary loss)
Slander per se ✅when oral statements relate to criminal or sexual conduct, contagious
diseases, or professional abilities, they are assumed to be harmful to the subject's
reputation
Defenses to defamation ✅- the statement was true
- privileged speech
- speech concerns a public figure
Defamation cases are usually filed in what court? ✅state courts
2 types of privileged speech ✅1. Absolute
2. Qualified
Absolute privilege ✅immunity granted to judicial and government proceedings
Qualified privilege ✅the statement is made in goof faith and was only shown to
individuals with interest
Public figures are excluded from defamation unless what? ✅the public figure can
prove actual malice (knowing its false or recklessness)
Privacy ✅the tort "invasion of privacy" protects our right to privacy
In order to sue for breach of privacy, the plaintiff must prove what? ✅- an expectation
of privacy
- invasion must be highly offensive