Book Opener

CHAPTERASSESSMENTSection 4.1 Intentional Torts● A crime is an offense against the public at large.The role of the government is to preserve thesafety and well-being of the entire social structure.As such, the government can punish the perpetratorof a crime. In contrast, a tort is a privatewrong committed by one person against another.Such an offense does not call upon the governmentto punish wrongdoers and protect society.A tort, therefore, involves one person’s interferencewith another person’s rights. In some situations, asingle action can be both a tort and a crime.● The law of torts is grounded in rights. Under tortlaw, all people are entitled to certain rightssimply because they are members of our society.The law imposes a duty on all of us to respect therights of others. Some of the rights of membersof our society include: the right to be free frombodily harm, the right to enjoy a good reputation,the right to conduct business without unwarrantedinterference, and the right to own property freefrom damage or trespass. Anyone who violatessuch rights has committed a wrongful act, andoften this wrongful act can be classified as a tort.● Torts can be committed intentionally and unintentionally.Unintentional torts can be furtherclassified as negligence or strict liability.● The major intentional torts are assault, battery,trespass, nuisance, false imprisonment, defamation,and invasion of privacy. Assault involvesthreatening to strike or harm another person witha weapon or physical movement. Battery is theunlawful, unprivileged touching of anotherperson. Wrongful injury or interference with theproperty of another is known as trespass. Nuisancerefers to anything, such as noise or unpleasantodors, that interferes with the enjoyment of lifeor property. False imprisonment occurs when aperson is unlawfully restrained, whether in prisonor otherwise. Defamation is the act of injuringanother’s reputation by making false statements,and invasion of privacy is interference with aperson’s right to be left alone.Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability● Negligence is an accidental or unintentional tortand is the tort that occurs most often in societytoday. Negligence is the failure to exercisethe degree of care that a reasonable personwould have exercised under the same set ofcircumstances.● A suit for negligence must prove four elements:duty of care, breach of duty, proximate cause,and actual harm. To prove duty of care, theplaintiff must show that the defendant owed himor her a duty of care. The failure to use the degreeof care required under the circumstances isbreach of duty. Proximate cause requires that theplaintiff prove that the defendant’s breach of dutycaused the injury. The plaintiff must also provethat he or she suffered some actual harm orinjury to succeed in a suit for negligence.● People can defend themselves by finding flawsin one of the previously mentioned elements. Ifthe defendant cannot find a flaw in one of theelements of negligence, he or she can still argueaffirmative defenses to negligence, whichinclude contributory negligence, comparativenegligence, and assumption of risk.● According to the doctrine of strict liability, thosewho engage in ultrahazardous activities will beheld liable for any injury or damage that occursbecause of that activity, regardless of intent orcare. The doctrine of strict liability has also beenapplied in product liability cases. When peopleare injured from defects in products that theybought in the marketplace, the firm that manufacturesthe products is liable for injuries,regardless of fault.94 Unit 1: Knowing About the Law