OUTLINE –TORTS
I. – DEVELOPMENT OF LIABILITY BASED ON FAULT
Definition of Tort:
1 A civil wrong, other than breach of contract, for which the law provides a remedy.
2 The person who is at fault is liable to compensate the injured party.
3 It supplies a peaceful means for adjusting rights of parties who may take the law into their own hands.
o Nature of Relationship in tort is injury.
o Objective of Tort law suits is to recover damages.
Three Categories of Torts:
1) Intentional
2) Negligence
3) Strict Liability/ Abnormally Dangerous Activity
Cohen v. Petty (car accident – faint)
Fact: Plaintiff was a passenger in the defendant’s car. They were driving a speed of 35 – 45 miles per hour, when the defendant allegedly complained of feeling ill. Defendant fainted soon thereafter, lost control of the vehicle, and crashed the car, resulting in the plaintiff being permanently injured.
Issue: Should there have been a jury trial?
Rule: Someone who is suddenly stricken by an illness, which he has no reason to anticipate, while driving an automobile, which renders it impossible for him to control the car, is not chargeable with negligence.
Application: The plaintiff was unaware of any illness that might have caused him to faint while driving. The plaintiff felt fine until right before fainting, and could not have predicted that he would faint and lose control of his vehicle. Plaintiff could not be negligent of a condition he was unaware of.
Spano v. Perini Corp. – Strict Liability (Absolute liability or liability without fault)
Fact: Plaintiff 1 owned a garage which contained Plaintiff 2’s vehicle. The defendant set off 194 sticks of dynamite at a construction site 125 feet away from the garage. As a result of the blast, the garage and vehicle were damaged.
Issue: Who is liable for the damage resulting from the intentional blast?
Can plaintiffs maintain an action for damages without showing that the blaster was negligent and without actual physical invasion of the damaged property? (Principle of absolute liability)
Rule: In Booth v. Rome, the court ruled that proof of negligence was required unless the blast was accompanied by an actual physical invasion of the damaged property. In Herg v. Licht, the court ruled that there should be absolute liability where damage was caused by an accidental blast, even without trespass.
Application: The court concluded that when a blast is intentional and in an area in which it is likely to cause harm to neighboring property, it results in absolute liability.
Conclusion: Defendant is “absolutely liable” and is responsible for any damages caused by the intentional blast.
Three possible bases of tort liabilities:
1- Intentional Conduct
2- Negligent conduct that creates an unreasonable risk of causing harm
3- Conduct that is neither intentional nor negligent but that subject the actor to strict liability because of public policy.
II. INTENTIONAL TORTS
on: The defendant did not intend to cause injury to the plaintiff; however, defendant should have appreciated the risk of his actions. Defendant is liable for the injuries caused to the plaintiff for failing to observe the foreseeable risk to which a reasonable man would avoid.
Intentional torts are based on the intent to bring about consequences of the act or knowledge that that a particular consequence is bound to happen by the specific act.
Always distinguish intentional behavior from negligence.
Some states have statutes providing that employers are liable for intentional wrongdoings of some employees (barring immunity).
Ranson v. Kitner (dog – wolf; mistakes are not an excuse)
Fact: Plaintiff and defendant were hunting for wolves. Defendant shot and killed plaintiff’s dog, mistaking it for a wolf. The damages to the plaintiff were in the sum of $50.
Issue: Was the lower court’s jury correct in holding the defendant liable for the damages caused due to the defendant mistakenly killing the plaintiff’s dog?
Rule: One should be held liable for the damages in killing of another’s animal, even when there has been an honest mistake in identifying the animal.
