TORTS (1)

TORTS (1)

1. Criminal wrong

   • Criminal wrongs are behaviors that harm society as a whole rather than one individual or entity specifically.
     • Types of crimes: felonies or misdemeanors
       • Prosecution by the State
         • Trial by jury
           • Guilty/Not guilty
             • Convicted/Acquitted
               • Consequences
                 • Incarceration or Fine
                 • Standard of proof
                   • Amount of evidence needed to convict someone
                   • Beyond a reasonable doubt
                     • The proof presented must have been enough to remove any reasonable doubt in the mind of the jury that the defendant is guilty of the crime.

2. Civil wrong

   • Breach of contract
     • Failing to perform any term of a contract.
   • Tort
     • A tort is an act or omission that causes physical, emotional, or financial harm to a person outside the context of a criminal or contractual relationship.
       • For example, a janitor has a duty to put up a wet floor sign after mopping. If he or she fails to put up the sign and someone falls and injures themselves, a negligence tort case may be filed.
         • The lawsuit is brought by the private individual and not the state
           • Right to trial by a jury in federal jurisdiction
             • In states jurisdiction, a jury trial on tort cases will depend on state laws provisions
               • Liable/Not liable
                 • Liability
                   • responsibility for one's acts or omissions
                 • Standard of proof
                   • Amount of evidence needed to deem someone liable
                   • The plaintiff must demonstrate that his/her claim has a greater than 50% chance to be true (the claim is more likely to be true than not true).
                     • Remedies
                       • Damages
                         • Compensatory Damages
                           • Money awarded by a court to compensate the victm's expenses or losses
                             • LOSS OF EARNING CAPACITY, FUTURE EXPECTED LOSSES, MEDICAL EXPENSES, PAIN AND SUFFERING
                         • Punitive Damages
                           • Damages exceeding simple compensation and awarded to punish the defendant for malicious, willful, or outrageous acts. Punitive damages also serve as a warning to others not to engage in such conduct
                             • e.g. A company sells a product they KNOW to be defective so they can still profit off it, they could be ordered to pay punitive damages if it is proven they were negligent in their decision to sell these products
                       • Injunction
                         • Official order from a court for a person to do or stop doing something
                           • a neighbor interfering with your right of peace and quiet - court order to stop with the noise or the disturbing actvity
                   • Preponderance of the evidence
       • Tortfeasor or wrongdoer - responsible for the tortious act
     • Types
       • Intentional Torts
         • NON-CRIMINAL, NON-CONTRACTUAL INJURY IN WHICH THE PERSON WHO CAUSED IT INTENDED TO CAUSE INJURY
           • Trespassing
             • Unlawful invasion of a property
           • Assault
             • Intentional threat to injure another person
           • Fraudulent misrepresentation
             • a false statement made to entice a person into entering an agreement
               • A real state agent tells his client that the property has 50 acres when - in fact - it only has 40 acres
           • Interference in contractual relations
             • intentionally causing a breach of a valid contract
           • Unfair business practices
             • Acts of businesses against consumers which are misleading or fraudulent
       • Negligence Torts
         • Unintended injury caused by lack of care or a failure to act
           • e.g. Medical malpractice
       • Strict Liability Tort
         • Liability is imposed regardless of fault or intent
           • e.g. A nuclear energy plant drops toxic substances in the water system and contaminates the soil of a town