What is Tort?

What is Tort?

Common law jurisdictions, tort, civil wrong. Tort Liability Act involving unfair circumstances, a person's behavior has caused others to suffer loss or damage. A tort is not necessarily illegal, but the harm caused, therefore, the law allows anyone to get hurt, recover their losses. Tort Liability Act is different from criminal law, will handle the case, a person's behavior cause harm to society in general. A claim in tort may bring people to suffer. Criminal cases are often brought by the state, although private prosecution is possible.

Tort law is also different interests, the petitioner complained that certain rights violations. Who committed acts of infringement by the infringer. Equivalent of illegal infringement of civil law countries. Can be defined as personal injury tort or as "civil action other than breach of contract." [2]

Who suffered injuries infringement, a person entitled to receive "damages", usually monetary compensation, from the person or person in charge - or assume any responsibility - for those injured. Tort law defines what is legal injury, therefore, a person whether they are causing harm may be held liable. Legal injuries are not limited to physical damage. They may also include emotional, financial or reputation damage, and invasion of privacy, property, or constitutional rights. Thus, infringement cases including car accidents, false imprisonment, defamation (defective consumer products), product liability, copyright infringement, and environmental pollution (toxic tort) and other different topics, and so on.

In many common law world, the most prominent tort liability is negligence. If the injured party can prove that the person believed negligent harm - that is, failed to take reasonable care to prevent harm to others - tort law will allow compensation.

However, tort law also recognizes intentional torts, where a person deliberately acted to the detriment of another, "strict liability" or quasi-tort, which allows the recovery in some cases without the need to prove negligence.

Classification of violations

Violations can be divided into several areas: in such a way is to put them into negligence, willful violations and quasi-infringement.

Standard is negligence tort litigation. Tort of negligence resulting damages, or allowances, designed to protect the legal rights, including personal safety, property and intangible economic benefits, in some cases, in each case the reasons for taking action. Negligence lawsuit claims mainly from automobile accidents and personal injury of many types, including clinical negligence, negligent workers and so on. Product liability cases, such as those involving guarantees, may also be considered negligence actions, but often there is a significant overlay of additional legal content.

Willful infringement, including from land occupied or arising from the use of certain violations. , For example, involves interference tort nuisance neighbors enjoy his estate of strict liability. Invasive allow owners sued the entrance by one person (or structures, such as overhanging building), in their own land. Some willful infringement, does not involve land. Examples include false imprisonment, unlawful arrest or detention of a person's infringement and defamation (libel and slander is divided in some jurisdictions), which broadcast false information and harmed the plaintiff's reputation.

In some cases, the development of tort law has prompted lawmakers to create alternative dispute resolution. For example, in some areas, there have been workers' compensation law as a legislative response to a court ruling, limiting the extent to which employees can sue their employers in the course of employment injury. In other cases, law reviews, lead to a new cause of action, the conventional common violations with development. These are broadly divided whichever tort or tort liability.

Negligence

Negligence is a tort, and its existence depends on one person to another of a duty of care owed to breaking. A well-known case is Donoghue v Stevenson Mrs. Donoghue consumed drink containing a decomposed snail, and Paisley in Scotland, in the public bar, and claimed that it had made her sick. Snail is not visible, it contains a bottle of beer is opaque. Whoever bought a bottle of her, and sold it the owner's friends, to understand the existence of a snail. Manufacturer is Mr. Stevenson, Mrs Donoghue sued for negligence. She could not sue for compensation for breach of contract, Mr. Stevenson, because there is no contract between them. Most members of the House of Lords agreed (3:2 ratio), Mrs Donoghue has a valid claim, but do not agree with this statement Why should not exist. Lord MacMillan think this should be regarded as a new product liability cases. Lord Atkin believes that the law should recognize a principle of unity, we have an obligation to take reasonable care of our neighbors. He cited the "Bible" to support his argument, in particular the general principle that "you have to love your neighbor." Neglect harm the plaintiff violated the law. This definition can be divided into four components, the plaintiff must prove to establish negligence negligence. The legal burden of proof falls on those elements plaintiff. Determine the elements of negligence 

are:

Plaintiffs were owed a duty of care

There is a breach of duty or breach of the obligation

Direct infringement have caused damage, but the defendant's conduct, the plaintiff will not suffer injury]. [

Plaintiff suffered injuries result in violation of

Loss is not too remote, there is proximate cause.

Duty of care

The first element of neglect liability. This involves the defendant and the plaintiff, the defendant's responsibility to take proper care to avoid injury to the plaintiff in the case in all cases, must be such a relationship. There are two ways to establish responsibility to care for:

Defendants and plaintiffs are within the "special relationship";

The relationship, according to the principles developed by case law.

There are some cases, the Court acknowledged the existence of responsibility to care for. These usually occur due to some special relationship between the parties. Examples include a road user, employers and employees, manufacturers, consumers, doctors, patients and lawyers to the client.

Breach of duty or breach of the obligation

Dereliction of duty to comply with the rules generally refers to a person's work, which will involve the failure of different tasks. This is a failure or reject a satisfactory manner to perform assigned duties. Dereliction of some employees may result in disciplinary action, which may vary by employer. It may refer to a member of an organization fails to comply with its constitution or regulations or the rules of procedure specified location to perform their duties.

Direct damage caused by tort feasor

Negligence tortfeaser must be connected to the injured.

As a result, in violation of damage

For many violations, a necessary part of tort damages. Therefore, it is not enough to prove that you have suffered a wrong, in order to win an infringement case, you must also have legal recognition, because violations are caused by direct or indirect damage, and can prove that the extent of the damage.

Recency

Proximate means you must be able to demonstrate the harm caused by infringement prosecution may argue that the Department of Defense has a prior cause or reason for alternative interventions. Career before becoming a problem, a common situation is that personal injury accidents, if the person re-injured an old injury. For example, people who have a bad back injury in a car accident back. Years later, they are still in pain. They must prove that the pain is caused by traffic accidents, rather than problems with the back of the front of the natural process. During reason à occurred shortly after replacing injured. For example, if after the accident, doctors working for you who are guilty of malfeasance and You further damage, defense can be considered that this is not accidental, but incompetent doctors, who caused the damage. 

Statutory tort

Like any other, because it imposes a duty upon private or public parties legal infringement, but they are created by the legislature, not the courts. One example is in the protection of consumer rights in the EU, theProduct command responsibility for any damage resulting injuries defective products must pay the enterprise. Bad or not working product liability is strict in most jurisdictions. Risk diversification theory provides support for this approach. As manufacturers are "the cheapest cost avoiders', because they have a greater chance to seek the problem, it makes sense to give them an incentive to guard against product defects. Another example is the occupation of responsibility, which is considered is too complicated and illogical that so many jurisdictions occupied statutory tort replace the common law rule. statutory tort is also distributed in the workplace health and safety laws and food health and safety.

Such violations are often grouped with the quasi-tort.

What is harassment?

From a legal perspective, "nuisance" traditionally used in three ways: (1) describe the activity or condition that is harmful or annoying person (for example, indecent acts, garbage or a smoking chimney), (2 ) to describe the previously mentioned activity or condition (such as loud noises or objectionable odors) the harm caused, and (3) to describe a combination of both arising from legal liability (responsibility). Legal nuisance when they stop such bothersome activities or unwarranted interference with the rights of other private landowners (such as private nuisance), or the rights of the general public (such as public nuisance).

Allow an applicant nuisance tort (plaintiff) sued the majority behavior, interfere with their use and enjoyment of the land. Jones v Powell's case, this is a good example. A brewery odorless gas waft into the neighbor's property, damaged his papers. Because he is a landlord, neighbors sued disturbing such damages. But Whitelocke J, Throne of the court, said that the water supply is contaminated, it is better neighbor braved files. He said: "It is better that they should be spoiled common wealth rather than standing need for good wine." Today, the interference can not see the neighbor's property so kind. Nuisance handle a variety of things, spoil the landlord on his property.

Rylands v. Fletcher rule, where a dam burst into a coal mine is called a subset of nuisance. Therefore, some fleeing dangerous hazards, including water, fire, or animals means strict liability nuisance. It is only by a remote hat, familiar with is unusual and unpredictable event of negligence. This is from the factory in case of chemicals penetrate into the floor to the water table, East Anglia reservoir contamination.

Would like to expand free-market environmental pollution (such as toxic tort) and environmental tort damages.

Defamation

Defamation tarnish someone's reputation, it has two varieties, slander and libel. The latter is spoken defamation and libel libel printed or broadcast. Two share the same characteristics: evidence of factual claims does not exist. Defamation does not affect or interfere with views, but do not occupy the same field as the freedom of speech the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, or the European Convention on Human Rights' rights under Article 10. Related libel action in the United States for the misappropriation of publicity, invasion of privacy , the disclosure is usually classified as dignitary tort process abuse and malicious prosecution.

Willful infringement

Willful infringement of any deliberate act is reasonably foreseeable personal injury, then do so. Willful infringement has several subcategories:

Violations against the person, including assault, battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and fraud.

Property violations involving the complainant (plaintiff) property rights, anyone who intends to interference. Those recognized include trespass to land, violation of personal property (personal property) and conversion.

Economic tort

Economic tort law protects people with their trade or business interference. The area includes the doctrine of restraint of trade, and in the twentieth century has largely been lost in the collective labor law and modern antitrust or competition law, statutory intervention. "There is no unifying principle, the development of different heads of economic tort liability has often been said."

By common law, Hedley Byrne v Heller in 1964 a beginning of a new development, the victim of negligent misrepresentation may adversely dependency recovery for pure economic loss claims for damages. Misrepresentation infringement Bridge LJ confirmed Howard Marine and Dredging Co. Ltd. v a father and son Ogden

Modern competition law is to regulate the behavior of enterprises in the market economy is an important way. An important statutory tort subset, which is also known as the "anti-monopoly" law, particularly in the U.S., the EU Treaty on the Functioning "on page 101 and 102, as well as Clayton and the Sherman Act in the United States to create commitment responsibilities of companies and enterprises, do not distort competition in the market.

prohibit cartels on both sides of the Atlantic. originally abuse of market power monopoly (the only manufacturer in the market) or through mergers, acquisitions, acquisition, or significantly reduce the concentration of competition in The EU is a huge problem, whether to follow the U.S. practice of private action for damages, in order to prevent anti-competitive behavior.

Responsibility, defense and remedial measures

Vicarious liability

'Alternative' comes from the Latin word in the 'change' or 'alternation' or 'not' tort law refers to a person's idea of ​​the harm caused by another responsibility, because some of the legal relationship. An example might be the parents and the child, or employer and employee. You can sue the employer for your injury, which is caused by the their employees "within the scope of employment." This is called the Executive. For example, if a store employee cleaning fluid spilled on the floor of the supermarket, you slipped and fell, suffering injuries, you can sue an employee who is a liquid spilled, or sue their employers. In the above case, in the latter case is more practical because they are more likely to have more money. Because your employees in the course of employment law claims for damages answered, "you take responsibility, because you are hired and fired him, and to reduce the risk of it happening again control." Vicarious liability whether it is reasonable, there is no better foundation than solvent defendant's searches, or whether it is to establish an effective risk allocation theory has considerable academic debate.

Defense

A successful defense of the accused to justify all or part of its liability.

Addition to proving that there is no breach of contract, tort has three main defenses.

Agree

Under normal circumstances, people can not hold another criminal infringement actions, one of which has been agreed. This is often summed up in the phrase "volenti not suitable for infringement" (Latin: "willing person, no injury" or "no injury is done to a person who consents"). It works, the claimant express or implied consent of the risk of loss or damage. For example, if a bystander were injured in a hockey game, when a player strikes the puck in everyday play, it hit him or her to fly appearances, this is a foreseeable event and spectators are assumed to accept the tickets injured risk. A slightly more limited defense may appear in the defendant has been given a warning, whether explicitly claims or notices, signs or other means, there is a risk of injury. The extent to which the defendant can rely on notifications, exclusion or limitation of liability varies by country. This is a problem for policy (quasi-) the defendant should not be a known risk warning, but also actively take measures to fence sites, and take other reasonable precautions to prevent the risk of falls in the known risks foreseen.

Contributory negligence

This can be a defense or mitigation in the United States, it may be an absolute defense. Ease when used as a defense, it is often referred to in the United States as compared neglect. According to comparative negligence / decrease percentage contribution award the plaintiff claims by the plaintiff's loss or damage. Accordingly, the Court must assess the collision between two vehicles, only two drivers to make this discovery negligence, but it must also be assessed as a percentage of the contribution of each driver, if the driver of the blame should be between 20% to the plaintiff / claimant: 80% of the defendant. Court will quantify the actual loss or damage, and 20% reduction in pay to the plaintiff / claimant. Contributory negligence retained an important role in a growing number of jurisdictions, particularly in the United States, the system is moving relatively negligence. But the United States four states now follow the legal regime established by comparative negligence.

Negligence has been widely criticized for being too harsh, the plaintiff's failure was relatively minor, could recover nothing from a more exotic irresponsible defendants. Comparative negligence has also been criticized because it would allow the plaintiff who is recklessly restore 5% of 95% of the losses by the negligence of the defendant, tend to be more sympathetic to the feeling when the jury. Economists have further criticized comparative negligence, because the Learned Hand rule, it does not produce the best prevention standards. In this regard, many places now have a 50% rule, the plaintiff recover nothing if the plaintiff is responsible for more than 50%.

Be illegal

EX turpi bequests non oritur common action illegal defense, Latin "action right from the despicable reason." If the applicant alleged negligence involved in unethical behavior occurred at a time, which may extinguish or reduce the defendant's responsibility. So, if the burglar verbal challenges from property owners and maintain a second story window to escape the worries of injury when jumping, there is, even if the damage can not be sustained, but the owner of the property because the owners did not intervene in the actions.

Remedy

The main remedy for infringement loss measures are in the 'compensation' or monetary compensation. In a limited range of circumstances, tort law will tolerate self-help, such as reasonable force to remove a trespasser. This is a defensive infringement batteries. In addition, the ongoing violations, or even just the threat of injury cases, the court will sometimes grant an injunction. This means something other than money, such as inhibiting the continuing threat of harm or by court order, [3]. Usually not impose positive obligations ban infringer, but some Australianjurisdictions can make an order specific performance of their legal responsibility to ensure that the accused, particularly in the nuisance. [4]

Tort Reform

Scholars and lawyers have identified conflicting goals of tort law, to a certain extent reflect the different types of damages by the court: compensatory, aggravated penalties. In tort target (1951), [5] Glanville Williams saw four possible bases of different tort rest: appeasement, justice, deterrence and compensation.

From the late 1950s, a combination method-oriented economists and economically oriented lawyers emphasized incentives and deterrence, and as efficient distribution ofrisk, determine infringement purposes. They are often described as law and economics movement. One of the main supporters of the campaign, Ronald Coase, submitted, in his article in the Problem of Social Cost "(1960), [6], the purpose of infringement should be closely reflect transaction costs should be minimized possible liability.

Called for reform of tort law from a different standpoint, reflect different legal theories goals. Some calls for reform stressed the potential claims encountered difficulties. Because not all people who can find accident compensation from the defendant's court solvent, PS Atiyah called "damage the lottery." [7] Thus, in New Zealand, the government in the 1960s to establish a no-fault system State Compensation accident. Similar proposal has ordered many academic papers in the UK and the subject of debate.

However, in the United States called the scope of tort reform, the economic analysis of the process to minimize the lines have tended to be severely limited. Antitrust damage has been subject to special review, [8] Many people believe that the legal system to obtain punitive damages is a strain.

Theory and policy considerations are central fixed pure economic loss and the responsibility of public institutions.

Criminal overlap

Criminal law and tort there is some overlap between the private litigation, tort, it has been widely used in many criminal law in the past. For example, in English law is a crime and tort attack (a form of assault). Tort allows a person, usually the victim, to obtain a remedy to provide for their own purposes (for example, in a car accident the injured person to pay compensation, or to obtain an injunction to prevent a person who interferes with their business). On the other hand the pursuit of criminal behavior did not get remedial measures to help people - although often criminal courts have the power to grant such remedies - but to eliminate them represent the country's freedom. This explains why imprisonment as punishment for serious crimes are usually, but not the usual violations.

Harsher penalties for criminal law also means that it requires higher emissions than the underlying tort burden of proof. For example, in the OJ Simpson murder trial, the jury did not believe beyond a reasonable doubt Simpson guilty of murder, but in a later civil trial, the jury found that, in this case, there is sufficient evidence to meet the standards Advantages evidence needed to prove wrongful death tort.

Many jurisdictions, especially in the United States, remain in tort damages and punitive elements, for example, antitrust and consumer-related violations, tort and criminal behavior boundaries become blurred. There are some situations, especially if the defendant ignores the court order, the plaintiff may obtain the defendant's punitive remedies including imprisonment. Some violations may have a common element - for example, public nuisance - and sometimes bring infringement proceedings brought by a public agency. In addition, although primarily punitive criminal law, has developed many jurisdictions criminal court can order the defendant to pay to the victim in the form of monetary damages or compensation.