What is tort law?

Answer 1

The main purpose of tort law is to compensate the victims of wrongdoing for the injuries they suffer as a result.

It generally is not concerned with punishing, or casting moral judgment on, the wrongdoer - it simply compels the person who caused the harm to compensate the person who suffered the harm.

The law of torts has four functions -

1). It provides remedies for wrongs.

2). It provides compensation and vindication.

3). It acts as a deterrant and provides protection.

4). Tort law is concerned with corrective justice and distributive justice.

Answer 2

Tort law encompasses a body of civil wrongs (literally "twisted conduct" from the Latin verb torque's, to twist) for which the law will allow redress in the form of money damages, prohibition of conduct, or less frequently required conduct.

Violation of a legal right is a requirement. Some legal rights, such as the right not to be defrauded, are well established. Others are created by law, or interpolated ("implied") by courts, such as the right of privacy.

There must be a wrongful act, or omission to act, that violates the right.

There must be a consequence: damages.

This is not a contractual remedy for a breach of a contractual obligation; the law of contracts can also award damages and other similar redress, but usually in an amount that is known (liquidated or ascertainable from the contract).

This is not a criminal act, that is, it is not against the state or public safety, although the actions themselves may be identical (e.g. criminal law is murder or manslaughter, but tort law would be "wrongful death"). In the criminal case the state is harmed and the redress is a criminal conviction, prison or other sentencing, and a mar on One's record for life (potentially). In a criminal case a person or group of persons is harmed, the state is not involved, and upon a judgment that person or those persons will become entitled to compensation or other protective or remedial court orders. And therefore there can be criminal consequences for wrongful acts or omissions that amount to a tort, except that when proving a criminal case the burden of proof is heavier ("reasonable doubt" versus the "preponderance of the evidence" for a tort).

There can be no "tort in the air", meaning actual injury is a must in torts, even without actual harm. So, e.g., if an election officer stops you from voting if you are legally authorized to do so, then he has committed a tort even if the candidate you were going to vote for won anyway.

There are several kinds of tortious action recognized:

1. Intentional tort: such as fraud (I intend to get something from you by deception), libel and slander (I intend to harm your good name), conversion (I intentionally steal something from you);

2. Negligence: deviation from the behavior of a "reasonable man", such as: without looking I back my car up into yours (yes I intended to drive but technically did not intend to hit you - I was just acting "unreasonably" by not exercising due care and caution). Negligence is a vast area of the law -- there is comparative negligence (I do something wrongful to you but you were also in the wrong -- you are legally entitled to damages but the amount is offset by what a judge or jury thinks your "share" of the fault was).

3. Strict Liability: liability regardless of intent or standard, except that the conduct was "inherently" or "unreasonably" dangerous on its own. Examples here include the classic use of explosives, but more recently in has come to include any product that is considered inherently or unreasonably dangerous for various reasons.

Malice, or what is sometimes referred to as "willful and wanton misconduct" is something of a "tort plus" relating to the measure of damages. While statutes and courts have crafted what the components of compensation generally will be, if the behavior is "bad enough", what are called "punitive damages" may be imposed. These are damages literally meant to punish -- such as a drug company that grossly understates potential side effects. Such conduct almost rises to an "intentional" tort and may in fact be claimed as one, but if actual intent is not proven then this "level" of finding may occur.

Courts have the power to "enjoin" conduct as well, where money damages are inadequate. The classic example here is the "restraining order" that prohibits X from being in too close proximity to Y at any time. The "remedy" for a breach of an injunction is very often a finding of contempt of court that can lead to jail time, even for what is otherwise a tort. In rare instances a court may in fact mandate (require) a defendant to do something, such as to force a car dealer to take back a lemon of a car and replace it with a like make and model that is drivable and serviceable.

_______________________________

• Intentional Torts (Assault)
• Property torts (Trespass)
• Defenses (Self Defense)
• Negligence (Neglecting your duty of care and malpractice)
• Liability torts (Product liability)
• Nuisance (Public nuisance)
• Dignitary torts (invasion of privacy)
• Economic torts (Fraud and conspiracy)

Answer 3

Tort law is a body of law that addresses and provides remedies for civil wrongdoings not arising out of contractual obligations. A person who suffers legal damage may be able to use tort law to receive compensation from someone who is legally responsible, or liable, for those injuries. Generally speaking, tort law defines what constitutes a legal injury and establishes the circumstances under which one person may be held liable for another's injury. Tort law spans intentional and negligent acts.

Tort law has three purposes. The first is to compensate the victim, the second is to punish the wrongdoer, and the third is to deter harmful activities.

The two basic categories of torts are intentional torts and negligent torts.

Answer 4

The main purpose of the tort law is to pay people or entities that suffer damage because of another persons conduct. Examples of conduct are defects in products that are sold and unreasonable conduct.