Torts
First semester torts materials
Tort Law: Cause in Fact
In order to establish a cause of action based on negligent conduct, or any other type of tortious conduct, the plaintiff usually must establish that the defendant's conduct caused the plaintiff's claimed damages »
Tort Law: Negligence
The following five distinct elements are essential to a negligence claim under tort law: duty, breach of duty, cause in fact, proximate cause, and actual damages »
Tort Law: Trespass
An action for trespass is designed to protect an owner's interest in exclusive possession of real or personal property in its intact physical condition. Therefore, a trespass is an injury to property committed by one not rightfully in possession. A trespasser is one who enters onto the property of another without any right or... »
Tort Law: False Imprisonment
The action of false imprisonment descends from the the common law writ of trespass and is one of the oldest causes of action in our legal system. An action for false imprisonment is intended to compensate an injured plaintiff whose freedom of movement has been unjustifiably hindered. In other words, when an individual is... »
Tort Law: Proximate Cause
Proximate Cause differs from cause in fact, although together they make causation for purposes of negligence. Courts will also interchange phrases. In order to prove proximate cause, the plaintiff has to show that the causal relationship between the defendant's conduct and the plaintiff's injury was not too attenuated, remote, or freakish to justify imposing... »
Tort Law: Res Ipsa Loquitur
Res Ipsa Loquitur is latin for "the thing speaks for itself." Though it is seldom used today, due to scientific advances, res ipsa loquitur is a common law theory of evidence used in torts to help a plaintiff establish proof that a defendant was unreasonable in his or her conduct. Res ipsa loquitur allows... »
Survival Actions
A survival action is brought by the executor of the deceased's estate to recover for pain and suffering that may have occurred prior to death while the deceased was conscious. »
Wrongful Death
In torts, wrongful death and survival damages allow a person to recover monetary damages for the death another. Under English common law, there was no recovery for a tort that caused death. This was justified with the "felony-merger rule," premised on the idea that any killing was a disturbance of the King's peace -... »
Loss of Consortium
Loss of consortium is a blanket term in torts used to describe the damages suffered by a spouse when the other spouse is seriously injured or killed. Damages for loss of consortium include: general usefulness, household services, affection, comfort, and sexual services. »
Tort Law: Assault & Battery
In tort law, assault is an intentional threat or attempt, with apparent ability to do bodily harm to another resulting in immediate reasonable apprehension of bodily harm; physical contact is unnecessary. In contrast, battery is committed whenever an individual actually sustains a harmful or offensive contact to his or her person. »