Problem 1:
Breach of contract. Inducing a breach of contract can occur when on business’s employee leaves to work for a rival business in the same field (Yates, 121). As Jennifer’s old assistant was poached by a rival company, this could be considered a breach of contract if her assistant had committed to stay with the company for a certain period of time or had agreed not to disclose ‘trade secrets’. In order to sue successfully, Jennifer would have to prove that her assistant was aware of the commitment he’d made in this contract and that the contract was intentionally breached (Yates, 121).
Vicarious Liability. The concept of vicarious liability occurs when one person is responsible for the torts of another, even when they aren’t at fault. …show more content…
Negligence has four specific requirements which need to be met: a duty to exercise care, a breach of standard care, causation, and damages. As James is the invitee, Jennifer owes him a duty of care when he is in her offices as it was reasonably foreseeable that someone might trip and hurt themselves on the frayed carpet (Yates, 136). Jennifer also would have breached the standard of care by not posting a warning about the possible hazard as a reasonable person would have done (Yates, 140-141). However, the tort of negligence requires there to have been a physical injury. If James fell and fractured his ankle, he would meet all the criteria in order to sue for negligence. However, if he only sustained minor injury, he cannot sue since he did not incur sufficient substantial damage (Yates, 143). This can be proven by examining the case of O.E.X Electromagnetic Inc. v. Coopers & Lybrand (Yates 144).
Assault. Assault occurs when someone is fearful that they will be physically struck (Yates, 100). If someone fears or anticipates physical contact, it is considered assault. These can be in the form of threats or aggressive language directed at someone (Yates,101). James ‘yells abusively at Paul’ when he falls, which depending on what was said, could be considered assault if Paul fear that the altercation would result in unwanted physical contact. However, as Paul simply yelled back and didn’t display any signs of fear, we can assume this is not the …show more content…
While in the past you were only liable to the people you entered into contract with, however under tort law outsiders can also have a right to punitive damages (Yates, 157).This means that there can be a duty of care owed to someone who isn’t a direct client if they sustained a financial or physical loss because of your negligence. The professional is liable for the advice used by anyone considered to be a ‘foreseeable plaintiff’. For example in the case of Haig v. Bramford, Bramford was deemed liable for Haig’s financial losses even though he wasn’t a direct client of Bramford’s (Yates, 160). As Jennifer knew that Julia Chen was using this information, she owed her a duty of care and is liable for her economic loss. Additionally, the information has to have been used by its intended purpose. For example in the Hercules Management Ltd. v. Ernst & Young case, the information was intended to be used by management and not for investment purposes, meaning that they weren’t liable for the investor’s losses (Yates, 161). However in this case the documents were used for their intended purpose and so negligent mistreatment applies. In order to avoid negligent mistreatment lawsuits, Jennifer could put a disclaimer on her statements warning about their using this information and that it is not intended for anyone who is not a client. By adding this “use at your own risk” statement to her reports, she could argue that anyone who uses the information in the
Breach of contract. Inducing a breach of contract can occur when on business’s employee leaves to work for a rival business in the same field (Yates, 121). As Jennifer’s old assistant was poached by a rival company, this could be considered a breach of contract if her assistant had committed to stay with the company for a certain period of time or had agreed not to disclose ‘trade secrets’. In order to sue successfully, Jennifer would have to prove that her assistant was aware of the commitment he’d made in this contract and that the contract was intentionally breached (Yates, 121).
Vicarious Liability. The concept of vicarious liability occurs when one person is responsible for the torts of another, even when they aren’t at fault. …show more content…
Negligence has four specific requirements which need to be met: a duty to exercise care, a breach of standard care, causation, and damages. As James is the invitee, Jennifer owes him a duty of care when he is in her offices as it was reasonably foreseeable that someone might trip and hurt themselves on the frayed carpet (Yates, 136). Jennifer also would have breached the standard of care by not posting a warning about the possible hazard as a reasonable person would have done (Yates, 140-141). However, the tort of negligence requires there to have been a physical injury. If James fell and fractured his ankle, he would meet all the criteria in order to sue for negligence. However, if he only sustained minor injury, he cannot sue since he did not incur sufficient substantial damage (Yates, 143). This can be proven by examining the case of O.E.X Electromagnetic Inc. v. Coopers & Lybrand (Yates 144).
Assault. Assault occurs when someone is fearful that they will be physically struck (Yates, 100). If someone fears or anticipates physical contact, it is considered assault. These can be in the form of threats or aggressive language directed at someone (Yates,101). James ‘yells abusively at Paul’ when he falls, which depending on what was said, could be considered assault if Paul fear that the altercation would result in unwanted physical contact. However, as Paul simply yelled back and didn’t display any signs of fear, we can assume this is not the …show more content…
While in the past you were only liable to the people you entered into contract with, however under tort law outsiders can also have a right to punitive damages (Yates, 157).This means that there can be a duty of care owed to someone who isn’t a direct client if they sustained a financial or physical loss because of your negligence. The professional is liable for the advice used by anyone considered to be a ‘foreseeable plaintiff’. For example in the case of Haig v. Bramford, Bramford was deemed liable for Haig’s financial losses even though he wasn’t a direct client of Bramford’s (Yates, 160). As Jennifer knew that Julia Chen was using this information, she owed her a duty of care and is liable for her economic loss. Additionally, the information has to have been used by its intended purpose. For example in the Hercules Management Ltd. v. Ernst & Young case, the information was intended to be used by management and not for investment purposes, meaning that they weren’t liable for the investor’s losses (Yates, 161). However in this case the documents were used for their intended purpose and so negligent mistreatment applies. In order to avoid negligent mistreatment lawsuits, Jennifer could put a disclaimer on her statements warning about their using this information and that it is not intended for anyone who is not a client. By adding this “use at your own risk” statement to her reports, she could argue that anyone who uses the information in the