Tort

Front 1

Tort

Back 1

Technical Legal meaning: It is a civil wrong for which thelaw provides a remedy.

Front 2

Tort embraces several areas of law, such as:

Back 2

(a)Negligence

(b)Trespass

(c)Nuisance

(d)liability to animals

(e)Trespass to person: assault & Battery, falseimprisonment

(f)Employer’s liability

(g)Product liability

(h)Vicarious liability

(i)Defamation/torts affecting reputation

Front 3

Tort aims to......

Back 3

restore the party to the position hewas in before he suffered injury and will do so bycompensation in money terms.

Front 4

Tort compensates tangible and intangible losses:

Back 4

loss of amenities, pain and suffering, nervousshock. This implies that damages id“unliquidated”, that is the claimant does not claima fixed amount of compensation

Front 5

Interest protected:

Back 5

*Personal interest in property such as land(nuisance, trespass)

*Persons from intentional interference(assault, battery, false imprisonment)

*Persons reputation (libel, slander,malicious prosecution, injurious falsehood)

*Financial interest (economic and tradinginterest)

Front 6

Tort and strict liability

Back 6

There are some torts that do not requirethe proof of fault to be actionable. It isonly required that there is proof that thedefendant committed the act and therewas some damage as a result of the actcomplained of by the claimant.

Front 7

Strict liability has been imposed in a number ofcircumstances:

Back 7

1.Liability for stray animals straying ontoanother’s land

2.Liability for defective products under theConsumer Protection Act

3.Liability for dangerous animals4.Liability under the rule in Ryland v FletcherSubject to defences and exceptions

Front 8

The Objectives of Tort

Back 8

1.Compensation: Provides a means tocompensate victims of injury and loss byassessing and awarding damages.

2.Protects interests: Protects a person’sinterest in land and other property.

3.Deterrence: Encourage persons to becareful in the conduct of their activities andto be mindful of other persons and theirproperty.

4. Retribution: Element of retribution wherethe claimant seemingly gets thesatisfaction of bringing action against thedefendants for the wrongful act.

5. Vindication: Public vindication of theinnocence of the party who is not at faultor not liable for any wrongful act.

6. Loss distribution: Tort treated as avehicle for distributing losses betweenthe parties.

7. Punishment of wrongful act/or moraljustification: Punishment is usuallyassociated with the criminal law but thereis some satisfaction in ensuring that thewrongdoer pay the victim

Front 9

what is the usual remedy for tort?

Back 9

Monetary damages

**some cases injunction

Front 10

Injunction

Back 10

which is a court order forbidding the defendant from doing or continuing to do awrongful act.

Front 11

Distinguish between Tort and Crime

Back 11

*The main purpose of the criminal law is to protect the interest of the public at large bypunishing those guilty of crimes- generally by means of imprisonment or fines, and it is thosetypes of conduct which are most detrimental to society and to the public welfare that aretreated as criminal. A conviction for a crime is obtained by means of a criminal prosecution,which is usually instituted by the State through the agency of the police or at the discretion ofthe Director of Public Prosecutions.

*A tort, on the other hand, is a purely civil wrong, which gives rise to civil proceedings,the purpose of such proceedings being primarily not to punish the wrongdoer for theprotection of the public at large, but to give the individual complainant compensation for thedamage which he has suffered as a result of the defendant’s wrongful conduct.

Front 12

Distingiush between Tort and Contract

Back 12

The traditional distinction made betweentort and contract is that in tort the duties of the parties are primarily fixed by law, where as incontract they are fixed by the parties themselves. In other words, contractual duties arise fromthe agreement between the parties, whilst tortious duties are created by the operation of lawindependently of the consent of the parties.

Front 13

DaMum Sine Injuria

Back 13

This literally means ‘damage without legal injury’. It is a basic principle that damage isnot actionable in tort unless such damage amounts to legal injury. Thus if the defendants act isin itself lawful, be sued in tort, however much damage the claimant may have suffered as aresult of it.

Front 14

Injuria Sine Damno

Back 14

This literally means ‘legal injury without damage’. Normally, in order to succeed in tort, theclaimant must show that he has suffered actual damage (for example, injury to his person orproperty or reputation) as well as legal injury.

Front 15

‘torts actionable per se’

Back 15

Torts which are actionable without proof of damage are known as‘torts actionable per se’. Example would include trespass, which is actionable although no harmis caused to the actual land.