1L Torts Rule Statements

Front 1

battery

Back 1

voluntary intentional act causing harmful or offensive touching to the P or something close to them

Front 2

assault

Back 2

voluntary intentional act causing the apprehension of an immediate harmful or offensive contact

Front 3

false imprisonment

Back 3

voluntary unlawful act intentionally causing confinement or restraint within a bounded area with no reasonable means of escape

Front 4

trespass to land

Back 4

voluntary act intentionally causing entry onto land of another

Front 5

trespass to chattels

Back 5

voluntary act intentionally causing interference with another's possessory interest in their chattel, causing dispossession, damage, or deprival of use for a significant period

Front 6

conversion

Back 6

voluntary act of intentional exercise of dominion and control over chattel of another, causing destruction or serious interference

Front 7

intentional infliction of emotional distress

Back 7

intentional or reckless extreme and outragous conduct causing severe emotional distress

Front 8

consent

Back 8

a valid objective manifestation, either express or impled, of assent or approval

Front 9

self-defense

Back 9

reaonable force reaonably believed necessary to protect oneself from imminent threat of harm

Front 10

defense of others

Back 10

reasonable force reasonably believed necessary to defend another from imminent harm

Front 11

defense of property

Back 11

reasonable (never deadly) force reasonably believed necessary to protect harm to one's property

Front 12

recapture of chattels

Back 12

reasonable force reasonably believed necessary to recover chattel when taking is wrongful; no force allowed when original possession was lawful

Front 13

discipline

Back 13

parents or teachers may use reasonable force to reasonably confine or control child when is reasonably believed necessary

Front 14

arrest

Back 14

officers of the law or private citizens may arrest without warrant: when felony committed within presence, reasonable suspicion P has committed a felony, or misdemeanor breach of peace committed in presence

Front 15

shopkeeper's privilege

Back 15

shopkeepers may detain shoplifting suspect for a reasonable amount of time necessary to make a reasonable investigation

Front 16

private necessity

Back 16

interference with property interests of another are excusable to prevent greater harm to one's own interest; actor is liable for any resulting damage

Front 17

public necessity

Back 17

interference with property rights of another is justifiable to prevent greater harm to society at large

Front 18

neligence

Back 18

conduct falling below the appropriate standard of care established by law, causing harm

Front 19

general duty

Back 19

an affirmative actor owes a duty of reasonable care to all foreseeable plaintiffs within the zone of danger of their conduct

Front 20

common carrier duty

Back 20

common carriers owe a higher duty to their passengers

Front 21

[duty owed] landowner-trespasser

Back 21

no duty is owed to unknown trespassers; known or frequent trespassers owed duty to warn of known hidden artificial dangers and to avoid wanton or willful harm

Front 22

[duty owed] landowner-trespassing children

Back 22

when: (1) child is too yound to appreciate the danger, (2) it is foreseeable that children are trespassing, (3) the condition involves unreasonable risk of serious injury or death, and (4) B<PL, duty of reasonable care is owed to protect children from the condition

Front 23

[duty owed] landowner-licensee

Back 23

duty owed to warn of known concealed dangers and to avoid wanton or willful harm

Front 24

[duty owed] landowner-invitee

Back 24

duty owed to inspect and make safe

Front 25

[duty owed to] lessors

Back 25

generally, no duty for arising condition; duty to warn of known latent defect; duty for neligent repair; if known that property will be open to public, duty to inspect and repair

Front 26

[duty owed by] health-care providers

Back 26

duty to act with knowledge and skill of typical member of the profession

Front 27

[duty owed by] children

Back 27

duty to act as child of same age, experience, intelligence

Front 28

nonfeasance

Back 28

there is no general duty to act

Front 29

nonfeasance exceptions

Back 29

(1) D's actions place P in peril; (2) D undertakes to act; (3) special relationship between D and P

Front 30

violation of statute

Back 30

violation of a criminal statute may be used to establish breach of duty if (1) statute designed to protect against specific type of harm, (2) P in protected class, and (3) violation not excused

Front 31

Hand calculus

Back 31

B<PL: breach found if the burden of protecting from the harm is less than the probability of the harm times the potential magnitude of loss

Front 32

res ipsa loquitur

Back 32

breach may be inferred if (1) accident is of the type that typically does not occur without negligence, (2) harm-causing instrumentality was in D's control at the time, and (3) P did not contribute to the injury

Front 33

"but for" test

Back 33

but for the D's conduct, the P would not have been harmed

Front 34

substantial factor test

Back 34

D's conduct was a substantial factor in causing the P's injury

Front 35

unforeseeable plaintiff

Back 35

D owes a duty to all foreseeable P's with the zone of danger of their conduct

Front 36

intervening act

Back 36

an act occurring between the time of the D's conduct and the harm to the P may relieve D of liability if it breaks the chain of causation

Front 37

thin skull plaintiff

Back 37

harm greater in magnitude than expected due to unforeseeable personal reactions of the P does not relieve D of liability for the entire harm caused

Front 38

contributory negligence

Back 38

conduct of the P falling below the standard of care to which they should conform for their own protection and is legally contributing cause to P's harm bars P from recovery

Front 39

last clear chance doctrine

Back 39

if P is contributorily negligent but D had last clear chance to avoid the harm, P may recover

Front 40

pure comparative negligence

Back 40

P may recover for damages from D in proportion to D's fault, regardless of P's proportion of fault

Front 41

partial comparative negligence

Back 41

P may recover from D for injury proportional to D's fault provided that P was not more at fault than D

Front 42

assumption of the risk

Back 42

P voluntarily accepts known risk of harm

Front 43

possession of animals

Back 43

D is strictly liable for harm caused by their wild animals arising from the dangerous propensity characteristic of animals of that type; D is strictly liable for harm caused by their domestic animals if viscious disposition known

Front 44

abnormally dangerous activities

Back 44

persons conducting abnormally dangerous activities are strictly liable for harm caused by the abnormally dangerous hazard

Front 45

strict products liability

Back 45

strict liability is imposed for any person who sells a product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user, consumer, or their property

Front 46

[SPL] proper P

Back 46

any user, consumer, or bystander

Front 47

[SPL] proper D

Back 47

anyone part of the marketing chain

Front 48

type of defect

Back 48

manufacturing, design, or information/warning

Front 49

[SPL] manner of proof

Back 49

(manufacturing) ordinary consumer expectation test, (design) risk/utility balancing, (information) reasonable person test

Front 50

express breach of warranty

Back 50

D makes specific representations about the quality of the product which become the basis of the bargain

Front 51

implied warranty of merchantability

Back 51

a product is assumed to be merchantable for its intended use

Front 52

defamation

Back 52

a false defamatory statement made by the D of and concerning the P, published to a third party, causing reputational harm to the P

Front 53

defamatory statement

Back 53

statement holding the P up to scorn, ridicule. or contempt in the eyes of a respectable minority of the community or which deters third parties from association with the P

Front 54

[defamation] publication

Back 54

intentional or negligent communication to someone other than the P

Front 55

libel

Back 55

defamatory statement made in a permanent form

Front 56

slander

Back 56

defamatory statement made orally

Front 57

NY Times v Sullivan

Back 57

defamation liability depends on status of P; actual malice must be shown for a public official P

Front 58

[defamation] Gertz v Welch

Back 58

defamation liability not strict for a private person acting in manner of public concern (must be at least negligent)

Front 59

intrusion upon seclusion

Back 59

intentional intrusion on solitude or seclusion of another or another's private affairs or concerns which would be highly offensive to a reasonable person

Front 60

appropriation

Back 60

commercial use of another's likeness or name without consent

Front 61

public disclosure

Back 61

public disclosure of private true facts not a matter of legitimate public interest which would be highly offensive to a reasonable person

Front 62

false light

Back 62

publicizing false facts to which a reasonable person would object

Front 63

interference with contract

Back 63

intentional interference with known contract by the P and a thrid party, causing damages

Front 64

interference with prospective economic advantage

Back 64

intentional interference with known economic expectation between P and a third party, causing damages

Front 65

deceit

Back 65

material misrepresentation of past or present fact, known at the time to be false, intended to induce and actually inducing reliance, causing damages

Front 66

negligent misrepresentation

Back 66

negligent misrepresentation of past or present fact without reasonable grounds to believe it is true, made in a business or professional capacity, intended to induce and actually inducing reliance, causing damages

Front 67

public nuisance

Back 67

substantial and unreasonable interference with the health, safety, or morality of the community at large

Front 68

private nuisance

Back 68

substantial and unreasonable interference with the use and enjoyment of the P's land

Front 69

compensatory damages

Back 69

monetary recovery intended to return P to statue prior to tortuous conduct

Front 70

punitvie damages

Back 70

monetary recovery intended to punish the D's malicious or wanton conduct

Front 71

vicarious liability

Back 71

D may be liable for tortous conduct of another when: (1) employer, for tortuous conduct of employee committed within the scipe of their employment (respondeat superior); (2) joint ventures; (3) negligent entrustment

Front 72

joint and several liability

Back 72

each tortfeasor is fully responsible for entire damage when: (1) acting in concert; (2) injury is indivisible; (3) harm-causing negligence creates risk of future harm; (4) vicarious liability