...DEFAMATION Defamation also called calumny, vilification, slander and libel is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image. Defamation is the publication of a statement which refers on a person’s reputation and tends to lower him in the estimation of right-thinking members of society generally or tends to make then shun or avoid him. [1] The tort of defamation protects a person’s interest in his reputation. If the defendant had made an untrue statement, or what amounts to a statement, which is defamatory of the plaintiff, the plaintiff has a right of action against him unless the defendant can establish one of the special defenses available to an action for defamation. Since the tort of defamation protects the plaintiff’s reputation, and since reputation depends on what other people think of the plaintiff, the publication of the statement by the defendant to persons other than the plaintiff himself is an essential part of the tort –the purpose of the tort is not to protect the injured the feelings of the plaintiff. The tort goes beyond protecting their mere personal reputation of the plaintiff and extends to the protection of the reputation of his commercial and business undertakings. The rules of the tort represent an attempt to strike a balance between two important and often competing interests, the public interest in freedom...
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...which is the apprehension, not fear, of such contact. Assault In common law, assault is an act which causes a person to apprehend immediate unlawful person violence. An assault is carried out by a threat of bodily harm coupled with an apparent, present ability to cause the harm. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in either criminal and/or civil liability False imprisonment False imprisonment is a restraint of a person in a bounded area without justification or consent. False imprisonment is a common-law felony and a tort. It applies to private as well as governmental detention. When it comes to public police, the proving of false imprisonment is sufficient to obtain a writ of habeas corpus. Libel/Slander Under common law, to constitute defamation, a claim must generally be false and have been made to someone other than the person defamed. Some common law jurisdictions also distinguish between spoken defamation, called slander, and defamation in other media such as printed words or images, called libel. Conversion A conversion is a voluntary act by one person inconsistent with the ownership rights of another. Trespass Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels and trespass to land. Private Nuisance An activity or thing that interferes with the use of property by an individual (or a few individuals) by being irritating, offensive, or obstructive. Nuisances can include everything...
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...15, 1791, the First Amendment Rights were set forth to protect the citizens of the United States and be governing by the Bills of Rights. As time passed and the U.S. changed the First Amendment, it became more of a pillar for free speech, free press and the right to peacefully assemble. The First Amendment, at its early stage, was only applied by laws by Congress but now it has been directed in the process of incorporating a clause through the Fourteenth Amendment – due process. The First Amendment protects as well as gives an understanding of what society can and cannot do as citizens of the United States. First Amendment/Defamation As a team, we are in agreement that the First Amendment protects defamation to an extent. For example, consider the media who report on current events all over the world. Journalists are the most accused of defamation due to the topics which are discussed. This in turn creates a stage that is known to the world as “correct reporting”. Freedom of speech, as characterized in the First Amendment, allows individuals the freedom to say what they want so long as it does not create falsehoods and defames the character of any one individual. First Amendment/Censorship Although the First Amendment gives people or companies the freedom of speech and press, they should use caution when conducting business. Companies should refrain from using language or product identifications that are misleading or fraudulent - “the law provides remedy to recover...
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...Business Torts Issue Spotter Essay Emmy V. MedK Corp. MedK Corp. faces potential liability for the tort of Contractual Interference/Tortious Interference with Contractual Relations. Contractual Interference occurs when parties are not allowed the freedom to contract without interference from third party. Tortious Interference is that someone intentionally persuades another to break a contract already in existence. Here, MedK Corp. may be liable for Contractual Interference/Tortious Interference with Contractual Relations if sued by Emmy. Med K signed a contract under which Emmy’s company was to provide exclusive device delivery and in-home instruction through doctors to MedK Clients. The only two people who knew about the contract with MedK was Emmy and Rita. After Emmy starts seeing decrease in sales from MedK, Darrell, the CEO, admitted to Emmy, that Rita had been soliciting MedK and had been encouraging Darrell to slowly phase out the volume of referrals to Emmy’s company and transfer them to Rita’s new company. Darrell said that he would pay Emmy what she was owned, but would not honor the contract in full. Therefore, MedK is likely liable for Contractual Interference/Tortious Interference with Contractual Relations. Emmy V. Rita Rita faces potential liability for the tort of Contractual Interference/Tortious Interference with Contractual Relations. Contractual Interference occurs when parties are not allowed the freedom to contract without interference from...
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...• Defamation • Specific Tort • Tort of defamation protects reputation • Definition - Defamation Winfield: “publication of statement which tends to lower a person in the estimation of right thinking members of society generally or which makes them shun or avoid that person” • Right to reputation – if effected by means of words spoken or written is actionable as civil as well as criminal wrong • Dixon v Holden 1869 • A man’s reputation is his property and if possible more valuable than any other property. • Hence an injury to a person's reputation results in substantial damage and the law recognizes it as a tort and a crime. • A defamatory matter may be of any imputation concerning any person, or any member of family, whether living or dead, by which the reputation of that person is likely to be injured. • Defamation in common law • The common law origins of defamation lie in the torts of slander (harmful statement in a transitory form, especially speech) and libel (harmful statement in a fixed medium, especially writing but also a picture, sign, or electronic broadcast), each of which gives a common law right of action. • Libel • A libel can be defined as a publication of false and defamatory statement in some permanent form tending to injure the reputation of another person without lawful justification or excuse. • libel is actionable per se, i.e., without proof of actual damage. • In libel, general damages are presumed i.e., the plaintiff...
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... Your first name: Your last name: Your email address: Required field -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Tort means: a. injury in Greek. b. a criminal offense. c. twisted or wrong. d. injury to a contract. status: correct (1.0) correct: c your answer: c feedback: Correct. From Latin and French. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 Torts are defined by: a. common law courts. b. federal legislation. c. the U.S. Supreme Court. d. administrative agencies. status: correct (1.0) correct: a your answer: a feedback: Correct. They have no absolute meaning; the courts change what is a legal wrong over time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 The person who is accused of committing a tort is called: a. a criminal. b. a defendant. c. a negligentee. d. a tortfeasor. status: correct (1.0) correct: d your answer: d feedback: Correct. That is the person who commits a tort, intentional or not. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 Which of the following is not an element of a tort based on negligence? a. A duty of ordinary care was owed to the other party. b. There is a causal connection between the defendant's conduct and the harm suffered. c....
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...ge » Other Topics Tort and Conflict of Laws In: Other Topics Tort and Conflict of Laws CHAPTER 1 An Introduction 1.1 Introduction: The peculiar feature that tort occupies in private international law is that if the tortious act has been committed entirely locally, then lex loci delicti governs it, irrespective of the fact that whether it has or has not some foreign element, such as, both or one of the parties is domiciled or resident abroad or national of another country. The foreign law is applicable only in some very exceptional situations. Torts in Common Law countries mean civil wrongs to a person, to property, or to a person’s reputation. Common examples are negligent acts causing injury or deaths, conversion, trespass to property and defamation. 1.2 Research Methodology: In making this project report the doctrinal method of research has been used. 1.3 Focus area: This project report focuses on the tort under private international law. 1.4 Scope of the study: In this project report the meaning of tort and law applicable to tort under private international law has been explained. CHAPTER 2 Conceptual Analysis 2.1 TORT AND CONFLICT OF LAWS: Torts in Common Law countries mean civil wrongs to a person, to property, or to a person’s reputation. Common examples are negligent acts causing injury or deaths, conversion, trespass to property and defamation. The same act may be both a tort and crime: assault can be a cause of...
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...1. What is a tort? A tort is a civil wrong not arising from a breach of contract; a breach of a legal duty that proximately cause harm or injury to another. The purpose of tort law is to provide remedies for the invasion of various protected interests. The basic categories of torts are two classifications intentional and unintentional torts. (p.116) 2. What is a cyber-tort, and how are tort theories being applied in cyberspace? A tort committed in cyberspace. Tort theories which apply to cyberspace are those of defamation, which is complicated by the anonymity of the internet service provider (ISP). In order to prosecute, court order is often necessary to get an ISP to reveal the identity of the source of the comments. (p. 129) 3. Two sisters, Darla and Irene, are partners in an import business located in a small town in Rhode Island. Irene is married to a well-known real estate developer and is campaigning to be the mayor of their town. Darla is in her mid-thirties and has never been married. Both sisters travel to other countries to purchase the goods they sell at their retail store. Irene buys Indonesian goods, and Darla buys goods from Africa. After a tsunami (tidal wave) destroys many of the cities in Indonesia to which Irene usually travels, she phones one of her contacts there and asks him to procure some items and ship them to her. He informs her that it will be impossible to buy these items now because the townspeople are being evacuated due to...
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...small and big businesses like your company have numerous methods to protect themselves from lawsuits in the area of criminal activity and workplace torts. With proper training programs and a comprehensive set of electronic communications policies in place, companies such as yours can reduce many of the criminal and workplace torts that could occur within your workplace or business location and reduce the risk and occurrence of lawsuits and liabilities associated with the improper and illegal usage of the company resources such as Internet usage, email, and use of the company Network and computing systems. Many of the torts that typically occur outside of the workplace can easily occur within the workplace environment because of improper employee use, misuse, or illegal use of the Internet, social media, and email provided by companies such as XYZ Corp. A brief summary of the workplace torts that can create corporate liability and from which corporations and business owners must protect themselves from include but are not limited to: 1. Intentional torts (torts against a person): Assault, Battery, False Imprisonment, and Intentional infliction of emotional distress. 2. Property Torts such as Conversion and Copyright Infringement. 3. Dignitary torts activity that causes injury another person’s reputation or honor. 4. Torts are affecting business operations, such as Fraud and Tortious interference. 5. Negligence due to failure to provide a reasonable standard of care while...
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...Synopsis of Tort Cases Paper A synopsis is a summary of the text or subject, and in each scenario there are tort actions that need to be identify, and to make out who are the plaintiffs and defendants in these scenario cases. We will explain which claim got resolved by taking legal actions for the reason’s they were put in these different dangerous situations that could have been avoided. Scenario One Scenario one deals with intentional tort, unintentional torts and strict liability tort. The first intentional tort is the battery by Daniel on Malik for accidently spilling cold beer on his son Ruben. Daniel shoved Malik which caused him to fall. Malik tried to break his fall and grabs the railing which didn’t support the weight of Malik. The railing broke and Malik hit the steps and knocked out two of his front teeth. This will fall under strict liability tort. Malik can file a law suit against the owners of the football stadium for not ensuring the railing was safe for everyone in the stadium. This fall under product liability “The liability of manufacturers, sellers, and others for the injuries caused by defective products.” Cheeseman (2010). “Defamation of character false statement(s) made by one person about another. In court, the plaintiff must prove that (1) the defendant made an untrue statement of fact about the plaintiff and (2) the statement was intentionally” Cheesesman (2010). Daniel can suit the woman in court for intentionally making...
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...Torts Cases Nathaniel Brown, Maxine Holley, Jacinta King, and Cheryl Williams BUS415/Business Law June 25, 2012 Monique Peebles Torts Cases A tort is “the French word for a ‘wrong’. Tort law protects a variety of injuries and provides remedies for them. Under tort law, an injured party can bring a civil lawsuit to seek compensation for a wrong done to the party or to the party’s property.” (Cheeseman, 2010, p. 95). Tort laws are enforced under civil law and help individuals recover damages incurred related to property damage or loss, medical expenses, restitutions for pain and suffering, and mental anguish. Team A will identify the tort actions in four scenarios, potential plaintiffs, potential defendants and why each one is viewed as a defendant. The team will also identify various elements of the tort claim that constitute the plaintiff’s claim, defenses the defendants may assert, and provide hypotheses as to how the claims might be resolved and the legal reasoning behind the hypothesis. Scenario One Daniel and Ruben are enjoying the day at a football game when Malik, a fan, reacts unexpectedly spilling beer on Ruben when the referee’s calls an incomplete pass. Daniel shoves and injures Malik when he falls against the railing, which gives way causing Malik’s face to hit the steps in the aisle knocking out two teeth. When leaving the game, Daniel, a diabetic, stops to buy diet drinks and a lady waiting in line smells beer on Ruben and begins shouting at Daniel, accusing...
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...relevant to the issue & cite supporting authorities. 4. Apply the law to the facts and assess what the likely decision would be on this issue. Exam: identify the legal issue, apply the law to the facts, and choose the correct answer, ethics or discussion. September 25th, 2015 - Business Torts – Lecture 3 *1 Deceit (Fraud): A false, intentional, representation that was relied upon by the plaintiff and which caused the plaintiff to suffer a loss. [Representation: description or portrayal in a particular way (e.g. through a statement)] Elements of Deceit: * False representation (statement): could be defendants or a third party. * “False” includes half-truths, failure to update information, and silence when there is a duty to disclose. * Defendant knew or should’ve known statement was false. * Intentional ( could be just intention to make representation) * Reliance – plaintiff must have relied upon representation. * Loss – plaintiff must have suffered a loss. Applying law to facts: * All elements of tort must exist in order for tort to occur. * Connected to law of misrepresentation in contract law( remedies) * 2 Defamation: false, public statement about plaintiff that could lead a reasonable person to have a lower opinion of the plaintiff. [Statement: all forms of communication, including social media] * Elements of...
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...Tort Law p2 * The difference between contract law and trot law is that: （这个可以不用写下来） At the core of contracts, we have agreed with specific others to do or not to do things. With Tort law, it’s much broader than that. In the agreements that we make, are not necessarily so specific and identifiable. They are much more general. * Contract law is the law that enforces agreements that I reach with individual people. There are parties to a contract. 例：I agree not to build on my property. I agree to sell you my automobile. I agree to tutor your child. Whatever your agreement might be, I agree to cater your daughter’s wedding. ---That’s contract law. It’s specific between identified parties. * A contract is an agreement between two or more individual identified parties. * Tort law is where in essence I enter into an obligation, a contract if you will with society. 例： I will act with reasonable care. I will not pollute the water of your town. I will not spread false information about you as harmful and wrong and damage your reputation. I will drive my car in a reasonable manner. If I am preparing a meal, I will take all the reasonable steps necessary to make sure that the meal is prepared in accordance with all health and safe regulations. If I operate a store, I will use all reasonable means that I have available at my disposal to make sure that the aisle ways are safe. * A tort is a “Civil Wrong”. --- That’s how we define a tort. * As...
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...as intentional tort, since he did plan to hurt Malik intentionally. In this situation, Malik would be considered as the plaintiff and Daniel, the defendant. I believe Daniel would be guilty in this tort. Malik on the other hand would still be guilty of spilling the bear on... The torts applicable in scenario 1 are negligence-actual cause - the fan injured by the ball; duty of care - Daniel shoving Malik; strict liability and product liability, the stadium and the manufacturer of the railing – Malik was hurt on the public property; negligence-actual cause – the concession stand worker giving the wrong type of soft drinks to Daniel, a diabetic after drinking the regular drink slips into a diabetic coma. The lady and Daniel’s boss for defamation of character and wrongful firing; assault and battery – Daniel thought he and his son was in immediate danger and shoots Malik, infliction of emotional distress – Malik’s wife is emotional Throughout this reading, we have evaluated several scenarios and made legal decisions based on the information that we know and the information that we have learned in the previous chapters. Our goal is to determine the tort actions seen in the scenarios identify potential plaintiffs, identify potential defendants, why they are defendants, the elements of the tort claims that constitute the plaintiffs’ claims, any defenses that the defendants may assert, and how the case will be resolved with legal reasoning. Scenario 1 What tort actions do you see...
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... [edit] Categories Torts may be categorized in several ways: one such way is to divide them into Negligence, Intentional Torts, and Quasi-Torts. The standard action in tort is negligence. The tort of negligence provides a cause of action leading to damages, or to relief, in each case designed to protect legal rights, including those of personal safety, property, and, in some cases, intangible economic interests. Negligence actions include claims coming primarily from car accidents and personal injury accidents of many kinds, including clinical negligence, worker's negligence and so forth. Product liability cases, such as those involving warranties, may also be considered negligence actions, but there is frequently a significant overlay of additional lawful content. Intentional torts include, among others, certain torts arising from the occupation or use of land. The tort of nuisance, for example, involves strict liability for a neighbor who interferes with another's enjoyment of his real property. Trespass allows owners to sue for entrances by a person (or his structure, such as an overhanging building) on their land. Several intentional torts do not involve land. Examples include false imprisonment, the tort of unlawfully arresting or detaining someone, and defamation (in some jurisdictions split into libel and slander), where false information is broadcast and damages the plaintiff's reputation. In some cases, the development of tort law has spurred lawmakers...
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