International torts

Intentional tort and negligence

tortus
Describe the role of tort law
The law of torts involves private dispute decided in the civil
courts.
When one person harms another, either intentionally or
carelessly.
Seeking compensation for injuries suffered, from the person
who committed the wrong
A tort is
Committed when one person causes injury to another,
harming his or her person, property, or reputation.
Is a social or civil wrong that gives rise to the right to sue
and seek one of several remedies - injunction, punitive
damages, normally will be limited to a monetary award (can
be criminal but not necessary)
Tort law compensates victims and deters wrongful conduct. Tort law
is a body of law that aims to provide remedies wherever wrongful
conduct is involved

Distinguish torts from crimes and breaches of

contract
Crimes must be distinguished from torts
Harmful conduct that is so serious that it poses a threat to
society generally is said to be criminal in nature. Goal is to
punish the wrongdoer, not to compensate the victim.
A tort is considered a private matter where the victim of the
injurious conduct sues the person responsible for the injury
The standard of proof (accident in driver racing. Sue for a tort of
negligence)
In tort (civil) based on probabilities
In criminal action beyond a reasonable doubt
Question
s

A tort must also be distinguished from a breach of contract. An act

that breaches a contract may not be inherently wrong, but the
contractual relationship makes the violation of its terms
unacceptable.
Identify remedies awarded to redress torts
Intentional (deliberate) acts and Unintentional (careless)
negligent acts
Business people can find themselves liable for both
One important difference between deliberate tort and negligence is
in the remedies that the courts are willing to grant to the injured
party.

Intentional interference: courts may be persuaded to grant

punitive damages in addition to the more common and special
damage.
General damages compensate for estimated future loss,
including both future pecuniary losses and non-pecuniary
losses not necessarily calculateable
Special damages are awarded to cover actual expenses and
calculable pretrial losses. Out of pocket cost, - injury
Punitive punish the wrongdoer, not relate to injury suffered
not compensatory, is to punish the person
The car purposely runs over someone else.
Suffer income loss- claim for economic loss
Bad mood in a fighting is not compensable
Compensable- ask for it

Explain vicarious liability indicating when it may

be imposed
Keep the concept of vicarious liability in mind
An employer can be held liable for the tortious act an employee
commits while at work.
Limit to torts committed while carrying out employment duties.
Employer will not be vicariously liable when the employee is off
doing his or her own thing, even if during working hours

Distinguish the torts of assault, battery and

trespass to land listing the relevant defences

The conduct involved was intended or deliberate, opposed to

negligence, the conduct is inadvertent
When we examine intentional tort as discussed here, that fault is
embodied in the willful act of the wrongdoer--- demonstrate the fault
fault fault
Trespass to Person
Assault and battery -trespass to person: intentional physical interference
with another person
An assault: if someone fakes a punch, points a gun or picks up a stone to
threaten another person. Assault- fear of contact
A battery takes place when someone intentionally makes unwanted physical
contact with another person. Battery actual of contact
Assault and battery are actionable, even where there is no injury
Damages are awarded when this right is violate (the right of each person to
control his body and who touches it)

To determine whether an assault has taken place is to look to the

victim and ask whether she was fearful or anticipate unwanted
physical contact
Even threats made online can constitute an assault.
Defences
The principle of consent a person who expressly or implicitly
consents to conduct will loses the right to sue.
The level of interference cannot exceed the consent.
The consent must be informed consent; people must know
what they vvare consenting to.
Self-defence
Be raised to counteract an assault and battery accusation.
The test asks whether the force used was reasonable.
Trespass to Land
Implicit: permission to enter the shopper parking lot, if you
shopping there.
Trespass to parking: intention is not to park

Involves going onto another persons property without having

either the lawful right or the owners permission to do so
Occur indirectly, when a person leaves or throws some item
on anothers property
A permanent incursion onto the property of another,continuing trespass. (Injunction remedy)
Neutral of care to the invitee
Describe three torts that deal with wrongful
interference with goods (chattels)

Trespass to chattels, conversion and detinue

Chattels your car, TV, phone. Movable.

Three torts that deal with the wrongful interference with
goods.
The decision to assert one tort and not another may impact
the remedies available.
Any direct intentional interference causing damage to goods
of another is a trespass to chattels (remedy is compensatory
damages)
Conversion involves one persons intentionally appropriating
the goods of another person for her own purpose (defendant
treating plaintiffs goods as his own)
1. Conversion takes place when someone sells or
otherwise wrongfully disposes of goods belonging to
someone else

Detinue, it involves wrongful taking control of the goods

through some intentional act, detinue deals with situations
where the person is wrongfully retaining the goods.
1. After a proper request, refusing to return them.
2. Detinue is a continuing tort; damages are calculated as
at the date of the trial.

Contrast the torts of false imprisonment and

malicious prosecution, and private and public
nuisance

Unlawful and intentional Restraint

Including false arrest, occurs when people are intentionally
restrained against their will and the person doing the
restraining has no lawful authority to do so
In the form of complete imprisonment
The persons liberty to go where he pleases must be totally
restrained
The restraint be unlawful
A private person has the power to make an arrest, but only when
she finds someone in the process of actually committing a crime,
such as shoplifting
Victim may submit, or be forced to comply
Defence- citizen arrest. Have done something. From section 494
CCC
Without warrant
Commit an indictable offence
Reasonable ground
Commit a criminal offence and Escape from or pursued by the
persons who have lawful authority to arrest that person
Arrest by the owner delivery to peace office

malicious prosecution
Sometimes the criminal justice system is improperly used. When this happens, victim
may be able to sue for the tort of malicious prosecution.
The defendant in the tort action must have initiated a criminal or quasicriminal prosecution
Plaintiff must establish that the prosecution was motivated by malice no
reasonable grounds
private nuisance interference )
Committed when an individual or business uses property in such a way that it
interferes with a neighbors use or enjoyment of her property
Usually is ongoing or continuous
For a private nuisance to be actionable, the consequences must be reasonably
foreseeable to the defendant.
At common law, nuisance is a field of liability that focuses on the harm
suffered rather than on prohibited conduct
The interference can be intentional, negligent or non-faulty conduct. Must be
intolerable to an ordinary person
Public nuisance:
Stop customer going through the building to another
Strict liability
When some public property is interfered with.
Protesters blocking a road or park, or a mill polluting a river

Differentiate private from public nuisance

Compare defamation with the tort of injurious

falsehood

Defamation is a published false statement that is to a persons

detriment.
When somebody say something false.
Actionable: must be derogatory, false, and published, and
must refer to the plaintiff.
Statements often contain innuendo(), which is an implied
or hidden meaning.
Verbaling or writing, must be published or broadcast.
Slander- spoken defamation
Libel- written defamation, causing more harm
Product defamation: can be sued if the info is not true
Injurious falsehood addresses attacks upon the reputation of
anothers product or business
Called trade slander, production defamation,
Must be distinguished from the tort of defamation that
involves injury to the personal reputation of the injured parties
Defences:
Several defences are available to the defendant
Truth- the defence of justification, is an absolute defence.
Substantial truth is sufficient
Absolute privilege. Freedom of expression without fear of
being sued
Qualified privilege: duty to let others know. The right to
know
Fair comment. People invite pubic criticism and run the risk.

Successfully establishing a tort claim

Establishing each of the required elements or ingredients of the tort,
failure to prove an ingredient should result in the actions being
dismissed.
Other Torts impacting business
Tortious liability for their conduct or the conduct of their
employees and agents
Inducing breach of contract involves an employer persuading
an employee of another business to leave that employment
and work for him or her,
Interference with economic relations is actionable whether or
not a breach of contract has taken place, but there must be
some other unlawful conduct associated with the complaint,
such as bribery or defamation.

Intimidation, the threat of violence or some other illegal

activity, such as an illegal strike , it forces a party to do
something that harms it
Deceit involves the fraudulent and intentional misleading of
another person, causing damage.
Conspiracy to injure take place where two or more person act
together, using unlawful means to injure the business
interests of another.
Passing off action is appropriate when a business product is
presented to the public in such a way as to lead the public to
believe that the product is being provided by another.
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Misuse of confidential information

Privacy
the form of physical intrusion, surveillance, misuse of an image or
name, or access to information
Eg: where a business uses a persons image, name, or likeness to
promote its product without permission, there is an innuendo
communicated that the person has endorsed the product. That is a
false statement and is actionable as defamation. Sue for breach of
privacy.
Model code approved as a national standard for privacy protection