TORTS AND PERSONAL INJURY
Syllabus and Course Guide
Intentional Torts
In this class, we will open our torts discussion with the intentional torts; the various causes of action that case arise when one person undertakes a voluntary action that causes harm to the person or property of another. First, we will discuss the intentional torts against a person, such as assault, battery and false imprisonment. Then, we will discuss the intentional torts against property; i.e. trespass and conversion. We will go through the various elements involved in these torts and use some hypotheticals to illustrate their application
Reading
Torts 1 Chapter 1: Torts Against Person:
- Battery
- Assault
- False Imprisonment
- Intentional Infliction
Torts 1 Chapter 2: Torts Against Property:
- Trespass to Land
- Trespass to Chattels
Transferred Intent and Defenses
We will begin this class by discussing the doctrine of “transferred intent” and how it affects a person’s liability when a person tries to commit a tort and unintentionally causes a different, albeit harmful result. We will spend the bulk of the class discussing the various defenses that exist to intentional torts, such as consent, self defense and defense of property.
Reading
Torts 1 Chapter 2: Torts Against Property:
Transferred Intent
Torts 1 Chapter 3: Defenses to Torts Against Persons/Property:
Consent- Persons
Consent Privileges- Property
Self Defense
Negligence: Duty and Breach
We will begin our discussion of the tort of negligence with a discussion of the first two elements relevant to the negligence tort: the duty of care owed by people to society and when a breach of that duty has occurred. We will discuss the foreseeability prerequisite to liability for negligence and some of the doctrines that have developed to guide courts in deciding negligence cases. We will also touch on the theory behind liability for negligence and how that theory was expressed in the seminal case of Palsgraf v. L.I.R.R.
Reading
Torts 1 Chapter 4: Negligence Section 1:
- Introduction to Negligence
- Duty of Care 1
- Duty of Care 2
- Breach of Duty 1
- Breach of Duty 2
Negligence Continued:
We will continue with our discussion of the rules of negligence. We will start the class by go through the causation element of the negligence tort and the doctrines related to causation that have developed to protect various interests throughout the years. Next, we will begin a discussion of special duties that can attach to various members of society by operation of law or because a person has impliedly undertaken a special duty. Included in this discussion will be the rules of when a person can be responsible for the negligent actions of another person.
Reading
Torts 1 Chapter 5: Negligence Section 2:
- Cause and Harm
- Proximate Cause
- Indirect Causation
Torts 1 Chapter 6: Special Duties Section 1:
- Statutory Duties
- Aid in Emergency
- Contractual Agreements/ Common Carriers
- Actions of Third Persons 1
- Actions of Third Persons 2
Special Duties Continued and Defenses to Negligence
In this class we will start by continuing our discussion of situations in which people are assigned special duties of care, the failure of which to live up to can lead to liability for negligence. For the remainder of the class, we will discuss the various doctrines that can limit the liability of a party who was negligent and whose negligence caused injury. We will also not that some of these defenses are only partial defenses, while others are complete bars to recovery.
Reading:
Torts 1 Chapter 7: Special Duties Section 2:
Land Occupiers
Lessors
Emotional Distress
Torts 1 Chapter 8: Defenses to Negligence:
Contributory Negligence
Comparative Negligence
Assumption of Risk
Midterm Examination
Strict and Products Liability
We will start this lecture by introducing the concept of liability without any fault on the part of the defendant, or “strict” liability. We will discuss the limited circumstances in which strict liability is applicable. Next we will turn our attention to one of the biggest areas of tort law today, the area of products liability. We will touch on the circumstances and theories under which a manufacturer is liable for harms caused by their products after they have been placed in the stream of commerce.
Reading
Torts 2 Chapter 1: Strict Liability:
Introduction to Strict Liability
Injuries Inflicted by Animals
Abnormally Dangerous Activities
Torts 2 Chapter 2: Products Liability:
- Liability for Intentional Torts, Negligence and Strict Liability
- Defects
- Liability and Defenses to Products Liability
- Breach of Warranty
Nuisance of Defamation
At the outset of this class, we will briefly touch on the tort of Nuisance. Then, we will lunch into our main discussion, the tort of defamation. We will examine the elements of defamation and discuss the historical backdrop against which the controversial tort has developed. Then, we will discuss the Constitutional implications of the tort of defamation, especially as it relates to the balancing act that must be performed by a court when a media outlet defames a person. We will examine the Supreme Court’s formula for balancing the right of a person to avoid having his or he name or reputation defamed against the First Amendment freedoms of freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
Reading
Torts 2 Chapter 3: Nuisance
- Nuisance
Torts 2 Chapter 4: Defamation:
- General Principles of Defamation 1
- General Principles of Defamation 2
- Defenses to Defamation
- Constitutional Privileges
Invasion of Privacy and Economic Torts
In this class, we will discuss the torts that are related to invading the privacy of a person. We will walk through the various forms that invasion of privacy can take. In addition, we will discuss various economic torts; torts that hurt a person financially or hurt a person’s business rather than those that hurt the person physically or damage his or her property.
Reading
Torts 2 Chapter 5: Invasion of Privacy:
- Introduction to Invasion of Privacy
- Intrusion upon Seclusion
- Public Disclosure of Private Facts
- Appropriation of Plaintiff’s Name or Likeness
- False Light
Torts 2 Chapter 6: Economic Torts:
- Misrepresentation
- Injurious Falsehood
Other Tort Law Issues
We will being this final Torts class by finishing up with the remaining economic torts. Next, we will tie up various loose ends about tort law. We will discuss the options available to the family of a tort victim, including the survival and wrongful death actions. We will also discuss the immunity that various people and/or organizations can enjoy from a civil lawsuit base don torts committed by them. Finally, we will analyze the problem of multiple tortfeasors; i.e. what happens when two or more people contribute to the commission of a tort. We will discuss how the law sometimes allows plaintiffs to hold individual defendants liable for a complete civil award even though other tortfeasors had a hand in causing the harm to the plaintiff.
Reading
Torts 2 Chapter 6: Economic Torts:
- Interference with Contracts
- Malicious Prosecution
Torts 2 Chapter 7: Factors Affecting Right to Sue
- Survival of Tort Actions
- Derivative Suits for Family Members
- Tort Immunity
- Joint and Several Liability and Indemnity
Final Examination