Transcript CHAPTER 5 Civil Law and Procedure

CHAPTER 5
Civil Law and
Procedure
5-1
5-2
5-3
Private Injuries v. Public Offenses
Intentional Torts, Negligence, and
Strict Liability
Civil Procedure
LAW for Business and Personal Use
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
5-1
Private Injuries v. Public
Offenses
 GOALS
 Distinguish a crime from a tort
 Identify the elements of torts
 Explain why one person may be responsible for
another’s tort
LAW for Business and Personal Use
Chapter 5
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
SLIDE 2
HOW DO CRIMES AND TORTS
DIFFER?
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Offense against society Crime
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Brought by the government
Government is known as
the prosecution
Prosecution has the
burden of proof – beyond a
reasonable doubt
Defendant loses if found
guilty
Usual penalty is a prison
sentence
Offense against individual –
Civil or Tort
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Brought by private citizens
Person bringing action is
known as the plaintiff
Plaintiff has the burden of
proof – preponderance of
the evidence
Defendant loses if found
liable
Usual penalty is money
damages
LAW for Business and Personal Use
Chapter 5
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
SLIDE 3
What’s Your Verdict
K.C. Jones was a railroad engineer on a passenger train that ran up and
down the West Coast. A vocal advocate of railroads, he nonetheless often
violated railroad policies. For example, he routinely sent text messages to
members of a railroad hobby group while the train was in motion and
invited guests into the driver’s cab to let them run the train for short
moments. His managers knew of his behavior but did nothing to prevent it.
One day while sending a text, he missed a red signal and crashed his train
into another, resulting in 11 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
Does K.C.’s conduct represent a criminal or civil wrong or both?
K.C. committed the crime of manslaughter (11 counts) and the tort of
negligence.
The railroad company was also held to be vicariously liable for the injuries
and deaths under the master-servant rule, employer is liable for the
conduct of their employees.
LAW for Business and Personal Use
Chapter 5
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
SLIDE 4
ELEMENTS OF A TORT
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Duty
legal obligation to do or not do something
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Not to injure another
Not to interfere with the property rights of another
Not to interfere with the economic rights of another
Breach
Violation of the duty
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Must be proved to collect damages
Res ipsa loquitur – act speaks for itself
Intentional tort – intended to inflict harm by action
Unintentional tort – harm is a result of negligence
Strict liability - only prove that the tort occurred and that the defendant was responsible
ie: product safety
ie: tiger rehabilitation center, no matter how strong the tiger cages are, if an animal escapes and
causes damage and injury, the owner is held liable
LAW for Business and Personal Use
Chapter 5
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
SLIDE 5
ELEMENTS OF A TORT
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Injury
harm that is recognized by the law
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Must be proven that injury was the result of the breach
No injury, no tort
Causation
proof that the breach caused the injury
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Proximate cause – reasonably foreseeable that a breach of duty will result in an
injury
LAW for Business and Personal Use
Chapter 5
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
SLIDE 6
RESPONSIBILITY FOR
ANOTHER’S TORTS
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Vicarious liability
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When one person is liable for the actions/conduct of another based solely
on the relationship between the two
ie: employer/employee, parent/child, employer/agent
LAW for Business and Personal Use
Chapter 5
© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
SLIDE 7