Tort Law

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Tort Law

• Jody Blanke
• Professor of Computer Information Systems and Law

2
Torts

• Strict Liability
• Intentional Torts
• Negligence

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Strict Liability

• Liability without fault
• neither intent nor negligence need be shown
• Ultrahazardous activities
• e.g., dynamite blasting
• e.g., ownership of wild animals
• lions and tigers and bears

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Intentional Torts

• Battery
• Assault
• False Imprisonment
• Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

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Defamation

• Libel and slander
• Truth is a defense
• Against media defendants, public officials and
  public figures must show actual malice
• e.g., Richard Jewell - Wikipedia, CourtTV

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Invasion of Privacy

• Appropriation of name or likeness
• e.g., Michael Jordan Wine
• Intrusion upon seclusion
• e.g., Jackie O, Holiday Inn, Mazzios Pizza, Sean
  Penn, Bill Gates, Bob Dylan, Katz, Kyllo
• False light
• e.g., Parade Magazine Teenage Prostitution
• Publication of private embarrassing facts
• e.g., Joe Hero

Silvia Leyva at Café Intermezzo
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Trespass

• Trespass to land
• Conversion
• Trespass to personal property (trespass to
  chattels)

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Interference with Contractual Relations

• 10.5B award against Texaco for interfering with
  Penzoils contract to buy Getty (later settled
  for 3B)
• Ditch the dish

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Negligence

• Duty
• Breach of Duty
• Causation
• Injury

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Duty of Care

• Reasonable person standard
• Is there a legal duty?
• e.g., Lady Di, Seinfeld finale, Good Samaritan
  laws

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Breach of Duty

• What would the reasonable person do in similar
  circumstances?
• Professional standard malpractice
• Negligence per se
• Res ipsa loquitur

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Causation

• Actual cause (causation in fact)
• but for analysis
• e.g., Rube Goldberg cartoons, Mouse Trap

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Causation

• Proximate cause (legal cause)
• foreseeabilty
• e.g., Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad
• e.g., Crankshaw v. Piedmont Driving Club

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Injury

• Plaintiff must prove injury
• Injury need not be personal injury

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Defenses to Negligence

• Assumption of Risk
• Fellow-Servant Rule
• Contributory Negligence
• e.g., the rolling stop
• Comparative Negligence
• pure comparative negligence
• modified comparative negligence (50 rule)