| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Social Guest | Renders some incidental service or that he was invited out of economic motives does not remove him from the status of licensee. |
| Public Invitee | The gov't owes a duty to use reasonable care to keep public premises safe for all person who come on the property. Does not matter whether the person comes on the premises as an invitee for the intended purpose or as a licensee for an unintended purpose. |
| Public entrants | Any public employee entering the land under a privilege recognized by law, irrespective of any express or implied consent from the land owner. |
| Contributory Negligence | Involves a person's duty to exercise reasonable care for her own safety rather than the safety of others. |
| Last Clear Chance | Defendant was negligent and the plaintiff, through her contributory negligence placed herself into a position of either helpless or inattentive peril. Defendant must be aware of the plaintiff's peril under a duty to discover the plaintiff. |
| Comparative Negligence | Apportionment of damages between negligent parties who injure one another in proportion to their fault. |
| Duty to Warn | When prevention of a foreseeable harm requires the defendant to control the conduct of another person, or to warn of such conduct, the common law imposes liability only if the defendant bears some special relationship to the dangerous person or to the potential victim. |
| Physical Impact Rule | Recovery in such cases has generally been denied, except in extreme circumstances, such as negligent handling of corpses. |
| Res Ipsa Loquitur | A theory, not cause of action: Situation where it is highly probable the injury would not have occured in the absence of negligence, the indicated source of negligence in the exclusive control of the defendant and the plaintiff or any third party did not contribute to the plaintiff's injury. |
| Proximate Cause | A question of law not concerning facts; involves conflicting considerations of policy and comes into consideration only after causation in fact has been established |
| Sine Qua Non | Injury to the plaintiff would not have happened but for the act or omission of the defendant. |
| Proof of Causation | Plaintiff has the burden to prove that more likely than not, the defendant was a substantial factor in bringing about the result. |
| Proximate Cause | Legal concept used to determine the extent of the defendant's liability after actual causation is established. |
| Shifting Responsibility | Once the defendant has negligently created the risk of harm to the plaintiff, the defendant's liability will not be relieved by the failure of a third party to prevent the harm. |
| Joint Tortfeasors | Persons who either act in concert to cause injury to the plaintiff or act entirely independently but cause a single indivisible injury ti the plaintiff. |
| Duty owed by Landlord to Lessee | No duty is owed with respect to conditions arising after the property is leased except that the landlord is is liable for his negligent repairs. |
| Nominal Damages | A small sum of money that may be recovered in the courts by the a plaintiff who has suffered damage (loss, detriment or injury) whether to person, property or rights through the conduct of the defendant. |
| Compensatory Damages | The sum of money deemed the equivalent of the full loss or harm suffered by the plaintiff. |
| Punitive Damages | The sum of money over and above what will compensate the plaintiff fully for the loss suffered. Meant to punish defendants and make an example for others. (willfull, wanton, gross disregard of consequences). |
| Assumption of Risk | Arises when the plaintiff voluntarily encounters a known danger and by her conduct, expressly or impliedly consents to take the risk of the danger. |
| Standard of Care | Conduct that the average reasonable person of ordinary prudence would follow under the same or similar circumstances. |
| Frolic | Where an employee acts on his/her own without obeying an order. When combined with a detour, where the employee makes a temporary physical departure from the service of his employer, the employer is not vicariously liable through the doctrine of respondeat superior. |
| Vicarious Liability | secondary liability that arises under the common law doctrine of agency – respondeat superior – the responsibility of the superior for the acts of their subordinate, |
| Direct Liability | Legal obligation of an individual or business because of negligent acts or omissions resulting in bodily injury and/or property damage or destruction to another party. Employer is liable for their negligence in the selection of their employees. (sex offender) |
| Independent Contractor | Principle will not be vicarious liable of an independent contractor. If non-delegable duty, such as duty to keep visitors to property reasonably safe, principle will be liable (cannot be discharged to someone else). |
| Detour | Slight deviation from the employers business for an employees own reasons-must be minor in time and minor in geographic area. |
| Bailment | A delivery of personal property to someone under an express or implied contract whereby the property is accepted and later redelivered after the purpose of the contract is fulfilled. |
| Dramshop laws | Allows a third person to sue drinking establishments for the harm caused by intoxicated patrons. |
| Family Car Doctrine | Owner is liable for the tortious conduct of the immediate family or household member driving with the implied or express permission of the owner. |
| Defenses of Strict Liability | Assumption of risk, Comparative Negligence, Escape of animal due to intentional act of third party act of God (applies to livestock, not wild animals) |
| Negligent Entrustment | Direct liability of the bailor in delivering chattel to a bailee. |
| Elements of Cause of Action-Strict Liability | Absolute duty (to make safe), Breach (failure to make safe), Causation (cause in fact, proximate cause) and Damage (to person or property). |
| Discovery | A rule in tort law: the statute of limitations for a cause of action does not begin to run until the time that the injured party discovers or reasonably should have discovered the injury. |
| Joint Venture | When two or more people undertake an act in concert to carry out an objective. Each is vicariously liable for the torts of others committed within the scope of the venture. |
| Rescuers | Liable for injuries to a person who reasonably attempts to rescue to rescue one imperiled by her negligence. Also liable for aggravation of the injury caused by injury's subsequent treatment. |
| The Rescuer Doctrine | Public policy requires that potential rescuers be included in the class of foreseeable plaintiffs. Thus has resulted in "danger invites rescue". A duty will be found owing to the injured rescuer. |
| Misfeasance | An act that is legal but performed improperly. |
| Nonfeasance | A failure to act that results in harm to another party. |
| Business Invitee | Even if one is not a customer of the business, if they enter a business that is open to the public, the owner may be liable for any injury to to them. |
| Informed Consent Doctrine | A physician may be liable if he fails to inform patient of material risks of medical procedure. |
| Negligent Misrepresentation | Defendant is liable only to third parties in situations approaching privity of contract. |
| Trade Libel | Plaintiff may be awarded special damages such as loss of customers and profit. |
| Attractive Nuisance | Requires proof that the owner knew/should have known of a dangerous artificial condition on property and that children hung around thus likely to be injured via foreseeable risk. |
| Products Liability Defenses | Contributory Negligence, Assumption of Risk, Comparative Negligence, Unreasonable Misuse, "State of the Art" Defense |
| Products Liability (Strict Liability Theory) | One who sells a product in a defective manner that is unreasonably dangerous to the consumer. Focuses on the defectiveness of the product, NOT the defendant's conduct or care used in designing, manufacturing or selling the product. Commercial Supplier and product is expected to and does reach the user without a substantial change in condition. |
| Products Liability (Warranty Theory) | Focuses on the express or implied guarantee or promise connected with the product. |
| Three Types of Warranties (Products Liability) | Express (oral or written guaranty related to the product), Implied Warranty of Merchantability (guaranty that the product is fit for ordinary purposes), Implied Warranty of Fitness for a Particular Purpose (guaranty that the product is fit for a specific purpose) |
| Public Misrepresentation | Made to the public through advertising, labels, newspaper, television, radio, or otherwise, which is of a material fact concerning the character or quality of chattel. |
| Defenses: Products Liability (Misrep Theory) | Assumption of Risk, Misuse of Product, Ect. |
| Products Liability (Category of Defects) | Manufacturing Defect, Design Defect, Warnings or Instructions Defect. |
| Discretionary Functions (immunities) | In carrying out these functions, an officer is granted immunity as long as he wa acting honestly and in good faith. |
| Ministerial Functions (immunities) | Those in which the officer is left no choice of his own; he is carrying out orders of others or established duties of his office. He can be held personally liable for any damages resulting therefrom, regardless of whether he was acting in good faith. |
| Coming and Going Rule | Based on several theories; i) the employment relationship is suspended from the the time worker leaves her job until she returns and ii) during the commute, she is not rendering services to her employer. |
| Elements of Joint Enterprise (4) | Agreement either express or implied, among members of group; common purpose to be carried out by group; pecuniary interest in that purpose by members; equal right to a voice in the direction of the enterprise that gives equal right of control. |
| Strict Liability Exceptions | 1) One cannot sue a provider of services under the theory of strict liability 2) If there is no way to avoid the risk of harm without destroying the utility of the product and the inherent danger is apparent to users, the product is not deemed unreasonably dangerous. |
| Defective Conditions(Products Liability-Strict Theory) | Manufactuiring Defect of product that 1) emerges from manufacturing process different and more dangerous than if it had been made properly. 2) design defect where product was manufactured as intended and met all specifications but has dangerous propensities. Suppliers are supposed to foresee all misuses. Use of disclaimer will not avoid liability. |
| Defenses to Defamation | Truth, Consent, Absolute Priveleges, Common Law Qualified Privileges and First Amendment Qualified Privileges |
| Defamation Causes of Action | 1) Defamatory Statement 2) Of or concerning the plaintiff 3) Publication to a 3rd Party 4) Falsity of Statement 5) Fault on the Defendant's Part and 6) Damages |
| Defamation Special Damages | Pecuniary loss resulting from a third party's response to defamatory statements (loss of customers, employment or contract) |
| Defamatory Statement | One which subjects P to hatred, contempt or ridicule or which lowers the esteem in which P is held by third parties. |
| Slander Per Se | If the statement is slander per se, there is NO need to prove special damages. |
| Single Publication Rule | States that the statute of limitations period for libel begins to run when a defamatory statement is first published |
Combine with other sets
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace
!