Part 2 - In the News Find a recent online news article (published in 2020 or 2021) related to Chapter 4 and write a 3. to 5 sentence response tying the article to at least one key concept in the chapter. Be sure to include a link to the article at the end of your response. Specily the concept you are linking with the article and provide its quoted definition or meaning as stated in the textbook along with the page or section number 4 CHAPTER Tort Law LEARNING OBJECTIVES The five learning Objectives below are designed to heb improve your understanding of the chapter Aher odyfis chapter you should be able to answer the following questions 1 What is the purpose of fort kw? What types of domoges are available in tort louis? 2 What are two basic categories of texts? 3 What is defamation? Nome two types of defumefion. 4 Identify the four elements of negligence 5 What is meant by strict liability? In what dicunstances is stilbly applied? DO traditionally referred to as business tots, involve wrongful interference with the business nights of others Business torts include such vague concepts as unfair competition and wrongfully interfering with the business relations of another T: orts are wrongful actions. In fact, the word tort is French for wrong. "Through tort law, society tries to ensure that those who have suffered injuries as a result of the wrongful conduct of others receive compensation from the wrongdoers. Although some torts, such as assault and trespass, originated in the English common law, the field of tort law continues to expand. As technological advances, such as the Internet, pro- vide opportunities to commit new types of wrongs, the courts are extending tort law to cover these wrongs (see Chapter 6). Additionally, many of the lawsuits brought by or against business firms are based on the tort theories discussed in this chapter. Some of the torts examined here can occur in any context, including the business environment. Others The Basis of Tort Law Two notions serve as the basis of all torte wrong and com pensation. Tort low is designed to compensate those who have suffered a loss or injury due to another person's wrong ful act. In a tort action, one person or group brings a personal suit against another person or group to obtain compensation (monetary damages) or other relief for the harm suffered 70 Chapter 4 Tortlar 71 The Purpose of Tort Law Generally, the purpose of tort law is to provide remedies for the invasion of various protected interests. Society recognizes an interest in personal physical safety. Thus, tort law provides remedies for acts that cause physical injury or interfere with physical security and freedom. Society also recognizes an interest in protecting real and personal property Tort law provides remedies for acts that cause destruction or damage to property (Note that in legal usage, the singular use of damage is used to refer to harm or injury to persons or property, and the plural use of dan ages is used to refer to monetary compensation for such harm or injury) Lastly, society recognizes an interest in protecting certain intangible interests, such as personal privacy, family relations, reputation and dignity Consequently, tort law pro- vides remedies for invasion these interests Damages Available in Tort Actions Because the purpose of tort law is to compensate the injured party for the damage suffered, it is important to have a basic understanding of the types of damages that plaintiffs seek in tort actions Compensatory Damages Compensatory damages are intended to compensate or reimburse plaintiffs for actual losses to maloe the plaintiffs whole and put them in the same position that they would have been in had the tort not occurred Compensatory damages awards are often broken down into special damages and general damages. Special damages compensate the plaintiff for quantifi- able monetary losses, such as medical expenses, lost wages and benefits (now and in the future), extra costs, the loss of irreplaceable items, and the costs of repairing or replac- ing damaged property CASE EXAMPLE 41 Seaway Marine Transport operates the Enterprise, a large cargo ship with twenty-two hatches for storing coal When the Enterprise moved into position to receive a load of coal on the shores of Lake Ere in Ohio, it struck land-based coal-loading machine operated by Besserer & Lake Ene Railroad Com pany A federal court found Seaway liable for negligence and awarded 5522,000 in special damages to compensate Be semer for the cost of repaining the damage to the loading machine.. General damages compensate individuals (not companies) for the normonetary aspects of the hum suffered, such as pain and suffering Acourt might award general damages for physical or emotional pain and suffering, loss of companion ship. loss of consortium Closing the emotional and physical benefits of a spousal relationship), disfigurement, loss of rep- utation, or loss or impairment of mental or physical capacity Punitive Damages Occasionally punitive damages may also be awarded in tort cases to punish the wrongdoer and deter others from similar wrongdoing. Punitive damages are appropriate only when the defendants conduct was par- ticularly egregious (bad) or reprehensible (unacceptable). Usually, this means that punitive damages are avail able mainly in intentional tort actions and only rarely in negligence lawsuits (intentional torts and negligence will be explained later in the chapter). They may be awarded, how- cver, in suits involving gross negligence, which can be defined as an intentional failure to perform a manifest duty in reck- less disregard of the consequences of such a failure for the life or property of another Courts exercise great restraint in granting punitive dam ages to plaintiffs in tort actions because punitive damages are subject to the limitations imposed by the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution. The United States Supreme Court has held that a punitive damages award that is grossly exces sive furthers no legitimate purpose and violates due process requirements. Consequently an appellate court will some times reduce the amount of punitive damages awarded to a plaintiff because the amount was excessive and thereby vio- lates the due process cause Tort Reform Tort low performs a valuable function by enabling injured parties to obtain compensation. Nevertheless, critics contend that certain aspects of today for law encourage too many trivial and unfounded lawsuits, which clog the courts and add unnecessary costs. They say that damages awards are often excessive and bear little relationship to the actual damn age suffered, which inspires more plaintiffs to file lawsuits The result, in the critics' view, 15 a system that dispropor tionately rewards a few plaintiffs while imposing a "tort tax on business and society as a whole. For instance to avoid medical malpractice (negligence) lawsuits, physicians and hospitals onder more tests than necessary Types of Reform The federal government and a number of states have begun to take some steps toward tort 1. Besenw & loker Freitada. See More Top 5953 ohi 2010 2. Se for MoldCo C 508 LS 400 123 50 151 152 565000 Chapter 4 Tort Law 73 for the tort of battery (discussed next) because Alex's intent to ham Blake can be transferred to her.. This section discusses intentional torts against persons, which include assault and battery, false imprisonment, inflic- tion of emotional distress, defamation, invasion of the night to privacy, appropriation, misrepresentation, abusive or friv. olous litigation, and wrongful interference. that any detention be conducted in a reasonable manner and for only a reasonable length of time. Undue force or unreason able detention can lead to liability for the business Gties and counties may also face lawsuits for false imprisonment if they detain individuals without reason. CASE EXAMPLE 4.5 Police arrested Adetokunbo Shoyoye for an unpaid subway ticket and for a theft that had been committed by someone who had stolen his identity. A court ordered him to be released, but a county employee mistak enly confused Shoyoyes paperwork with that of another per son who was scheduled to go to state prison. As a result, instead of being released. Shoyoye was held in the county jail for more than two weeks. Shoyoye later sued the county for false imprisonment and won." Assault and Battery An assault is any intentional and unexcused threat of imme- diate harmful or offensive contact, including words or acts that create in another person a reasonable apprehension of harmful contact. An assault can be completed even if there is no actual contact with the plaintiff, provided the defendants conduct causes the plaintiff to have a reasonable apprehen- sion of imminent harm. Tort law aims to protect individuals from having to expect harmful or offensive contact If the act that created the apprehension is completed and results in harm to the plaintiff, it is a battery-an unexcused and harmful or offensive physical contact intentionally per- formed. EXAMPLE 4:4 Ivan threatens Jean with a gun and then shoots her. The pointing of the gun at Jean is an assault The firing of the gun af the bullet hits can) is a battery The contact can be harmful, or it can be merely offensive (such as an unwelcome kiss). Physical injury need not occur. The contact can involve any part of the body or anything attached to it--for example, a hat, a purse, or a wheelchair in which one is sitting. The contact can also occur as a result of some force set in motion by the defendant, such as throwing a rock. Whether the contact is offensive or not is determined by the reasonable person standard, which will be discussed later in this chapter Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress The tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress can be defined as an extreme and outrageous act, intentionally com- mitted, that results in severe emotional distress to another, To be actionable (capable of serving as the ground for a law suit), the conduct must be so extreme and outrageous that it exceeds the bounds of decency accepted by society Outrageous Conduct Courts in most jurisdictions are wary of emotional distress claims and confine them to truly outrageous behavior Generally, repeated annoyances (such as those experienced by a person who is being stalked). coupled with threats, are sufficient to sapport a claim Acts that cause indignity or annoyance alone usually are not cnough DAMPLE 46 Richard attacks a man who has had consensual sexual relations with Richards nineteen-year old daughter. Richard handculis the man to a steel pole and threatens to kill him unless he lexues town immediately. Such conduct may be suficiently extreme and outrageous to be actionable as an intentional infliction of emotional distress, False Imprisonment False imprisonment is the intentional confinement or restraint of another person's activities without justification. False imprisonment interferes with the freedom to move without restraint. The confinement can be accomplished through the use of physical barriers, physical restraint, or threats of phys- ical force. Moral pressure or threats of future harm do not constitute false imprisonment. It is essential that the person under restraint does not wish to be restrained Businesspersons are often confronted with sults for fake imprisonment after they have attempted to confine a sus pected shoplifter for questioning. Under the privilege to detain granted to merchants in most states, a merchant can use reasonable force to detain or delay a person suspected of shoplifting the merchant property. Although the details of the privilege vary from state to state generally laws require First Amendment Limitation Note that when the outrageous conduct conests of speech about a public figure the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech abo limits emotional distress claims CASE BCAMLE Hus tler magazine once printed a fake advertisement that showed a picture of the Reverend Jerry Falwell and described him having lost his virginity to his mother in an outhouse while he was drunk Falwell sued the magazine for intentional infliction 5. She country 2011 899 00121