TORT LAW

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OUTLINE Vol 1 Ch 1

Introduction

What are Torts

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TORT LAW
OUTLINE
VOLUME  1 CHAPTER 1
Introduction

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION 1/8/2000

Table of Topics

A. What Are Torts? Page 1 ?  [§ 1. ] [p 1 ]1. 
B  What Are not Torts  [§ 2. ] [p x ]
C. Tort and Crime, Comparison and Distinction [§ 3. ] [p 11]
D. Punitive Damages. [§ 4. ] [p 14]
E. Policy and Process. [§ 5. ] [p 24]
F.Factors Affecting Tort Liability 36 [§ 6. ] [p 32]
G. Motive. [§ 7. ] [p 42]
H. History: Trespass and Case. [§ 8. ] [p 46] [68]
I.  Sources of Tort Law  [§ 9. ]
J.  Order of Subject Presentation   [§ 10. ]

A. What Are Torts? [§ 1.]

Black Letter Law: "Tort" is a term applied to a miscellaneous unconnected group
of civil wrongs, other than breach of contract, for which a court of law will
afford a remedy in the form of an action for damages. The law of torts is
concerned with the compensation of losses suffered by private individuals in
their legally protected interests, through conduct of others which is regarded
as socially unreasonable.

  1. Historical Development and Definitions [§ 1]

        a. Historical Development [§ 1(a)] Historically torts has only "recently"
        achieved recognition as a distinct branch of the law. The first treatise in
        English on Torts was published in 1859 by Francis Hilliard of Cambridge
        England. As late as 1871, the American Law Review said "that Torts is not a
        proper subject for a law book.'' 5 Am. L. Rev. 341(1871)

              (1). Historical Derivation of The Term "Tort"[§ 1(a)(1)] - "Tortus" or Twisted"
              The word is derived from the Latin "tortus" or "twisted." "Tort" is a
              French word for injury or wrong, as "de son tort demesne," "in his own
              wrong." 4Jacob's Law Dictionary, 1811, vol. 6, p. 251. Metaphorically, a tort
              is conduct which is "twisted, or crooked, not straight". , Tort was at one
              time in common use in English as a general synonym for "wrong." Eventually it
              faded out of common speech, but it remained in the law, and gradually acquired
              a technical meaning.

      b. Definition of Tort: Civil Action For Damages [§ 1(b)]

       "Tort is a civil wrong, other than breach of contract, for which
        the court will provide a remedy in the form of an action for damages"

        All, tort definitions chararize a "Tort" as a legal wrong, for which the law
        will give a particular redress of damages but other remedies are also
        avialable.

            (1). Other Tort Remedies Aside From Damages[§ 1.b(1)]: "Although an action for damages
            is the essential remedy for a tort, there are other remedies:

                    (a) Injunction[§ 1.b(1)(a)]: a form of remedy for a tort is an injunction. In an action for
                      a private nuisance an injunction may be obtained in addition to damages or
.                     granted in a court of equity, before any damage occurs.

                     (b) Restitution[§ 1.b(1)(b)]: Another is the restitution of what has been wrongfully taken;
                     In an action for detention of a chattel an order for specific restitution may
                     be obtained instead of judgment for its value;

                    Example: In an action by a plaintiff dispossessed of his land - he recovers the
                    land itself, in addition to damages for the loss suffered during the period of
                    his dispossession.

                   (c) Self-help: still another is self-help by the injured party.
                    But since the availability of all such remedies will depend in the first
                    instance upon the possibility that an action for damages would lie for the
                    wrong thus averted. 6. But in all such cases it is solely by virtue of the
                right to damages that the wrong complained of is to be classed as a tort."
                Salmond, Law of Torts, 12th Ed. 1957, 9."

    c. Other Commonly Accepted Definitions of "Tort" [§ 1.1(c)]: Problem in
     finding Defnition: Scholars have differed on a satisfactory definition of a
     tort. "The problem in the definition of a tort is because of the distinct
    jurisdiction between law and equity. "Torts" is a creation of the common law,
    a fact which rules out personal, rights created by equity, and rights created
    by ecclesiastical or admiralty law.

    d. "Tort" Is Sometime defined Negaively: "Further, it excludes from the
    definition most ...of  the rights and duties arising out of the family relation— i.e.,
    as regards the immediate parties. [A]nd tort is usually defined negatively . . . as to
    distinguish it from breach of contract, and . . . [quasi-contractual] breach
    of duties, . . . [N]one of the text-books succeeds in introducing all of these
    limitations into its definition." Lee, Torts and Delicts, 1918, 27 Yale L.J.
    721, 723. [See More Definition: See c.(1) Other Commonly Accepted Definitions of "Tort" [§ 1.1(c)]: Problem in ]

    | Introduction: Table of Contents |
  Introduction:  Section 1 What Are Torts | Introduction: Section 2: What Are not Torts 
 Introduction: Section 3: Tort and Crime Distinction | Introduction: Section 4: Punitive Damages

Torts Outline Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION: Table of Contents
Outline Continues: Sections 2-10  
Tort Law Outline: Appendix: RELEVANT CASES AND STATUTES IN TORT LAW