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39 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Tort |
A wrongful act or an omission, other than a crime or a breachof con tract, that invades a legally protectedright. |
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Tortfeasor |
A person or organization that has committeda tort |
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Proximate cause |
A cause that, in a natural and continuous sequenceunbroken by any new and independent cause, produces an event and without which the event would not have happened |
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Foreseeable |
The natural probable consequences in a chain of events.It focuses on whether a prudentperson knew or should have known that the consequences wouldoccur |
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Negligent entrustment |
The act of leavinga dangerous articlewith a person who the lender knows, or should know, is likely to use it in an unreasonably risky manner. |
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Negligence per se_ |
An act that is considered inherently negligent because of a violation of a law or an ordinance. |
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Rescue doctrine |
This provides that the party causing an accident can be liable to any people involvedin rescue efforts as a result of the accident.In some states, police and firefighters are excluded from this doctrine |
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Joint tortfeasors |
Two or more parties who commit a tort together in circumstances that canmake it difficult to distinguish the fault or harm caused by one wrongdoer from that caused by another |
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Successive joint tortfeasors |
Parties whose independent acts do not produce a single event, but unite to cause a single injury that can be easily apportioned among the wrongdoers. |
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Res ipsa loquitur |
A legal doctrine that provides that,in some circumstances, negligence is inferredsimply by an accident occurring |
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Intervening cause |
An act, independent of an originalact and not readily foreseeable, that breaks the chain of causationand sets a new chain ofevents in motion that causes harm |
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Comparative negligence |
A common-law principle that requiresboth parties to a loss to share the financialburden of the bodily injuryor property damageaccording to their respective degrees of fault |
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Pure comparative negligence rule |
A comparative negligencerule that permitsa plaintiff to recover dam ages discounted by his or her own percentage of negligence, as long as the plaintiff is not 100 percent at fault |
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50 percent comparative negligence rule |
A comparative negligencerule that permits a plaintiff to recover reduced damagesso long as the plaintiff's negligence is not greater than 50 percent of the total negligence leadingto harm |
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49 percent comparative negligence rule |
A comparative negligence rule that permits a plaintiff to recover reduced damages so long as the plaintiff 's negligence is less than the other party's negligence. |
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Slight versus gross rule |
A rule of comparative negligencethat permits the plaintiff to recover only when the plaintiff's negligence is slight in comparison with the gross negligence of the otherparty. |
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Governmental immunity (sovereign immunity) |
A defense to negligence that protects the federal governmentagainst lawsuits for tort without its consent. |
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Proprietary function |
Alocal government's act that is not considered part of the business of government and that could be performed by a privateenterprise. |
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Discretionary acts |
An act by a public official that requires the application of judgment andreason to the circumstances |
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Ministerial act |
An act that is directedby law or other authorityand that requires no individual judgmentor discretion about whether or how to perform it. |
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Statute of limitations |
A statute that requires a plaintiff to file a lawsuit withina specifictime period after the cause of action has accrued, which is often when the injury occurredor was discovered |
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Discovery Doctrine |
Provides that the statuteof limitation does not beginto run until the injury is discovered or should have been discovered. |
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Defamation |
A false written or oralstatement that harms another's reputation |
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Libel |
A defamatory statement expressed in a writing |
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Slander |
A defamatory statement expressed by speech |
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Disparagement (of reputation) |
A communication of false business statements aboutthe business practices of a person or companythat damages the company in the public's eye |
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Invasion of privacy |
An encroachment on another person's right to be left alone |
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Breach of confidentiality |
A privileged party'srelease of private information beyond his or her scope of authority |
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Infringement of copyright |
The unauthorized use of copyrighted material (or use without permission of the copyright holder). |
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Infringement of trademark or service mark |
The unauthorized use or imitation of another's trademarkor service mark. |
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Infringement of trade dress |
The nonfunctional physicaldetail and design of a productor its pack aging that indicatesor identifies the product's sourceand distinguishes it from the products of others |
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Patent infringement |
Using or selling, withoutthe owner's consent,any product, process, or apparatusof a legally protected item (one that has been filed for a patent). |
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Assault |
The threatof force againstanother person that creates a well-founded fear of imminentharmful or offensivecontact. |
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Battery |
Intentional harmfulor offensive physical contact with anotherperson without legaljustification. |
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Intentional infliction of emotional distress |
An intentional act causing mental anguish that results in physical injury |
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Conversion |
The unlawful exercise of control over anotherperson's personal prop erty to the detrimentof the owner |
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Trespass |
Unauthorized entry to another person'sreal property or forcible interference with another person'spersonal property |
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Public nuisance |
An act, occupation, or structure that affects the public at large or a substantial segment of the public, interfering with public enjoyment or rightsregarding property |
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Private nuisance |
Anunreasonable andunlawful interference with another's use or enjoyment of his or her real property. |