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Introduction to Law-Chapter 6
Introduction to Law. Chapter Six. Essentials of the Legal Environment.
50
Law
Undergraduate 2
04/04/2012

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Term
tort
Definition
a civil wrong not arising from a breach of contract; a breach of a legal duty that proximately causes harm or injury to another
Term
business tort
Definition
wrongful interference with another's business rights
Term
damages
Definition
the monetary amount awarded by a court in a civil action to compensate a plaintiff for injury or loss
Term
compensatory damages
Definition
a monetary award equivalent to the actual value or injuries or damage sustained by the aggrieved party
Term
punitive damages
Definition
monetary damages that may be awarded to a plaintiff to punish the defendant and deter future similar conduct
Term
intentional tort
Definition
a wrongful act knowingly committed
Term
tortfeasor
Definition
one who commits a tort
Term
assault
Definition
any word or action intended to make another person fearful of immediate physical harm; a reasonably believeable threat
Term
battery
Definition
the unprivileged, intentional touching of another
Term
defense
Definition
a reason offered and alleged by a defendant in an action or suit as to why the plaintiff should not recover or establish what she or he seeks
Term
actionable
Definition
capable of serving as the basis of a lawsuit. an actionable claim can be pursued in a lawsuit or other court action.
Term
defamation
Definition
anything published or publicly spoken that causes injury to another's good name, reputation, or character
Term
libel
Definition
defamation in writing or other form having the quality of permanence (such as a digital recording)
Term
slander
Definition
defamation in oral form
Term
privilege
Definition
a legal right, exemption, or immunity granted to a person or a class of persons. in the context of defamation, an absolute privilege immunizes the person making the statements from a lawsuit, regardless of whether the statements were malicious.
Term
actual malice
Definition
the deliberate intent to cause harm, which exists when a person makes a statement either knowing that it is false or showing a reckless disregard for whether it is true. in a defamation suit, a statement made about a public figure normally must be made with actual malice for the plaintiff to recover damages.
Term
appropriation
Definition
in tort law, the use by one person of another person's name, likeness, or other identifying characteristic without permission and for the benefit of the user
Term
fraudulent misrepresentation
Definition
any misrepresentation, either by misstatement or by omission of a material fact, knowingly made with the intention of deceiving another and on which a reasonable person would and does rely to his or her detriment
Term
puffery
Definition
a salesperson's often exaggerated claims concerning the quality of property offered for sale. such claims involve opinions rather than facts and are not considered to be legally binding promises or warranties.
Term
predatory behavior
Definition
business behavior that is undertaken with the intention of unlawfully driving competitors out of the market
Term
trespass to land
Definition
the entry onto, above, or below the surface of land owned by another without the owner's permission or legal authorization
Term
trespass to personal property
Definition
the unlawful taking or harming of another's personal property; interference with another's right to the exclusive possession of his or her personal property
Term
conversion
Definition
wrongfully taking or retaining posession of an individual's personal property and placing it in the service of another
Term
disparagement of property
Definition
an economically injurious falsehood made about another's product or property; a general term for torts that are more specifically referred to as slander of quality or slander of title
Term
slander of quality (trade libel)
Definition
the publication of false information about another's product, alleging that it is not what its seller claims
Term
slander of title
Definition
the publication of a statement that denies or casts doubt on another's legal ownership of any property, causing financial loss to that property's owner
Term
negligence
Definition
the failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in similar circumstances
Term
duty of care
Definition
the duty of all persons, as established by tort law, to exercise a reasonable amount of care in their dealings with others. failure to exercise due care, which is normally determined by the reasonable person standard, constitutes the tort of negligence
Term
reasonable person standard
Definition
the standard of behavior expected of a hypothetical "reasonable person"; the standard against which negligence is measured and that must be observed to avoid liability for negligence
Term
business invitee
Definition
a person, such as a customer or a client, who is invited onto business premises by the owner of those premises for business purposes
Term
malpractice
Definition
professional misconduct or the lack of the requisite degree of skill as a professional. negligence--the failure to exercise due care--on the part of a professional, such as a physician, is commonly referred to as malpractice.
Term
causation in fact
Definition
an act or omission without which an event would not have occurred
Term
proximate cause
Definition
legal cause; exists when the connection between an act and an injury is strong enough to justify imposing liability
Term
assumption of risk
Definition
a doctrine under which a plaintiff may not recover for injuries or damage suffered from risks he or she knew of and voluntarily assumed
Term
contributory negligence
Definition
a rule in tort law that completely bars the plaintiff from recovering any damages if the damage suffered is partly the plaintiff's own fault; used in a minority of states
Term
comparative negligence
Definition
a rule in tort law that reduces the plaintiff's recovery in proportion to the plaintiff's degree of fault, rather than barring recovery completely; used in the majority of states
Term
res ipsa loquitur
Definition
a doctrine under which negligence may be inferred simply because an event occurred, if it is the type of event that would not occur in the absense of negligence. literally, the term means "the facts speak for themselves."
Term
negligence per se
Definition
an action or failure to act in violation of a statutory requirement
Term
good samaritan statute
Definition
a state statute stipulating that persons who provide emergency services to, or rescue, someone in peril cannot be sued for negligence, unless they act recklessly, thereby causing further harm
Term
dram shop act
Definition
a state statute that imposes liability on the owners of bars and taverns, as well as those who serve alcoholic drinks to the public, for injuries resulting from accidents caused by intoxicated persons when the sellers or servers of alcoholic drinks contributed to the intoxication
Term
cyber tort
Definition
a tort committed in cyberspace
Term
spam
Definition
bulk, unsolicited (junk) e-mail
Term
botnet
Definition
a network of computers that have been apropriated without the knowledge of their owners and used to spread harmful programs via the internet; short for robot network
Term
strict liability
Definition
liability regardless of fault. in tort law, strict liability is imposed on a manufacturer or seller that introduces into commerce a good that is unreasonably dangerous when in a defective condition.
Term
product liability
Definition
the legal liability of manufacturers, sellers, and lessors of goods to consumers, users, and bystanders for injuries or damages that are caused by the goods
Term
express warranty
Definition
a seller's or lessor's oral or writen promise, ancillary to an underlying sales agreement, as to the quality, description, or performance of the goods being sold or leased
Term
implied warranty of merchantability
Definition
an implicit promise by a merchant seller of goods that the goods are reasonably fit for the general purpose for which they are sold, are correctly packaged and labeled, and are of proper quality
Term
implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose
Definition
an implicit promise made by a seller of gods that the goods are fit for the particular purpose for which the buyer will use the goods. the seller must know the buyer's purpose and be aware that the buyer is relying on the seller's skill and judgment to select suitable goods.
Term
unreasonably dangerous product
Definition
in product liability, a product that is defective to the point of threatenin a consumer's health and safety. a product will be considered unreasonably dangerous if (1) it is dangerous beyongd the expectation of the ordinary consumer or if (2) a less dangerous alternative was economicaly feasible for the manufacturer, but the manufacturer failed to produce it
Term
statute of repose
Definition
basically, a statute of limitations that is not dependent on the happening of a cause of action. statutes of repose generally begin to run at an earlier date and run for a longer period of time than statutes of limitations
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