Tort - Law Dictionary Search Results
Home Dictionary Name: tort Page: 6Caveat actor
Caveat actor. The Criminal Law of England supposes that a man intends the natural and probable consequences of his act. But in civil matters there is no rule of common law that a man 'acts at his peril,' except the case of one who harbours or collects a dangerous thing, or anything likely to do mischief if it escapes, Rylands v. Fletcher, (1866) LR 1 Ex. 265; (1868) LR 3 HL 330; with that exception in which nothing short of an act of God, or the victim's default, will excuse him, if a person suffers injury he must found his action either on contract or tort, e.g., trespass or negligence on the part of the defendant. This is the theory of the law, though in practice a very small amount of malice or negligence will suffice. See Malice and Res Ipsa Loquitur.Let the doer, or actor, beware, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 215....
Mesne profits, action of
Mesne profits, action of, an action of trespass brought to recover profits derived from land, whilst the possession of it has been improperly withheld: that is, the yearly value of the premises. 'Mesne profits are the rents and profits which a trespasser has, or might have, received or made during his occupation of the premises, and which therefore he must pay over to the true owner as compensation for the tort which he has committed. A claim for rent is therefore liquidated, while a claim for mesne profits is always unliquidated' (Odgerson Pleading).The action should be brought in the name of the plaintiff, who has recovered judgment in the ejectment, and lies against any person found in possession of the premises after a recovery in ejectment.The jury are not bound by the amount of the rent, but may give extra damages. But ground-rent paid by the defendant should be deducted from the damages. A plaintiff may recover in this action the costs o the action of ejectment.As to the date fr...
Volenti non fit injuria
Volenti non fit injuria. Plow. 501.-(Where the sufferer is willing no injury is done.) See this maxim criticized by Lord Esher in Yarmouth v. France, (1887) 19 QBD at p. 653, and by Lord Watson in Smith v. Baker, 1891, AC (355). The question is one for the jury, Dublin, etc., Railway Co. v. Slattery, (1878) 3 App Cas 1155. For a recent application of the maxim, see Herd v. Weardale, etc., Co., 195, AC 67.Consent or 'leave and licence' may be said to be a defence in actions of tort or prosecutions (see Archbold, Cr. Pr.), where the consent is to the specific injury or act, unless the act amounts to the infliction of a serious physical injury or where the rights of the public as well as the individual sustaining harm have intervened. The public are interested in preventing one of their number from grievous bodily harm and from exhibitions which alarm the public conscience, such as prize-fights without gloves, duels, etc., and see LIBEL.The maxim has also been invoked in cases where the p...
Respondeat superior
Respondeat superior, means 'let the superior give answer'. A doctrine in tort law that makes a master liable for the wrong of a servant; specific; the doctrine making an employer or principal liable for the wrong of an employee or agent if it was committed within the scope of employment or agency, Perdue v. Mitchell, 373 So 2d 650 (1979).Respondeat superior. 4 Inst. 114.--(Let the principal be held responsible.) The person directing an unlawful act to be done by his servant or agent is answerable as if he had done the act with his own hand, See Knott v. London County Council, (1934) 1 KB 126; VICARIOUS RESPONSIBILITY....
Third party
Third party, means a person other than the citizen making a request for information and includes a public authority. [Right to Information Act, 2005 (22 of 2005), s. 2(n)]Means a person other than the person making a request for information and includes a public authority. [Freedom of Information Act, 2002, s. 2(i)]Means one who is not a party to a lawsuit, agreement, or other transaction but who is somehow involved in the transaction, someone other than the principal parties, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 1489.The phrase used to introduce any one into a scene already occupied by two in a definite relation to one another, as principal and agent, guardian and ward, solicitor and client. See AS AGAINST, AS BETWEEN.As to third-party insurance of motor vehicles; by the (English) Road Traffic Act, 1930 (20 & 21 Geo. 5, c. 43), s. 35, users of motor vehicles are to be insured against third-party risks. See Part II. of the Road Traffic Act; the (English) Motor Vehicles (Third Party Ris...
Case, action on the
Case, action on the. The action on the case lay where a party sued for damages for any wrong or cause of complaint (such as negligence, or breach of contract not under seal) to which covenant or trespass did not apply. Statutory sanction was obtained for this form of action under the Statute of Westminster 2 (13 Edw. 1, c. 24), which regulated and limited the increasing practice of framing new writs by officers of the Crown and empowered the Clerks in Chancery to frame new writs in consimili casu with writs then in existence, see Pollock on Torts and Law Quarterly Review, Vol. 52, p. 68. Under the statutory sanction many new writs which were analogous to the writ of trespass, or in consimili casu with that action, were invented and issued under the appellation of 'trespass on the case' (brevia 'de transgressione super casum') as being founded on the particular circumstances of the case thus requiring a remedy, and to distinguish them from the old writ of trespass; and the injuries them...
libel
libel [Anglo-French, from Latin libellus, diminutive of liber book] 1 : complaint used esp. in admiralty and divorce cases 2 a : a defamatory statement or representation esp. in the form of written or printed words ;specif : a false published statement that injures an individual's reputation (as in business) or otherwise exposes him or her to public contempt b : the publication of such a libel c : the crime or tort of publishing a libel see also single publication rule New York Times Co. v. Sullivan in the Important Cases section compare defamation, slander NOTE: Although libel is defined under state case law or statute, the U.S. Supreme Court has enumerated some First Amendment protections that apply to matters of public concern. In New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, the Court held that in order to recover damages a public person (as a celebrity or politician) who alleges libel (as by a newspaper) has to prove that “the statement was made with ‘actual malice’ &...
intent
intent 1 : the act or fact of intending: as a : the design or purpose to commit a wrongful or criminal act called also criminal intent compare knowledge, mens rea, motive, negligence b : the purpose to commit a tortious act having consequences that the actor desires and believes or knows will occur constructive intent : intent that is inferred to exist (as from willfulness or recklessness) in relation to an act criminal intent : intent general intent : intent to perform an illegal act without the desire for further consequences or a precise result [there was a general intent to assault but not to kill] specific intent : intent to perform an illegal act with the knowledge or purpose that particular results will or may ensue [assaulted him with specific intent to kill] trans·ferred intent 1 : intent attributed to a person who intends to cause another harm when the harm is accidentally inflicted on an unintended victim 2 : a doctrine in tort and criminal law: a wrongdoer...
battery
battery [Old French batterie beating, from battre to beat, from Latin battuere] : the crime or tort of intentionally or recklessly causing offensive physical contact or bodily harm (as by striking or by administering a poison or drug) that is not consented to by the victim compare assault aggravated battery : criminal battery that is accompanied by aggravating factors: as a : criminal battery that causes or is intended to cause serious bodily injury esp. through the use of a dangerous weapon b : criminal battery committed on a protected person (as a minor or a police officer) compare simple battery in this entry NOTE: Aggravated battery is usually classified as a felony. sex·u·al battery : intentional and offensive sexual contact and esp. sexual intercourse with a person who has not given or (as in the case of a child) is incapable of giving consent ;broadly : forced or coerced contact with the sexual parts of either the victim or the perpetrator see also rape NOTE:...
wrong
wrong 1 : a violation of the rights of another ;esp : tort 2 : something (as conduct, practices, or qualities) contrary to justice, goodness, equity, or law [the difference between right and ] vt : to do a wrong to : treat with injustice ...
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