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Torts Lecture 1 A-1

The document discusses various topics related to tort law: 1. It defines civil wrongs as violations of legal rights or duties that result in civil lawsuits, as opposed to criminal cases. Common types of civil wrongs include torts, breach of contract, and breach of trust. 2. It provides an overview of different types of torts, including intentional torts, negligence torts, strict liability torts, and nuisance torts. 3. It discusses the evolution of tort law from early English common law to modern statutes, and provides examples of how intentional, negligent, and strict liability torts apply to different scenarios involving injury or property damage.

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Sajad Hussain
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48 views

Torts Lecture 1 A-1

The document discusses various topics related to tort law: 1. It defines civil wrongs as violations of legal rights or duties that result in civil lawsuits, as opposed to criminal cases. Common types of civil wrongs include torts, breach of contract, and breach of trust. 2. It provides an overview of different types of torts, including intentional torts, negligence torts, strict liability torts, and nuisance torts. 3. It discusses the evolution of tort law from early English common law to modern statutes, and provides examples of how intentional, negligent, and strict liability torts apply to different scenarios involving injury or property damage.

Uploaded by

Sajad Hussain
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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TORTS :LECTURE 1

Mohammad Ata-ur Rahman


Civil society
Civil society can be
understood as the "third
sector" of society,
distinct from
government and
business, and including
the family and the
private sphere.
Anti-encroachment drive
Woman driver booked by Karachi police for allegedly killing
cat in 'road accident‘, 10 Feb 2019

Darakshan police have registered a case against a


woman over charges of killing a cat in a 'road
accident' in Karachi's Defence Housing Authority
area under the directives of the local court, police
said on Saturday.
“We have registered a first information report against
the woman under Section 429 (mischief by killing or
maiming cattle, etc) of the Pakistan Penal Code on
the complaint of the lawyer,” said Darakshan SHO
Arshad Janjua.
The dog who inherited $12MILLION from billionaire
Leona Helmsley dies

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2001471/Trouble-dog-inherited-12m-
billionaire-Leona-Helmsley-dies.html

Leona Helmsley's pampered Maltese 'Trouble', who


inherited $12million from the real estate billionaire,
has died at the age of 12.
That's 84 in dog years.
Helmsley, who died in 2007, cut two grandchildren
out of her will and evicted her son's widow after his
death, left part of her fortune to the dog - although a
judge later reduced it to $2 million.
Inalienable Rights in Capitalist
Society
Life: everyone is entitled to live.
Liberty: everyone is entitled to do anything they want
to so long as it doesn't conflict with the first right.
Estate: everyone is entitled to own all they create or
gain through gift or trade so long as it doesn't conflict
with the first two rights.
Civil rights
Civil rights include the ensuring of peoples' physical
and mental integrity, life, and safety; protection from
discrimination on grounds such
as race, gender, sexual orientation, national
origin, age, political affiliation, ethnicity, religion,
and disability and individual rights such
as privacy and the freedoms
of thought, speech, religion, press, assembly,
and movement.
THE PUNJAB PROTECTION OF WOMEN AGAINST
VIOLENCE ACT 2016
(Act XVI of 2016)

Since the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of


Pakistan, while guaranteeing gender equality, enables
the State to make any special provision for the
protection of women, it is necessary to protect
women against violence including domestic violence,
to establish a protection system for effective service
delivery to women victims and to create an enabling
environment to encourage and facilitate women
freely to play their desired role in the society
Civil Wrongs
a cause of action under the law of the governing
body. Tort, breach of contract and breach of trust are
types of civil wrong. Something that amounts to a
civil wrong is said to be wrongful. A wrong involves
the violation of a right because wrong and right are
complementary terms
Review: Criminal Law v. Civil
Law
Criminal Law Civil Law
- Plaintiff is the state (e.g., - Plaintiff is private party
State v. Doe) (e.g., Doe v. Roe)
- Guilty or Not Guilty - Liable or Not Liable
- Guilty verdict results in - Liability results in prison
sentence paying damages (i.e.,
money)
- Prosecution must prove - Plaintiff only needs a
guilt beyond a reasonable preponderance of doubt
evidence (i.e., 51% or
more)
History of Tort Law
Writ of Trespass in the King’s courts since 1066
alleging breach of peace for intentional & forceful
injury to person or property
Writ of Trespass on the case in the case of negligent
but wrongful damage to person or property
Civil Actions
 What is a civil action?
Can you think of any examples?

Definition of a civil action: “An action brought to enforce, redress, or protect a


private or civil right; a noncriminal litigation”

Compare to the definition for a criminal action: “An action instituted by the
government to punish offenses against the public”
Civil Actions are Different
 Criminal Actions Civil Actions
 Brought by the government – Brought by private citizens
 Government is known as the – Person bringing action is
prosecution known as the plaintiff
 Prosecution has the burden of – Plaintiff has the burden of
proof – beyond a reasonable proof – preponderance of the
doubt evidence
 Defendant loses if found guilty – Defendant loses if found
 Usual penalty is a prison sentence liable
– Usual penalty is money
damages
Tort Is A Civil Wrong

A tort is a civil wrong other than a breach of contract


Any wrong done by citizens or person who may be
unintentional, which results to damages such as
death, personal injury, property damages, nervous
shock or any consequential loss
Evolution of Tort Law
Primary:
Case-law

Enactments/ Legislation

Secondary:
Common Law Definition
Common law (also known as case law or precedent)
is law developed by judges, courts, and similar
tribunals, stated in decisions that nominally decide
individual cases but that in addition
have precedential effect on future cases.
Common Law versus Statute

Common Law Statutory Law


The law evolves with new New laws are issued by
decisions made by judges in various government
courts. agencies.
Procedural
Case law Substantive
Written law
Precedent or judiciary
Government or legislature
Elements of Tort
Legal Right of Plaintiff

Legal Duty of Defendant

Violation of Duty by Act or Omission

Damage as a Result of Violation


Categories of Parties

Plaintiffs or Claimants

Vs

Defendants
Essentials of Claim in Tort
Civil wrong
Tortious Conduct
Cause of Action
Tortfeasor
Liability (usually financial) responsibility
Purpose of Tort Action
Punishment or Punitive Damages

Deterrence

Compensation or Risk Shifting


Examples of Tort

A student accidentally throws a pen & hurts another


What is the liability?

What if the pen is thrown intentionally / deliberately?


Can the victim sue for personal injury?
Classification of Torts
Intentional torts

Negligence

Strict liability

Nuisance Torts
Types of Torts
 There are a variety of torts, which can broadly be broken into
the following three categories:
- Negligent torts
Negligent torts, as their name suggests, are torts that are caused by
the negligence of the tort-feasor, or person who commits the tort.
- Intentional torts
Intentional torts, also as their name suggests, are torts caused
intentionally by the tort-feasor.
Strict liability torts
Strict liability torts are torts where the law has determined that some
activities are so dangerous that an individual engaging in those
activities is liable for damages regardless of intent or negligence
resulting in harm. A common example is blasting with dynamite.
Intentional Torts
An intentional tort is commonly associated with
criminal charges. It involves taking an action with
the express purpose of causing harm to another. If
you assault someone, you’ll be charged with a
misdemeanor or felony, depending on the nature of
the attack, but the victim can also file suit against
you for civil damages in an intentional tort action.
Negligence Torts
Harm caused by failing to act as a form or multiple forms of carelessness

A failure to exercise the appropriate and or ethical/ professional ruled care


expected to be exercised amongst specified circumstances.
Negligence torts are usually related to accidents.

You took some action that a prudent person wouldn’t take because he would
be aware that it could potentially cause harm or you might have failed to
take an action to prevent harm.
Strict Liability Torts
Liability can arise even when there is no intention to
cause harm or negligence.
When a contractor uses dynamite which causes
debris to be thrown onto the land of another and
damages the landowner’s house, the landowner
may recover damages from the contractor even if
the contractor was not negligent and did not intend
to cause any harm.
Nuisance Torts

Not really a separate tort at all because it requires that


one of the other tort requirements be present. A
nuisance tort involves either negligence, intention
or strict liability.
Someone did something under one of the other three
tort definitions that resulted in an unpleasant event
that cost you the enjoyment of your home or land.
Mass tort

A mass tort is a civil action involving numerous


plaintiffs against one or a few
corporate defendants in state or federal court. Law
firms sometimes use mass media to reach possible
plaintiffs.
The three main categories of mass torts include:
Mass disaster torts
Mass toxic torts
Product liability torts
Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism
Act, 2015
Law passed by the United States Congress that
narrows the scope of the legal doctrine of
foreign sovereign immunity. It amends the law in
regards to civil claims against a foreign state for
injuries, death, or damages from an act of
international terrorism.
Saudi Arabia seeks to end US
lawsuits over 9/11 attacks
Saudi Arabia has asked a
US judge to dismiss 25
lawsuits filed against it
in relation to its alleged
support of the
September 11, 2001
attacks.

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