AFM231 Chapter Notes - Chapter 10: Intentional Tort, Vehicle Insurance, False Imprisonment
18 May 2018
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Chapter 10 – Introduction to Tort Law
Defining Tort Law
Tort: a harm caused by one person to another, other than through breach of contract, and for which the
law provided a remedy
Tort law compensate the injured party as a result of the actions of others
It may exceed damages for personal injury suffered such as damages to property,
reputation.
Tort has been breaking down into distinct categories
Trespass to land involves wrongful interference with someone’s possession of land. E.g.
when dealing with unpaid parking
Deceit or fraud is based on a false representation intentionally or recklessly made by one
person to another that causes damage. It occurs when, for example, a customer purchases a
vehicle based on the vendor’s intentional representation that the vehicle has a new engine
when it doesn’t.
Negligence compensates someone who has suffered loss or injury due to the unreasonable
conduct of another. E.g. when a taxi driver is injured due to an unsafe lane change by
another driver. E.g. when lawyers or accountants give their client incompetent advice
The law of tort will not automatically provide a remedy when someone has been physically or
economically injured.
The tort law seeks to impose liability based on fault, as the following examples illustrate
Example 1: a truck driver falls asleep and crashes into a parked car and damaged property
Committed tort of negligence.
The owner of the parked car can successfully sue in tort
Example 2: a truck driver with no previous history of health problems suffers a heart attack while driving
and crashes into the parked car.
The heart attack was not reasonably foreseeable, no tort has been committed by the driver.
Tort varies across province depending on the no-fault elements of the provincial insurance act.
Some province will have auto insurance take place, some will have a pure no-fault system
that eliminates the ability to claim in tort
Tort law doesn’t provide a remedy in all circumstances like example 2. Truly feels bad situation
Recall that courts are governed by precedents. The judge can reach back and rely on old cases as well as
more recently decided ones
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
How Torts Are Categorized
Torts call in two groups: torts committed intentionally and torts committed through negligence
Intentional tort is a harmful act that is deliberate.
E.g. store security personnel prevent a customer from leaving the premises because they
mistakenly believe she has shoplifted, the security guards have committed the tort of false
imprisonment – unlawful detention by physical restraint or coercion by psychological means
E.g. if the security physically restrains or punch the suspected shoplifter, they have
committed the tort of battery – intentional infliction of harmful or offensive physical
contact. The fact that the guard have made an innocent mistake is no defence
When someone is negligent, he is liable for damages even though he did not intentionally cause the
event in question.
E.g. when employers fail to prevent drunk employees from driving home.
Employers own an “overriding managerial responsibility” to protect employees and
“safeguard them from an unreasonable risk of personal injury while on duty”
Tort Law and Criminal Law
The same event can give rise to two distinct legal consequences, one in tort law and one in criminal law.
A person that drives drunk and hurts someone else can face liability from tort (negligence)
and criminal law (causes bodily harm to another person)
Purposes of the Actions
The purpose of a criminal prosecution is to censure behaviour and secure the sanction of a fine,
imprisonment, or both
Criminal law doesn’t compensate the victim of a crime, leaving compensation to other areas of law
Tort law compensate the victim for the harm suffered. It enforces the victim’s private right to extract
compensation from the party who has caused the harm
Commencing the Action
In criminal law, the legal action is called a prosecution and is brought by Crown prosecutors employed
by the federal or provincial government, not from the injured parties.
An injured driver would be called “complainant” and the wronged party is the “accused”
In tort law, the injured party brings the legal action. Plaintiff vs. defendant
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Tort: a harm caused by one person to another, other than through breach of contract, and for which the law provided a remedy. Tort law compensate the injured party as a result of the actions of others. It may exceed damages for personal injury suffered such as damages to property, reputation. Tort has been breaking down into distinct categories. Trespass to land involves wrongful interference with someone"s possession of land. Deceit or fraud is based on a false representation intentionally or recklessly made by one person to another that causes damage. It occurs when, for example, a customer purchases a vehicle based on the vendor"s intentional representation that the vehicle has a new engine when it doesn"t. Negligence compensates someone who has suffered loss or injury due to the unreasonable conduct of another. E. g. when a taxi driver is injured due to an unsafe lane change by another driver. E. g. when lawyers or accountants give their client incompetent advice.
