5 Chapter Review Questions
1. What are the purposes of tort law? How does the law of torts
compare with the law of contracts? What are the goals of tort law?
a. Purpose: to compensate a person for a civil wrongdoing done against
them, and punish the person who committed this act against them.
b. Tort is different from contract because it concerns the rights and duties
of parties to involuntary transactions such as accidents, assaults,
intentional interference with business opportunities, and fraud.
c. The goals of tort law are compensation, appeasement, justice,
deterrence, and social insurance.
2. What are the differences between negligent torts and intentional
torts? Does either require that harm is intended?
a. Intentional torts are done intentionally, while negligent torts deal with
careless or wreck less conduct rather than intentional conduct.
b. Neither requires intent of harm.
3. Are punitive damages the method by which the law of torts
discourages wrongful actions, or is the discouragement accomplished
through the awarding of compensatory damages?
a. Compensatory damages only compensate the person for what
happened to them, while punitive damages can be up to three or four
times the actual damages.
b. Punitive damages heavily discourage wrongful actions.
4. Compare defamation, product disparagement, and false advertising.
What is a common element in all three?
a. Defamation the publishing of a false statement that tends injure to a
persons reputation or good name causing the public to hold that person
up to hatred. It includes libel and slander.
b. Product Disparagement talking badly about a competitors product
and making up false things about it so that people will buy your
product instead.
c. False Advertising making outrageous claims about your product that
are not true to attract buyers. Your product cant deliver what you say
it can.
5. What is the reasonable person standard?
a. Also known as the objective standard, what would a reasonable person
do?
b. Example: would a reasonable person feel threatened if you held a gun
to their head? Then that is assault.
6. What are the intentional torts? How do they vary from negligence
and strict liability?
a. The intentional torts are assault, battery, false imprisonment,
intentional infliction of mental distress, invasion of privacy,
defamation, malicious prosecution, fraudulent misrepresentation, false
advertising, product disparagement, interference with contracts,
interfering with employment.
b. Negligence is not intentional; it is achieved through careless or wreck
less behavior.
c. Strict Liability is when you do everything you can to prevent injury
but someone still gets hurt. You are still liable to pay.
7. What are the defenses to assault and battery, and intentional infliction
of emotional distress?
a. The defenses to assault and battery are consent, privilege, and self
defense.
8.