Legal Environment of Business: Chapter 6

a civil wrong not arising from a breach of contract; a breach of a legal duty that proximately causes harm or injury to another

wrongful interference with another's business rights

the monetary amount awarded by a court in a civil action to compensate a plantiff for injury or loss

a monetary award equivalent to the actual value of injuries or damage sustained by the aggrieved party

monetary damages that may be awarded to a plantiff to punish the defendant and deter future similar conduct

a wrongful act knowingly committed

one who commits a tort

any word or action intended to make another person fearful of immediate physical harm; a reasonably believable threat

the unprivileged, intentional touching of another

a reason offered and alleged by a defendant in an action or suit as to why the plantiff should not recover or establish what she or he seeks

capable of serving as the basis of a lawsuit. An actionable claim can be pursued in a lawsuit or other court action

anything published or publicly spoken that causes injury to another's good name, reputation, or character

defamation in writing or other form having the quality of permanence (such as a digital recording)

defamation in oral form

a legal right, exemption, or immunity granted to a person or a class of persons. In the context of demation, an absolute privilege immunizes the person making the statements from a lawsuit, regardless of whether the statements were malicious

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 must with actual malice for the plantiff to recover damages

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

any misrepresentation, either by misstatement or by omission of a material fact, knowing made with the intention of deceiving another and on which a reasonable person would and does rely to his or her detriment

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

business behavior that is undertaken with the intention of unlawfully driving competitors out of the market

the entry onto, above, or below the surface of land owned by another without the owner's permission or legal authorization

the unlawful taking or harming of another's personal property; interference with another's right to the exclusive possession of his of her personal property

wrongfully taking or retaining possession of an individual's personal property and placing it in the service of another

an economically injurious falsehood made about another's product or property; a general term for torts are more specifically referred to as slander of quality or slander of title

the publication of false information about another's product, alleging that it is not what it's seller claims

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

the failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in similar circumstances

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

a person, such as a customer or a client, who is invited onto business premises by the owner of these premises for business purposes

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 refered to as malpractice.

an act or omission without which an event would not have occured

legal cause; exist when the connection between an act and an injury is strong enough to justify imposing liability

a doctrine under which a plantiff may not recover for injuries or damage suffered from risks he or she knew of and voluntary assumed

a rule in tort law that completely bars the plantiff from recovering any damages if the damage suffered is partly the plantiff's own fault; used in a minority of states

a rule in tort law that reduces the plantiff's recovery in proportion to the plantiff's degree of fault; rather than barring recovery completely; used in the majority of states

a doctrine under which negligence may be inferred simply because an event occured, if it is the type of event that would not occur in the absence of negligence, Literally, the term means "the facts speak for themselves"

an action or failure to act in violation of a statutory requirement

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

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 serveers of alcoholic drink contributed to the intoxicated

a tort committed in cyberspace

bulk, unsolicited (junk) e-mail

a network of computers that have been appropriated without the knowledge of their owners and used to spread harmful programs via the Internet; short for robot network

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

the legal liability of manufacturer, sellers, and lessors of goods to consumers, users, and bystanders for injuries or damages that are caused by the goods

a seller's or lessor's oral or written promise, ancillary to an underlying sales agreement, as to the quality, description, or performance of the goods being sold or leased

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

an implicit promise made by a seller of goods 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 skills and judgment to select suitable goods

in product liability, a product that is defective to the point of threatening a consumer's health and safety. A product will be considered unreasonably dangerous if (1) it is dangerous beyond the expectation of the ordinary consumer or if (2) a less dangerous alternative was economically feasible for the manufacturer, but the manufacturer failed to produce it

basically, a statute of limitations that is not dependent on the happening of a cause of action. Statute of repose generally begin to run at an earlier date and run for a longer period of time than statutes of limitations