{"id":7037,"date":"2017-11-06T23:03:02","date_gmt":"2017-11-06T23:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/?page_id=7037"},"modified":"2023-04-10T03:44:19","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T03:44:19","slug":"types-of-torts-civil-wrongs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/?page_id=7037","title":{"rendered":"Tort – a wrongful (“tortious”) act that causes a private injury:"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This page is continued from<\/span> Civil Law Self-Help Walkthrough<\/a> >>>><\/span> Section 1<\/a>:<\/span>
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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Both<\/span> criminal acts<\/a> and non-criminal acts have the potential t<\/span>o injure<\/a> a<\/span> person<\/a>, property, and\/or violate a legal right.\u00a0 In such cases, an injured party may choose to file a claim, and if a settlement is not reached, they may choose to file a civil action in order to recover financial<\/span> compensation<\/a> (called<\/span> damages<\/a>) and\/or to seek some sort of non-monetary, practical solution in order to prevent and\/or recover from the injury (i.e. requesting a restraining order<\/em>, having property returned<\/em>, amending government policy<\/em>, etc etc etc).\u00a0 A non-monetary remedy is known as<\/span> an <\/span>equitable remedy<\/a>, which may be enforced via a court order known as an<\/span> injunction<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Definitions for “tort” are located below, followed by a list of the many various types<\/em> of torts.\u00a0 <\/em>Scroll down to find which types<\/em> of torts you may have suffered for use in filing your<\/span> claim<\/a> and\/o<\/span>r civil action<\/a>.\u00a0 For additional information about torts, read the following article:<\/span><\/span>
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Civil Law and Criminal Law:<\/span>
\n What’s the Difference?<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Definitions:<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

tort<\/span>:<\/span>
\n<\/strong>(16c)<\/span><\/p>\n

1.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>A wrong.<\/span> Hayes v Massachusetts Mut. Life Ins<\/em>. Co. 125 I11 626, 18 NE 322<\/span>. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A wrong independent of contract.<\/span>\u00a0 International Ocean Tel. Co. v Saunders<\/em>, 32 Fla 434, 14 So 148<\/span>. <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

A breach of duty which the law, as distinguished from a mere contract, has imposed.<\/span>\u00a0 Western Union Tel. Co. v Taylor<\/em>, 84 Ga 408, 11 SE 396<\/span>. <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

An injury or wrong committed, either with or without force, to the person or property of another.
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Such injury may arise by the nonfeasance, by the malfeasance,<\/span> or by the misfeasance of the wrongdoer.<\/span> Gindele v Corrigan<\/em>, 129 I11 582, 22 NE 516<\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In a general way, a tort is distinguished from a breach of contract in that the latter arises under an agreement of the parties, whereas the tort, ordinarily, is a violation of a duty fixed by law, independent of contract or the will of the parties, although it may sometimes have relation to obligations growing out of, or coincident with a contract, and frequently the same facts will sustain either class of action.<\/span>\u00a0 Busch v Interborough Rapid Transit Co<\/em>. 187 NY 388, 80 NE 197<\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Although the same act may constitute both a crime and a tort, the crime is an offense against the public pursued by the sovereign, while the tort is a private injury which is pursued by the injured <\/span><\/strong><\/span>party.<\/span>\u00a0 52 Am J1st Torts \u00a7 2<\/span>.<\/strong> [1]<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

1. A wrong involving a breach of duty and resulting in an injury<\/a> to the person or<\/span> property<\/a> of another.\u00a0 A tort is distinguished from a breach of contract in that a tort is a violation of a duty established by law, whereas a breach of contract results from a failure to meet an obligation created by the agreement of the parties.\u00a0 Although<\/span> the same act may be both a crime and a tort<\/a>, the<\/span> crime<\/a> is an offense against the public which is prosecuted by the state in a criminal action; the tort is a private wrong that must be pursued by the injured party in a<\/span> civil action<\/a>.<\/strong> [2]<\/span><\/p>\n

1. A civil wrong, other than breach of contract, for which a remedy may be\u00a0<\/strong>obtained, usually in the form of damages; a breach of a duty that the law imposes on\u00a0<\/strong>persons who stand in a particular relation to one another.\u00a0 Tortious conduct is typically\u00a0<\/strong>one of four types:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

1.) a culpable or intentional act resulting in harm<\/strong><\/span>
\n 2.) an act involving culpable & unlawful conduct causing\u00a0<\/strong>unintentional harm<\/strong><\/span>
\n 3.) a culpable act of inadvertence involving an unreasonable\u00a0<\/strong>risk of harm<\/strong><\/span>
\n 4.) a nonculpable act resulting in accidental harm for which,\u00a0<\/strong>because of the hazards involved, the law imposes strict\u00a0<\/strong>or absolute liability despite the absence of fault.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> (pl.) The branch of law dealing with such wrongs. <\/strong>[3]<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Excerpt from J.W. Cecil Turner’s<\/span> Kenny’s Outlines of Criminal Law<\/em><\/a>:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cTo ask concerning any occurrence ‘Is this a crime or is\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>it a tort?’\u00a0 is \u2014 to borrow Sir James Stephen’s apt illustration\u00a0\u2014 no wiser than it would be to ask concerning a man ‘Is he a father or a son?’ For he may well be both.<\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/strong>[4]<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Excerpt from R.F.V. Heuston’s<\/span>\u00a0Salmond on the Law of Torts<\/a><\/em>:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u201cWe may… define a tort as a civil wrong for which the\u00a0remedy is a common-law action for unliquidated damages, and which is not exclusively the breach of a contract or the breach\u00a0of a trust or other merely equitable obligation.<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>[5]<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Excerpt from\u00a0W. Page Keeton’s<\/span>\u00a0Prosser & Keeton on the Law of Torts<\/a><\/em>:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cIt might be possible to define a tort by enumerating the\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>things that it is not.\u00a0 It is not a crime, it is not a breach of\u00a0contract, it is not necessarily concerned with property rights\u00a0or problems of government, but is the occupant of a large\u00a0residuary field remaining if these are taken out of the law. \u00a0But\u00a0this again is illusory, and the conception of a tort of legal\u00a0garbage-can to hold what can be put nowhere else is of no help. \u00a0In the first place, tort is a field which pervades the entire law,& is so interlocked at every point with property, contract and <\/strong>other accepted classifications that, as the student of law soon\u00a0<\/strong>discovers, the categories are quite arbitrary. \u00a0In the second,\u00a0<\/strong>there is a central theme, or basis or idea, running through the\u00a0<\/strong>cases of what are called torts, which, although difficult to put\u00a0<\/strong>into words, does distinguish them in a greater or less degree\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>from other types of cases.<\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/strong>[6]<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Etymology of “Tort”:<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>(mid-13c.) “Injury, wrong,” from Old French\u00a0tort<\/span>\u00a0“wrong, injustice, crime”<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> (11c.), from Medieval Latin\u00a0tortum<\/span><\/em>\u00a0“injustice,” noun use of neuter of\u00a0tortus<\/span><\/em>\u00a0‘wrung, twisted,’ past participle of Latin\u00a0torquere<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>‘turn, turn awry, twist, wring, distort’<\/strong>\u00a0(from PIE root\u00a0*terkw-<\/span>\u00a0“to twist”).\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

3. Legal sense of ‘breach of a duty, whereby someone acquires a right of action for damages’ is first recorded 1580s.<\/strong> [7]<\/span><\/p>\n

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Note:<\/span> Clicking on any of the below terms will take you to the full definition; this page will remain open.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

General Legal Terms pertaining to Torts:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

feasance<\/span><\/a> – the doing or accomplishment of an act, condition, or obligation.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n