AK Bar key terms

A doctrine allowing negligence to be inferred when an accident is of a kind that ordinarily does not happen without negligence, the instrumentality was under the defendant's exclusive control, and the plaintiff did not contribute to the harm.

A rule treating a violation of a statute as conclusive proof of breach when the plaintiff is within the class the statute protects and the harm is the type the statute was designed to prevent.

The requirement that a defendant's breach be a legal cause of the plaintiff's harm, meaning the harm was a foreseeable result of the conduct rather than an extraordinary, superseding event.

The factual link between conduct and harm, usually tested by the but-for question or, where multiple causes combine, by whether the conduct was a substantial factor in bringing about the injury.

An intervening act or event that breaks the chain of causation, relieving the original actor of liability because the later event was unforeseeable rather than a normal consequence of the original conduct.

The general obligation to act as a reasonable person would under the circumstances, owed to foreseeable plaintiffs; it may be limited by special relationships or heightened by statutes and professional standards.

The body of rules governing a landowner's responsibility to persons on the property, turning on the entrant's status as trespasser, licensee, or invitee and on the condition of the land.

A doctrine imposing a duty on landowners to protect children from dangerous artificial conditions they are likely to be drawn to, even when the children are trespassing.

Liability imposed without proof of fault for harms caused by abnormally dangerous activities or defective products, based on the nature of the activity or the condition of the product.

A claim against a manufacturer or seller for injury caused by a product that is defective in design, manufacture, or warning, often pursued under strict liability, negligence, or warranty theories.

A rule making an employer liable for torts committed by an employee acting within the scope of employment, regardless of the employer's own fault.

A system that reduces a plaintiff's recovery in proportion to the plaintiff's own share of fault; in some states a plaintiff at or above a threshold share is barred entirely.

A traditional defense that completely bars recovery when the plaintiff's own carelessness contributed to the injury, now largely replaced by comparative fault systems.

A defense requiring proof that the plaintiff knew of and voluntarily accepted a specific risk, which may bar or reduce recovery depending on the jurisdiction's approach to comparative fault.

A civil wrong committed with intent to cause a harmful or offensive contact, apprehension, confinement, or other invasion of a protected interest, such as battery, assault, or false imprisonment.

An intentional act causing harmful or offensive physical contact with another person without consent, where the actor intends the contact rather than necessarily the harm.

An intentional act creating in another a reasonable apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive contact, without requiring that any contact actually occur.

A false statement of fact published to a third party that harms reputation; public figures and matters of public concern add fault and actual-malice requirements.

A manifestation of present contractual intent that creates a power of acceptance in the offeree, definite enough to permit enforcement and communicated so the offeree knows of it.

An unequivocal assent to the terms of an offer, made in the manner the offer invites; a counteroffer or a conditional response generally operates as a rejection of the original offer.

A bargained-for exchange of legal value, such as a promise, act, or forbearance, that induces the other party's promise and makes an agreement enforceable.

The common-law requirement that an acceptance match the offer's terms exactly; a response adding or changing terms is a counteroffer rather than an acceptance.

The Uniform Commercial Code rule letting a definite expression of acceptance form a sales contract even with additional or different terms, which are then handled by the Code's gap-filling provisions.

A doctrine enforcing a promise without consideration when the promisor should reasonably expect reliance, the promisee actually relies, and injustice can be avoided only by enforcement.

A rule requiring certain agreements, such as those involving land or incapable of performance within one year, to be evidenced by a writing signed by the party to be charged.

A rule barring admission of prior or contemporaneous oral statements to contradict or vary a fully integrated written agreement, subject to exceptions such as ambiguity and fraud.

A seller's promise, implied by law in sales of goods by merchants, that the goods are fit for their ordinary purpose and pass without objection in the trade.

The constitutional provision protecting persons against unreasonable searches and seizures, generally requiring a warrant supported by probable cause and permitting exclusion of evidence obtained in violation.

A reasonable belief, based on trustworthy facts and circumstances, that a crime has been or is being committed or that evidence will be found in a particular place.

A remedy suppressing evidence obtained through an unconstitutional search or seizure, subject to exceptions such as good faith, inevitable discovery, and attenuation.

Advisements required before custodial interrogation informing a suspect of the rights to remain silent and to counsel, whose violation generally bars use of resulting statements in the prosecution's case-in-chief.

An out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted, generally inadmissible unless it falls within an exception or exclusion such as a party admission or prior consistent statement.

The Sixth Amendment right of a criminal defendant to confront adverse witnesses, which generally bars testimonial out-of-court statements unless the declarant is unavailable and the defendant had a prior opportunity to cross-examine.

A court's authority over the kind of dispute presented, such as federal question or diversity jurisdiction in federal court, which cannot be waived and may be raised at any time.

A court's power over a particular defendant, satisfied by domicile, consent, presence, or minimum contacts with the forum such that exercising jurisdiction comports with fair play and substantial justice.

The principle that federal courts sitting in diversity apply state substantive law and federal procedural law, with federal rules governing where they directly conflict with state practice.

The doctrine barring a party from relitigating a claim already decided on the merits by a final judgment, encompassing both claim preclusion and issue preclusion.