FE-1 Law of Torts cheat sheet

Negligence elements: duty of care, breach of that duty, factual cause, legal (proximate) cause, and actual damage; all five must be proved by the claimant on the balance of probabilities.

Duty of care test (general): foreseeability of harm to the claimant, proximity of relationship, and whether it is fair, just and reasonable to impose a duty; established categories (road users, doctor–patient, employer–employee) apply without full three-stage analysis.

Breach standard: the reasonable person of ordinary prudence; children judged against a child of like age, professionals against the ordinary skilled member of their profession (Bolam-type standard), and learners against the reasonably competent unqualified person.

Risk calculus factors: magnitude of foreseeable harm, probability of occurrence, cost and practicality of precautions, and social utility of the activity; a small risk of grave injury can still require precautions.

Factual causation: the 'but for' test - harm would not have occurred but for the breach; where multiple possible causes exist, material contribution to harm or to risk may substitute (industrial disease, cumulative exposure cases).

Remoteness: a defendant is liable only for damage of a kind reasonably foreseeable at the time of breach; the precise manner or extent of harm need not be foreseen, and the thin-skull rule holds the defendant liable for the full extent of foreseeable injury.

Defences to negligence: contributory negligence (damages reduced according to the claimant's share of responsibility), voluntary assumption of risk (full defence requiring knowledge and free consent), and illegality where it would be contrary to public policy to compensate.

Trespass to the person: battery (intentional application of unlawful force), assault (apprehension of immediate unlawful force), false imprisonment (complete deprivation of liberty without lawful justification); intention, not hostility, is the key mental element.

Defamation: a defamatory statement lowering the claimant in the eyes of right-thinking people, referring to the claimant, and published to a third party; defences include truth, honest opinion, privilege, and public interest publication.

Compensatory damages aim to restore the claimant to the position before the tort; heads include pain and suffering, loss of amenity, loss of earnings (past and future), medical expenses, and special damages pleaded specifically.

Mitigation duty: a claimant must take reasonable steps to reduce loss; failure to do so reduces recovery, but the claimant is not required to take risky or expensive measures.

Vicarious liability requires a relationship of employment or akin to employment, a tort committed by the employee, and commission within the course of employment (close connection test for unauthorised acts).

Occupiers' liability: occupiers owe a duty to lawful visitors to take reasonable care that premises are safe for the purpose of the visit, with warnings and independent contractors affecting the scope of that duty.

Nuisance: private nuisance protects unreasonable interference with use and enjoyment of land (considering locality, duration, sensitivity and malice); public nuisance affects a class of Her Majesty's subjects and requires special damage for individual claims.

Strict liability for animals and dangerous things: keepers are liable for damage by animals of a dangerous species or where the keeper knew of the animal's dangerous characteristics; the rule in Rylands v Fletcher covers escape of dangerous things from land used for a non-natural purpose.

Limitation periods: generally six years for tort claims and three years for personal injury claims from the date of knowledge, with judicial discretion to extend in personal injury cases; defamation is one year from publication.

Remedies beyond damages: injunction (prohibitory or mandatory) to restrain continuing torts such as nuisance or trespass, abatement of nuisance, and self-help recovery of goods in limited circumstances.

Product liability under statute imposes liability on producers for defective products causing death, personal injury or property damage above a value threshold, without proof of negligence; contributory negligence and the development risks defence may reduce or defeat the claim.