FE-1 Law of Torts key terms

A civil wrong, other than a breach of contract, that causes harm and entitles the injured party to sue for a remedy, usually damages.

Failure to exercise the care a reasonable person would use, causing harm. It requires a duty of care, a breach of that duty, causation, and resulting damage.

A legal obligation to avoid acts or omissions that could foreseeably injure others. It is the first element a claimant must establish in a negligence claim.

The test from Donoghue v Stevenson asking whether a person should reasonably have foreseen that carelessness would injure a party closely and directly affected by their conduct.

The closeness of relationship between claimant and defendant, in time, space, or legal connection, that helps justify imposing a duty of care.

The policy stage of the duty test asking whether, considering public interest and legal coherence, it is appropriate to impose a duty of care on the defendant.

Falling below the standard of the reasonable person in the circumstances. The court weighs the likelihood and seriousness of harm against the cost of precautions.

The objective benchmark for negligence: how an ordinary, prudent person would act in the same circumstances, disregarding the defendant's personal idiosyncrasies.

An economic test of negligence that compares the burden of precautions against the probability and magnitude of harm; a defendant breaches when the burden is less than expected loss.

The burden or expense of measures that would have reduced a foreseeable risk. Courts weigh this against the gravity and likelihood of harm when judging breach.

A modified standard applied to children, professionals, or those lacking capacity, replacing the ordinary reasonable person benchmark with one tailored to that class of defendant.

Failure by a skilled person to meet the standard reasonably expected of ordinary practitioners in their field, judged by accepted professional practice at the relevant time.

A professional is not negligent if they acted in accordance with a practice accepted as proper by a responsible body of practitioners in that field, even if other views exist.

Children are judged by the conduct expected of a reasonable child of the same age, unless they engage in adult activity, in which case the adult standard applies.

A rule allowing negligence to be inferred when the cause of an accident lies within the defendant's exclusive control and would not ordinarily occur without negligence.

The link between the defendant's breach and the claimant's harm, assessed through factual cause (the but-for test) and legal cause (remoteness of damage).

The factual causation question: would the harm have occurred but for the defendant's breach? If the harm would have happened anyway, the breach is not the cause.

An alternative to but-for causation, allowing liability where the defendant's breach made a significant contribution to the harm, often used with multiple possible causes.

The limit on liability to harm of a kind that was reasonably foreseeable at the time of the breach, even if the extent or manner of harm was unforeseeable.

The quality of being reasonably predictable. It operates both in establishing a duty of care and in limiting recoverable damage to foreseeable kinds of harm.

A defendant takes the victim as found: if the harm is of a foreseeable kind, full liability follows even if the claimant's unusual vulnerability made the injury far worse.

A new, independent act or event that breaks the chain of causation between the defendant's breach and the harm, relieving the defendant of liability for later consequences.

A claimant's own failure to take reasonable care for their safety, which reduces damages in proportion to their share of responsibility for the harm.

The approach of apportioning loss between claimant and defendant according to their respective degrees of responsibility, rather than barring the claim entirely.

A complete defence where the claimant freely and knowingly consented to the risk of harm, accepting it voluntarily rather than merely being aware of it.

A defence in intentional torts where the claimant agreed to the act complained of, within the scope of what was agreed, removing the wrongfulness of the conduct.

Also called ex turpi causa, it bars a claim where the claimant must rely on their own illegal or seriously wrongful conduct to establish the cause of action.

Judicial reasoning about broader social consequences and the proper allocation of risk, used to deny or limit duties of care and to shape defences.

An intentional tort involving direct, unlawful application of force to another person without their consent, such as an unwanted touch or strike.

An intentional tort where the defendant causes the claimant to reasonably apprehend an imminent battery, without the need for any physical contact.

Unlawful intentional confinement of a person within boundaries set by the defendant, without lawful justification and without consent.

Wrongs committed with the deliberate intention to cause the prohibited act or its consequences, including battery, assault, false imprisonment, and trespass.

Unjustified, direct interference with land in another's possession, such as entering without permission, staying after being asked to leave, or placing objects on it.

Unlawful interference with another's use or enjoyment of land, or with a public right. It usually arises from unreasonable activity rather than direct entry.

Unreasonable and substantial interference with a landowner's use and enjoyment of their property, judged by factors such as duration, locality, and sensitivity.

The position that a claimant who moves near an existing activity cannot usually complain of interference that would be reasonable in that locality, though this is not absolute.

Liability imposed without proof of negligence, for example for escapes of dangerous substances or defective products, based on the nature of the activity or harm.

A strict liability rule holding a landowner liable for damage caused by an escape of a dangerous thing brought onto land for a non-natural use.

Liability of producers and suppliers for harm caused by defective products, often strict under statute, without the need to prove fault in manufacturing.

A product that fails to provide the safety the public is generally entitled to expect, considering presentation, reasonable use, and the time of supply.

A monetary award compensating a successful claimant for loss suffered, aiming to restore them, so far as money can, to their position before the tort.

Money awarded to make good the claimant's actual losses, covering both pecuniary items such as lost earnings and non-pecuniary items such as pain and suffering.

An exceptional award exceeding the claimant's loss, intended to punish outrageous conduct and deter similar behaviour, granted only in limited categories of case.

The claimant's duty to take reasonable steps to limit their losses after the tort; damages may be reduced for loss that could reasonably have been avoided.

Where multiple defendants cause indivisible harm, each is liable for the full amount, while the claimant may recover only once in total.

Liability of one party, typically an employer, for torts committed by another, typically an employee, acting in the course of employment.

The connection between an employee's wrongful act and their job that justifies holding the employer liable, covering acts within or closely connected to authorised duties.

A worker engaged to provide services under their own control rather than as an employee; generally their negligence is not attributed to the hiring party.

A duty that cannot be discharged by delegating performance to another, so the duty holder remains liable for negligence in the delegated work.

A tort protecting reputation from publication of a false statement that lowers a person in the estimation of others or exposes them to hatred, ridicule, or avoidance.

Defamation in permanent form, such as writing, print, or broadcast, generally actionable without proof of special damage.

Defamation in transient or spoken form, which usually requires proof of special damage unless it falls within recognised categories actionable per se.

Communication of defamatory material to at least one person other than the claimant, a required element because reputation is harmed only when others learn of it.

Grounds that defeat a defamation claim, including truth, honest opinion, privilege, and responsible publication on matters of public interest.

The umbrella category of intentional wrongs against a person's bodily integrity or liberty, comprising battery, assault, and false imprisonment.

The obligation on the party asserting a fact to prove it, normally on the claimant in a tort claim, to the civil standard on the balance of probabilities.

The statutory time limit within which a claim must be brought; in personal injury torts it is typically three years from the date of knowledge.