Jensine Hetrick
August 14th, 2022
SNHU BUS 206 Project 3 Tort Law
Professor Tucker
Tort law, what is it? A tort is "an act or omission that gives rise to injury or harm to another and
amounts to a civil wrong for which courts impose liability (Cornell). Tort Law has been
established to "to provide relief to injured parties for harm caused by others, to impose liability
on parties responsible for the harm, and to deter others from committing harmful acts" (Cornell)
Typically, in tort cases, monetary compensation is the primary punishment.
Tort law affects business practices as it gives both owner and consumer a way to defend
themselves against unlawful actions that limit another's ability to operate as normal.
Tort law has boundaries defined by the state and common law. Judges have a wide range in
determining what actions are legally considered wrong. According to Cornell Law School, there
are three general categories for Torts:
Intentional Tort (purposely hurting someone)
Negligent Tort (not obeying traffic laws and causing an accident)
. Strict Liability (making and selling a defective product)
As far as the law, torts are acknowledged as civil wrongdoings and people are allowed to recover
their losses. In a tort case, if you are injured you can bring a suit against the responsible party
and potentially receive monetary compensation for the damage done to you. This is also meant to
stop continued wrongdoing and misconduct of the perpetrating party.
In this case, a pet shop snake from Friendly Dawg pet shop escaped and traveled through the
vents to the neighboring Sunshine Yoga studio. There had also been noise complaints due to the
live animals barking, tweeting, and otherwise doing what agitated (as stated by Dave) caged
animals do- make noise. The frightened Sunshine Yoga studio owner, Jasmine, consequently had
a heart attack due to seeing the snake in her storefront. This is an example of Strict Liability tort
because though the snake was never intended to get out of the cage, it still found a way to
escape. Due to either improper care, environment, or caging technique the snake got out of the
cage under the care of Friendly Dawg pet store, and the owner is responsible for the incident.
And though Dave never meant any harm to anyone by keeping the snake that was for sale in his
store, it is under his watch and responsibility. He is liable for any damage caused by the snake.
including Jasmine's heart attack. There also is negligent tort with the noise of the animals.
Jasmine lost customers due to the non-relaxing environment the noise caused in her studio. Due
to the loss of customers, she lost business and lost money- which could be the reason as to why
she was late with rent. Therefore, she has a solid tort case against the pet shop owner Dave due to
these incidents.