WEEK 1: General principles of the law of tort - context and meaning of a tort OBJ: The meaning of a tort What is tort law Most important points: · In legal practice, tort law underpins many important issues in private law. This consists of principles, doctrines and rules developed by courts and legislature over hundreds of years, used to define the circumstances which will entitle a plaintiff to seek recompense for the interference with a personal interest by the defendant. · Tort law at its simplest, is about 'writing wrongs between private individuals'. · Society represents a complex interplay of individual rights, duties and interests, to which tort law seeks to balance, whilst addressing what it deems to be reasonable behavior within the community. · Torts is an area that has undergone significant statutory modification. The evolution of tort law is a significant tool for social policy, in order to reflect specific current social and economic developments. Key terminology . Tort: defined as 'An act or omission by D, constituting an infringement of a legally recognized interest of P giving rise to a right to a legal remedy.' Meaning of a tort . There are a range of torts that have been developed/evolved over the years, to reflect the variety of interests brought before the court, as well the interests tort law seeks to protect. McPherson & Kelley v Kevin J Prunty & Associates [1983] 1 VR 573, 587: · This case provided the following judicial definition - 'Torts, or wrongs, are breaches of a duty owed generally to ones fellow subjects, the duty being imposed by law and not as a consequence of duties fixed by the parties themselves.' Pursuing a civil action in tort: · Legal proceedings are often brought by plaintiffs claiming a right to a remedy for more than one reason, called a cause of action. . There can be more than one tort on the same set of facts. There is no rule preventing a plaintiff from succeeding in more than one cause of action. . Tort law usually requires something more than mere distress or upset for the plaintiff to be defined as having suffered legally recognized harm, leading to a right to compensation. . However, the definition of 'tort' that requires an 'infringement of the plaintiffs interests', should not be interpreted as the infringement must have caused actual damage. . Some torts require that the plaintiff prove damage in order to establish a cause of action, such as negligence. . In other torts, the plaintiff may be able to succeed despite having suffered no damage at all, this refers to torts actionable ' per se', particularly arising in the case where the defendants actions were found to be intentional.
Key terminology . Cause of action: The facts that entitle a person to sue. The cause of action may be a wrongful act, such as trespass; or the harm resulting from a wrongful act, as in the tort of negligence. · Actionable 'per