Project Three - Tort Law
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Apr 3, 2024
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Uploaded by ProfessorDolphinMaster864
Project Three: Tort Law
Name: Courtney Johnson
Student ID: 2745555 Program(s) of Study (Major): Accounting w/conc in Forensic Accounting/Fraud Exam
Anticipated Graduation Date: June 2028
The word tort is derived from a French word that means “wrong”. Tort law is the body of law that is concerned with those wrongs. A tort is characterized as a civil wrong that empowers the harmed party to initiate legal action against the wrongdoer to seek compensation for injuries (Kubasek, 2023). The four main purposes of tort law are to deter future wrongs, to prevent private retaliation by injured parties, to reinforce a vision of a just society, and to compensate innocent persons who are injured (Kubasek, 2023). The primary purpose of tort law is to get compensation for victims.
The three types of torts are negligent tort, intentional tort, and strict liability tort. The most relevant form of tort in this scenario involving the snake is a negligent tort. A negligent tort is when “the defendant fails to act as a reasonable person would act and thereby subjects other people to an unreasonable risk of harm” (Kubasek, 2023). For the plaintiff to win a negligence case, the four elements, duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages must be present (Kubasek, 2023). Another tort that can be used in this scenario is strict liability. Strict liability arises when the defendant engages in an inherently dangerous activity and is not conducted safely, regardless of the precautions the defendant takes (Kubasek, 2023).
A negligence tort is the strongest in this scenario. Due to the snake escaping from The Friendly Dawg through the buildings air vents and slithering into the studio of Sunshine Yoga and giving Jasmine a heart attack, she does have a legal basis for a claim against both Lou and The Friendly Dawg. In a negligence case, the four elements must be present to win this type of case. The first element, duty, is the standard of care that a reasonable person owes another (Kubasek, 2023). This is present because Jasmine is entitled to receive reasonable care from both Lou and the fellow tenants. The second element, breach of duty, is the failure to live up to that standard of care (Kubasek, 2023). This is present because of the carelessness of Lou and The Friendly Dawg show towards Jasmine. Dave did not contain the snake properly, which allowed it to escape. Lou’s inadequate response to Jasmine's complaints can also be viewed as breach of duty. The third element, causation has two sub elements to it, actual cause, and legal cause. The actual cause is defined as “the determination that the plaintiff’s harm was a direct result of the defendant’s breach of duty” (Kubasek, 2023). This is present because Jasmine suffered a heart attack as the result of the snake escaping The Friendly Dawg, slithering into Sunshine Yoga’s studio, and frightening her. There is an argument here that if Dave had properly contained the snake in its cage, then it would not have gotten out and frightened Jasmine of a heart attack. The final element of a negligence tort is damages. Damages is the “compensable loss suffered by the plaintiff” (Kubasek, 2023). Jasmine experienced a heart attack and now has incurred medical expenses as a result. This would qualify as a loss that stems from negligence. Since all four elements of a negligence case are present, Jasmine has a high probability of winning the case.
References
Kubasek Nancy, Browne M. Neil, Dhooge Lucien J., Herron, Daniel, Barkacs Linda. (2023). Dynamic Business Law, Sixth edition. McGraw-
Hill LLC.
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