Also known as: torts · tortious
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A civil wrong other than breach of contract for which a remedy may be obtained usually in the form of damages.
Taliah Tang told Tristan Thompson she would strike him unless he signed a contract releasing her from prior obligations. Thompson signed under fear of immediate physical harm. The threat constituted a tort that rendered the agreement voidable for improper duress.
Tracy Torres drove through a red light and struck Tabitha Taylor's vehicle causing spinal injuries. Medical evidence established that the collision directly produced the harm. The sequence satisfied the requirement that the actor's conduct be the legal cause of the protected interest invasion.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Thomas Thompson posted false statements online accusing Terra Financial of fraud knowing the company was headquartered in the forum state. The statements caused reputational harm felt by executives and investors there. The intentional conduct aimed at the forum supported personal jurisdiction over the tort claim.
Triumph Manufacturing granted a security interest in its assembly-line robots to secure a loan. The robots remained movable at attachment and qualified as goods under the statute. The creditor could therefore perfect its interest in the tort-related collateral.
Taliah Tang as trustee allowed trust property to emit pollutants that injured neighboring landowners. Evidence showed she personally approved the disposal method despite known risks. Her fault exposed her to personal liability for the resulting tort claims.
Tristan Thompson broke his engagement to Tabitha Taylor after she had purchased a wedding dress and reserved a venue. She proved actual expenditures plus emotional harm from reputational injury. The retained action permitted recovery for those tort-based losses.
A tort is a civil wrong arising from a duty imposed by law on persons in particular relations to one another. Breach of contract arises from a voluntary agreement. Punitive damages are unavailable for pure contract breach unless the conduct also constitutes a tort.
Supporting sources
The plaintiff must demonstrate that the actor's tortious conduct produced an invasion of a legally protected interest through a causal sequence for which the law holds the actor responsible absent a defense.
A trustee faces personal liability only when personally at fault for the tort committed during trust administration or for obligations from ownership or control of trust property.
Speech on matters of public concern receives robust protection even when it causes severe emotional distress. Peaceful non-disruptive picketing on public land with offensive signs addressing policy issues bars tort liability absent additional unprotected conduct.
…Mich. L. Rev. 127 (1968): Note, Artificial Insemination and the Law, 1968 U. Ill. L. F. 203. [^maj-63]: W. Prosser, The Law of Torts 335-338 (4th ed. 1971); 2 F. Harper & F. James, The Law of Torts 1028-1031 (1956); Note, 63 Harv. L. Rev. 173 (1949). [^maj-64]: See cases cited in Prosser, supra , n. 63, at 336-338;…