Civil Law Study Guide

1) In civil law the outcome is not a matter of whether or not someone goes to jail, but

whether or not they pay damages/ are found to be at fault for something they are being

sued for.

2) A class action lawsuit is a lawsuit brought upon a defendant by multiple plaintiffs, an

example of this would be the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement.

3) —compensatory// damages awarded equal to whatever may have been lost by the

defendant.

—nominal// damages that represent the plaintiff’s fault, but do not necessarily equal any

loss had by the defendant.

—punitive// damages awarded to punish defendant’s who are at fault, rather than to

compensate the plaintiff.

4) —battery// to physically harm someone.

—assault// words or actions that make a reasonable person believe they are in danger of

harm.

—infliction of emotional distress// causing someone emotional distress by behaving in an

extreme or outrageous way.

—false imprisonment// to restrain someone and keep them in one place against their will.

—defamation// to say something that is not true which damages someone’s reputation

5) —trespass// to enter, or go onto property that is not yours.

—nuisance// unreasonable interference into someone else’s ability to use their property.

—conversion// taking property that’s not yours.

 —infringement// another word for copyright, to take something that is not yours and

claim it as your own.

6) —negligence// when a defendant’s actions were unreasonably unsafe.

—duty// the defendant’s legal or moral obligation to act in a certain manner.

—breach// the defendant’s failure to respect the duty.

—causation// the defendant’s ability to influence the outcome of the situation.

—damages// any harm caused by the defendant’s negligence.

7) —contributory negligence// When a plaintiff’s actions have contributed to any damage

they might be suing for. For example, if person A leaves a bar and gets into his car after

having too much to drink and slams into person B’s car, which is parked illegally, both of

these people are at fault.

—comparative negligence// When a plaintiff fails to exercise due care, but is not

completely at fault. For example, if you are walking by a construction site while staring

at your phone, and you trip and hurt yourself, both you and the construction company

might have a certain percentage of fault.

—assumption of risk// when a plaintiff voluntarily exposes themselves to a situation that

can reasonably be assumed to involve risk, it might be hard to find someone else at fault

for any damages. For example, if you go skydiving and when you land you break your

leg, the company is probably not at fault because you knew the risks when you decided to

jump out of a plane.

8) In a negligence lawsuit, it is a matter of whether or not the defendant is actually at fault

for any damages. Whereas in a strict liability lawsuit, the defendant may be liable for

damages even if it isn’t their fault. In negligence lawsuits duty, breach, causation, and
 damages have to be proven, and in strict liability lawsuits, it must be proven that you

experienced some kind of damage, and steps to prevent the damage were not taken

9) If your dog bites someone and they sue you, even though it’s not your fault, you can still

be found liable.