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Tort Law - Generally

Apart from legislation granting a right to sue for a specific harm, personal injury law generally consists of tort law and the civil procedure for enforcing it. This article discusses the words used to describe those who commit torts and how tort law is a particular collection of accepted legal theories for suing people for money.

The Tort Definition Debate

Apart from legislation granting a right to sue for a specific harm, personal injury law generally consists of tort law and the civil procedure for enforcing it. Although tort law is a major kind of law, among many legal scholars there is no generally agreed definition of the word "tort." This article discusses the tort definition debate.

Defense of Property

Generally, a person has a legal right to use reasonable force to prevent the commission of a tort (such as trespass or conversion) against his or her property. Therefore, if a person uses force to prevent the commission of a tort against his or her property and he or she is sued for assault, battery, or another intentional tort, he or she may claim defense of property as a defense to the action. A person is required to make a request to desist before using force to defend his or her property unless such a request would be futile or dangerous.

Criminal Conversation with a Spouse

Under the common law, there was a tort for criminal conversation with a spouse. Although most states have enacted statutes that abolished the tort, there are a few states in which a spouse may bring an action against a third party for the tort.

Contribution and Indemnity

When a plaintiff is injured by two or more defendants' tortious acts that join to cause the injury, each defendant is "jointly and severally liable" for that injury. This means that the plaintiff may recover the entire amount of damages from any of the defendants. The defendants, in turn, may seek contribution or indemnity from each other.