Notesale: Turn your study into money

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THE LAW OF TORT
'Tort' is the French word for 'wrong' , used to distinguish civil wrongs from crimes
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To establish liability for tort, fault must be proved
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Examples of torts include, breach of statutory duty,
conversion, defamation, malfeasance in public office, negligence, nuisance, passing off, trespass
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By contrast, liability in Contract is concerned with the enforcement of promises/voluntary obligations assumed by one
party at the request of another who is providing some Form of payment, i
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consideration, for it
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(The claimant has to prove that the defendant acted intentionally or at least
without reasonable care or foresight)
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g
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Vicarious Liability: The principle of vicarious liability means that one person is responsible for another person's torts,
e
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an employer is vicariously liable for torts carried out by an employee during the course of his/her employment
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However, purely economic loss or pure nervous shock, (previously restricted to actions in contract law), may give
rise to liability in tort -see Hedley Byrne v
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CC South Yorkshire Police [1992] 1
AC 310
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Quantification of Damages: - to put the victim in the position they would be in if the tort had not occurred
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e
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Limitation Period: -various from 3 years upwards and may be extended at discretion of the court - Limitation Act 1980
THE TORT OF NEGLIGENCE:
Donoghue v
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Liability in negligence depends on the claimant proving three points:[1] The defendant owed them a duty of care
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[3] The claimant suffered damage as a result of the breach
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[b] A broad rule - "The Neighbour Principle
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Proximity? - Lord Atkin stressed that a duty ceased to exist once the product passed out of the control of the
manufacturer e
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where there is an unreasonable time lag before use; third party interference with the product; abuse by
the claimant themselves; or use by the claimant of a product with a defect of which they should have been aware
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" There is no finite list of duty situations
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Where personal injuries are concerned there is likely to be
greater flexibility
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THE CONCEPT OF DUTY OF CARE
Note: Judges favour pure economic loss as a head of damage in contract not in negligence
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This is true of liability for mere statements compared to acts/omissions
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Heller & Co Ltd: 1963 3 WLR 101 HL (bank reference)
Gave rise to duty of care for negligent statements causing pure economic loss subject to a restricted test of proximity
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Such a relationship requires maker with relevant skill or knowledge;
voluntary assumption of responsibility by the maker; reasonable reliance on the statement by the recipient
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Dickman: 1990 2 WLR 358 HL (reliance on audited accounts
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Brentwood; Caparo v
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(Public interest is relevant here)
Lord Oliver stated that for a special relationship under the Hedley Byrne principle to exist the defendant must know [not
merely foresee, the purpose to which the claimant would put the information; the identity of the claimant as an individual
member of an ascertainable class; that the claimant will rely on it without taking further advice
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Bush represented the outer limits of Hedley Byrne liability: unlike Caparo the
defendants were well aware of the identity of the claimant, knew exactly why the advice was required, and that reliance
would reasonably be placed on it by an unqualified lay person

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