Share this Article on Facebook Twitter Submit this article to Reddit Give this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon

tort

tort

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

tort in law, the violation of some duty clearly set by law, not by a specific agreement between two parties, as in breach of contract . When such a duty is breached, the injured party has the right to institute suit for compensatory damages . Certain torts, such as nuisance , may be suppressed by injunction . Many crimes are also torts; burglary, for instance, often constitutes trespass .

The history of Anglo-American tort law can be traced back to the action for trespass to property or to the person. Not until the late 18th cent. was the currently observed distinction made between injury willfully inflicted and that which is unintentional. In the early 19th cent., negligence was distinguished as a separate tort, and it has come to supply a large portion of tortious litigation.

The general tendency today is to rule that the breach of any duty constitutes a tort, rather than to rule that an alleged tort must fit into some previously recognized variety, such as assault, false imprisonment, or libel. Some courts treat any willful unjustified injury as tortious, while others hold that the act must be defined as tortious by law, regardless of the perpetrator's motive. Torts that injure reputation or feelings are personal torts; those violating statutory rights are constitutional torts; those involving real or personal property are property torts. Property torts include several classes of torts, such as automobile accidents, negligence, product liability, and medical malpractice .

In some areas, tort liability can be assigned without a finding of fault, as in no-fault automobile insurance. In areas where the finding of fault remains crucial, and the awards of compensatory or punitive damages can be substantial, tort litigation can be time-consuming and costly. Its defenders claim tort litigation promotes safety and economic efficiency, while critics argue the process does little but raise insurance premiums while providing windfalls to a handful of lawyers. Efforts to reform tort law hope to set limits to damage settlements and to broaden no-fault statutes for use in alternative forms of litigation. In the 1990s many U.S. states, pressed chiefly by conservatives and business interests, passed laws limiting damages, but state courts have repeatedly voided these limits as violations of "open courts" guarantees in state constitutions.

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"tort." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"tort." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-tort.html

"tort." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-tort.html

Learn more about citation styles

Tort

The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States | 2005 | | Copyright

Tort, a harmful wrong (other than a breach of contract) for which courts will provide a remedy, usually damages, to a private party. Torts include injuries to persons, such as injuries caused by negligent automobile accidents, medical malpractice, or product defects; injuries to property, such as nuisances and trespasses; and injuries to reputation. Courts allow recovery when a defendant breaches a legal duty to a plaintiff and this breach proximately causes an injury recognized under the law.

Under the federal system, state courts and legislatures are primarily responsible for developing the law of torts. The Supreme Court sometimes finds that state law conflicts with the Constitution or is preempted by federal statutes. For example, since 1964 the Supreme Court has substantially altered the torts of defamation and invasion of privacy, holding that state tort law may violate constitutional protections of free speech. Moreover, the Court has considered several attempts to establish constitutional limits on the award of punitive damages. In another area, the Supreme Court frequently concludes that federal environmental statutes preempt state common‐law actions for nuisance (see Environment).

The Court also applies state tort law in federal cases. For example, state tort law is followed in diversity of citizenship cases and in suits brought against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

In a few cases, the Supreme Court finds the creation of a federal tort authorized, expressly or implicitly, by statute or under the Constitution. Civil damage remedies for violations of constitutional rights are recognized both under section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and under a cause of action implied in the Constitution.1983

Donald G. Gifford
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

KERMIT L. HALL. "Tort." The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

KERMIT L. HALL. "Tort." The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O184-Tort.html

KERMIT L. HALL. "Tort." The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O184-Tort.html

Learn more about citation styles

tort

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

tort In British law, wrongful act or omission that can give rise to a civil action at law, other than concerning breach of contract. The law of tort includes negligence, libel, slander, trespass, false imprisonment, and nuisance.
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"tort." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"tort." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-tort.html

"tort." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-tort.html

Learn more about citation styles

tort

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

tort †injury, wrong XIV (rare before XVI); (leg.) breach of a duty XVI. — OF. :- medL. tortum, sb. use of n. of L. tortus, pp. of torquēre twist, wring.
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

T. F. HOAD. "tort." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "tort." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-tort.html

T. F. HOAD. "tort." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-tort.html

Learn more about citation styles

tort

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

tort / tôrt/ • n. Law a wrongful act or an infringement of a right (other than under contract) leading to legal liability.

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"tort." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"tort." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-tort.html

"tort." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-tort.html

Learn more about citation styles

tort

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

tort •abort, apport, assort, athwart, aught, besought, bethought, bort, bought, brought, caught, cavort, comport, consort, contort, Cort, court, distraught, escort, exhort, export, extort, fort, fought, fraught, import, methought, misreport, mort, naught, nought, Oort, ought, outfought, port, Porte, purport, quart, rort, short, snort, sort, sought, sport, support, swart, taught, taut, thought, thwart, tort, transport, wart, wrought •cohort • backcourt • Port Harcourt •forecourt • onslaught • dreadnought •Connacht • aeronaut • Argonaut •juggernaut • cosmonaut • astronaut •aquanaut • davenport • carport •passport • airport •Freeport, seaport •Shreveport •heliport, teleport •Stockport • outport • Coalport •spoilsport •Newport, viewport •hoverport •forethought, malice aforethought •afterthought • worrywart

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"tort." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"tort." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-tort.html

"tort." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-tort.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

Tort experiments in the laboratories of democracy.
Magazine article from: William and Mary Law Review; 4/1/2009
Tort reform in America: abrogating the collateral source rule across the states.
Magazine article from: Defense Counsel Journal; 10/1/2008
Viva torts!(analysis of American tort law)
Magazine article from: The Journal of High Technology Law; 1/1/2005

Facts and information from other sites

Pictures from Google Image Search

Click to see an enlarged picture
Click to see an enlarged picture
Click to see an enlarged picture

See more pictures of tort

Related topics