Tort Law

Written in a lively and friendly style, Tort Law aims to provide the reader with a clear, accessible and up-to-date overview of the entire field of tort law. While Tort Law is primarily intended to help students studying tort law, at the LL.B., LL.B. (Hons.) or LL.M. level or for the Bar exam, it will also be of interest to academics, practitioners and judges. Tort Law discusses in detail:

• the facts and decisions in over 400 cases

• the concept of a tort and the nature of tort law, providing an intellectual structure for tort law in the twenty-first century

• the full range of torts recognised in English law

• the full range of remedies that may be awarded when a tort has been committed, including compensatory damages, aggravated damages, exemplary damages, restitutionary damages and injunctions

• proposals to reform problematic areas of tort law, such as the law on libel and slander, and the law on damages.

  Areas of tort law that have traditionally proved difficult for students to understand "such as the law of negligence and the law of damages" are presented here in a way that makes the principles underlying those areas of law easy to understand and apply. In addition, the authors and publishers of Tort Law have combined to produce a companion website which will provide the reader with quarterly updates on recent developments in English tort law and model answers to a full range of tort problem questions.

Preface 
Acknowledgements 
Table of cases 
Table of statutes 
Table of statutory instruments 
Table of treaties and conventions 

PART I : THE PROVINCE OF TORT LAW 
1.  What is a tort?   
The nature of a civil wrong  
The nature of a tort   
A question of terminology   
2.  An overview of tort law	
What is tort law?	
In what situations will someone commit a tort?
What remedies will be available when someone commits
a tort?
3.  Some common misconceptions about tort law
A common misconception about the function of tort law
A common misconception about the nature of a tort

PART II : TORTS
A. Negligence 
Introduction	33
4.  Established duty situations	46
1.  Situations in which a duty to take care not to act in a
dangerous fashion will be owed or will have been owed	46
Personal injury cases	46
Psychiatric illness cases	60
Property damage cases	78
2.  Situations in which someone will owe another a duty of
care by virtue of the fact that he has acted in a
particular way	83
Creation of danger	83
Interference with rescue by third party	84
Control of a dangerous person or animal	85
Prisoners	87
The principle in Hedley Byrne	87
Dependency	101
3.  People who will owe others duties of care by virtue of the
fact that they occupy some special status or position	107
Solicitors	107
Bailees	111
Occupiers of premises	113
Other occupiers	123
Landlords	124
Employers	125
Carriers	126
Parents	126
Teachers	127
5.  The Caparo test	129
Antecedents of the test	129
The test explained	130
Applying the test	133
6.  The impact of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the
Human Rights Act 1998	161
The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977	16
The Human Rights Act 1998	163
7.  Breach of duty	169
Burden of proof	169
Companies and other artificial legal persons	173
Delegable and non-delegable duties of care	177
Time	183
Degree and foreseeability of risk	184
Personal circumstances	187
Professional standards	191
Common sense	193

B. Torts involving the infliction of certain kinds of harm 

Introduction	198
8.  Assault and battery	203
Battery	203
Assault	214
9.  False imprisonment	216
Definition	216
The meaning of imprisonment	216
Lawful justification or excuse	218
10.  Libel and slander	227
Common elements	227
What is defamatory?	227
The requirement of publication	237
Title to sue	240
Defences	241
The difference between libel and slander	263
Evaluation of the law on libel and slander	264
11.  Conversion	271
Definition	271
Modes of conversion	271
Things that may be converted	275
Title to sue	275
Lawful justification or excuse	280
Exceptions to the rule	283
Extending the tort	284
12.  Trespass to goods	285
Definition	285
The requirement of direct interference	285
Lawful justification or excuse	285
Extending the tort	288
13.  Trespass to land	289
Definition	289
The mental element required to commit the tort	289
The degree of control required to commit the tort	290
Title to sue	292
Lawful justification or excuse	294
14.	Private nuisance	296
Definition	296
Types of interference	299
Unreasonable interference	302
Creating, authorizing, adopting or continuing	310
A tort to land	317
Some unusual forms of private nuisance	323
15.	Harassment	325
16.	Inducing a breach of contract	326
Definition	326
The mental element required to commit the tort	327
When will someone be held to have induced a breach of
contract?	329
The degree of interference with a contract required to
commit the tort	335
Justification	337
Evaluating the tort	338
Torts analogous to the tort of inducing a breach of
contract	340

C. Torts involving the intentional infliction of harm 

Introduction	342
17.  Using unlawful means to harm another	350
Definition	350
Nominate torts and the 'genus' tort	353
18.  The tort in Quinn v Leathem	358
A problem of terminology	358
The need for agreement	358
Legitimate reason	359
The problem of mixed motives	364

D. Torts involving the deception of others 

Introduction	366
19.  Deceit	368
Definition	368
Untrue representation of fact	368
Lack of honest belief	370
Intention	372
Inducement	373
Some difficult cases	375
20.  Malicious falsehood	377
21.	Passing off	381
Definition	381
The varieties of passing off	381
Extending the tort	386
Actionability	386

E. Torts involving the misuse of power 

Introduction	388
22.  Malicious prosecution and analogous torts 	392
Malicious prosecution	392
Analogous torts	401
23.	Misfeasance in public office	404

F. Other torts
 
24.	The tort in Wilkinson v Downton	409
25.  Torts involving the breach of a statutory duty owed to
another	411
Determining whether a statutory duty owed to another
is tortious in nature	412
Some examples of statutory duties owed to others that
are tortious in nature	421




PART III : REMEDIES

A. Compensatory damages 

26.	Basic principles	429
1.  Limits on the right to sue	429
Special defences	429
Death	430
Crown immunity	430
Trade union immunity	431
Witness immunity	431
Abuse of process	433
Volenti non fit injuria	435
Illegality	437
Contractual exclusion of liability	441
Accord and satisfaction	449
Judgment	452
Limitation	455
2.  Causation	465
Types of loss	465
Principles of causation	468
Some difficult cases	481
Presumption of loss	491
3.  Actionability	491
Remoteness	492
Wrong kind of loss	499
Public policy	509
Losses that are automatically regarded as being
non-actionable	512
4.  Quantification of loss	522
Personal injury cases	522
Property damage cases	527
Defamation cases	529
Other cases	530
5.  Reduction in liability	531
Receipt of benefit	531
Contributory negligence	539
Limitation clause	545
27.	Liability to third parties	546
Section 1 of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976	546
Section 3(5) of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976	557
Section 1A of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976	557
The Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997	
The Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999	558
The Congenital Disabilities (Civil Liability) Act 1976	
Section 3 of the Latent Damage Act 1986	560
The principle of transferred loss	561
28.	Vicarious liability	563
The meaning of vicarious liability	563
Situations of vicarious liability	563
Evaluation of the law on vicarious liability	580
Further points	582

B. Non-compensatory damages 

29.	Nominal damages	585
The availability of nominal damages	585
Reasons for seeking to be awarded nominal damages	
A criticism of the law as it is now	589
30.	Aggravated damages	591
The nature of aggravated damages	591
The availability of aggravated damages	593
31.	Exemplary damages	598
The availability of exemplary damages	598
Further points	604
Evaluation of the law on exemplary damages	607
32.	Restitutionary damages	612
The availability of restitutionary damages	612
Further points	616
Evaluation of the law on restitutionary damages
33.	Damages for conversion	622
The general rule	622
Exceptions to the general rule	623

C. Remedies designed to prevent the commission of a tort 

34.	Injunction	
Classification of injunctions	
When will an injunction be granted?	
35.	Specific restitution of goods


PART IV : ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF COMPENSATION 


Introduction	643
36.	The Human Rights Act 1998	645
What is a 'public authority'?	645
When will a public authority act incompatibly with
a 'Convention right'?	646
The availability of compensatory damages	648
37.	Liability for dangerous things	653
The rule in Rylands v Fletcher	653
Liability rules analogous to the rule in Rylands
v Fletcher	661
The Animals Act 1971	664
38.	Public nuisance	668
Introduction	668
The difficulty of defining public nuisance	668
Interference with public rights	669
Interference with the comfort and convenience of
the public	671
Isolated incidents	673
Creating, authorizing, adopting or continuing	673
Special damage	675
39.	The Consumer Protection Act 1987	678
Antecedents of the Act	678
The basic rule	679
Defences	684
Remedies	688
40.	The Competition Act 1998	691

Index