An affirmative defense is a defense in which the defendant introduces evidence, which, if found to be credible, will negate criminal liability or civil liability, even if it is proven that the defendant committed the alleged acts. The party...
standards of tort liability
Alien Tort Statute
The Alien Tort Statute ("ATS"; also known as the Alien Tort Claims Act) is a common name for 28 U.S.C. § 1350. The ATS grants federal district courts original jurisdiction over any civil action where an alien sues for a tort “committed in...
appropriation
Appropriation occurs when a defendant uses a plaintiff’s name, likeness, or image without their permission for commercial purposes. Appropriation is one of several torts falling under the category of invasion of privacy. When a defendant uses...
assault
Assault is generally defined as an intentional act that puts another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact. No physical injury is required, but the actor must have intended to cause a harmful or offensive...
assault and battery
Assault and battery is a modern legal term which combines assault with the separate charge of battery. Assault refers to the wrong act of causing someone to reasonably fear imminent harm. This means that the fear must be something a...
assumption of risk
Assumption of risk is a common law doctrine that refers to a plaintiff’s inability to recover for the tortious actions of a negligent party in scenarios where the plaintiff voluntarily accepted the risk of those actions. Potential plaintiffs...
attractive nuisance
Attractive nuisance is a dangerous condition on a landowner's property that may particularly attract children onto the land and pose a risk to their safety. The attractive-nuisance doctrine imposes a duty on property owners to treat...
attractive nuisance doctrine
Attractive nuisance is a dangerous condition on a landowner's property that may particularly attract children onto the land and pose a risk to their safety. In tort law, the attractive-nuisance doctrine imposes a duty on property owners to...
autopsy rights
Autopsy rights are those given to the deceased and the next of kin to determine whether and to what extent autopsies should be performed. Typically, the individual (prior to death) and next of kin get to decide whether an autopsy is performed...
battery
Tort Law
Battery is an intentional tort. When a person intentionally causes harmful or offensive contact with another person, the act is battery. However, if the plaintiff expressly consented to such an act or gave implied consent by...