In the guides
Topic
Civil wrongs, and the doctrines courts use to decide who pays for them.
A tort is a private wrong that the injured person can take to court, usually for money. These guides start with what counts as a tort, then work through the doctrines that decide many cases: how fault is shared, how carelessness can be proved, when emotional harm is enough, and what happens when someone interferes with another person’s property.
Tort law is mostly state law. Each guide says which jurisdiction its examples come from, and the rules where you are may differ.
A tort is a civil wrong: harm to another person that the law lets the injured party pursue in court, usually for money. Here is what falls inside that idea, and what does not.
General principles. Tort law is set mainly by each state’s common law and statutes, so the specific rules, defenses and damages differ from state to state. The federal court process is described separately where it is cited.
If you were partly to blame for your own injury, your state’s fault rule decides whether you recover less, recover nothing, or recover nothing only past a set percentage.
General principles, with California, Texas and the contributory negligence jurisdictions as labeled examples. Each state sets its own rule and exceptions. No 50-state survey.
Both doctrines help an injured person prove that someone was careless. Negligence per se points to a broken safety law. Res ipsa loquitur points to an accident that ordinarily does not happen unless someone was careless.
General principles, with California statutes and jury instructions as the labeled worked example. Each state sets its own version of both doctrines, so elements, excuses and effects differ.
Intentional infliction of emotional distress is a claim for deliberate or reckless conduct so extreme that it causes severe emotional harm. Negligent infliction covers careless conduct, and the rules for it are narrower and vary more by state.
General principles, with California’s official civil jury instructions used as a labeled worked example. Each state sets its own rules for emotional distress claims, and some differ sharply from California.
Both torts cover interference with someone else’s personal property. The difference is degree: trespass to chattels pays for the harm done, while conversion makes the wrongdoer pay the full value of the item.
General principles, with California jury instructions and statutes used as the labeled worked example. Each state sets its own rules for these torts, and a Massachusetts court instruction is cited for comparison.
A hurtful or unfair statement is not automatically defamation. A claim usually needs a false statement of fact, shared with someone else, made with the required level of fault, that caused harm.
General principles, with California statutes and California civil jury instructions (CACI) as the labeled example, plus two U.S. Supreme Court decisions that apply nationwide. Defamation elements, privileges, anti-SLAPP procedure and deadlines differ by state. This guide does not cover criminal libel laws or online platform immunity.
When an employee hurts someone on the job, the employer can be legally responsible even if it did nothing wrong itself. Whether it is depends on who the worker was and what they were doing at the time.
General principles, with California civil jury instructions (CACI) and the California Vehicle Code as the labeled examples. Scope-of-employment tests, contractor rules and vehicle owner liability differ by state. This guide does not cover workers’ compensation or claims under employment discrimination statutes.