MALFEASANCE, MISFEASANCE and NON FEASANCE

MALFEASANCE Means the Commission of an Unlawful Act. The term is

generally made applicable to certain unlawful acts which are actionable per se. It does not require any proof of intention, negligence or malice on the part of the defendant. For EXAMPLE, the act of trespass, the plaintiff can take action against the trespasser for his mere act of trespass, through there might be negligence or malice on the part of the trespasser.

MISFEASANCE Means the Improper performance of some lawful act. Under

certain circumstances a man has a duty to perform ac act in a particular manner, if he fails to perform that act in a proper manner, it will be an act of misfeasance. The tort of negligence may arise from the improper performance of some lawful act, i.e. act of misfeasance. For EXAMPLE, if doctor performs an operation by using rusted tools or leaving an alien object in the stomach during procedure. Generally, a civil defendant will be liable for misfeasance if the defendant owed a duty of care toward the plaintiff, the defendant breached that duty of care by improperly performing a legal act, and the improper performance resulted in harm to the plaintiff. For example, assume that a janitor is cleaning a restroom in a restaurant. If he leaves the floor wet, he or his employer could be liable for any injuries resulting from the wet floor. This is because the janitor owed a duty of care toward users of the restroom, and he breached that duty by leaving the floor wet.

NONFEASANCE Means Failure or Omission to perform some act when there was
an obligation to perform that act. The tort of negligence may arrive from nonfeasance. When a person owes a duty towards another to do particular act, a failure to do that act may result in an injury to that another, thus the nonfeasance of such an act gives rise to a cause of action. Nonfeasance is a term used in Tort Law to describe inaction that allows or results in harm to a person or to property. An act of nonfeasance can result in liability if (1)the actor owed a duty of care toward the injured person, (2)the actor failed to act on that duty, and (3)the failure to act resulted in injury.

EXAMPLE: A company hires a catering company to provide drinks and food for a
retirement party. If the catering company doesn't show up , it's considered nonfeasance. If the catering company shows up but only provides drinks (and not the food, which was also paid for), it's considered misfeasance. If the catering company accepts a bribe from its client's competitor to undercook the meat, thereby giving those present food poisoning, its considered malfeasance.