Business Torts

A tort is simply a civil wrong. It may cause injury

to another person In civil law, torts are grounds
for lawsuit to compensate a grieving party for any
damages or injuries suffered.
The legal term tort refers to an action in which
one person or entity causes injury, harm, or
damage to another person or entity.
Torts are wrongdoings that are done by person
against another. As a result of the wrongdoing,
the injured party may take civil action against the
other party.
 Business torts usually involves unfair trade practices
that result in an intentional and improper interference
with the business interests of another.
While most torts involve injury to another persons
body or damage to their property, business tort
involves injury to anothers business interests. These
can include losses of business opportunities, loss of
clients, loss of business relations etc.
Business tort covers a wide range of business torts,
including fraudulent misrepresentation, trade libel and
breach of fiduciary duty.
 Business torts involve following acts:
(a)Wrongful interference :- this is where the
defendant intentionally and wrongfully interferes
with the legitimate business interests of
another.(interference with contract, interference
with prospective business opportunities)
(b)Unfair competition:- This is very similar to
trade mark and copyright infringement where the
defendant markets a product that is confusingly
similar to the plaintiffs.
 (c )Disparagement:-It means false statement
regarding the quality of goods .A party makes such
statement with the aim of causing loss to anothers
business such as slander of title and trade libel and
false negative reviews of a product may also constitute
disparagement
(d)Computer torts:- Intentional damage to the
hardware and software of a computer can be
considered a business tort if it negatively affects the
business ability to secure profits. Negligent use of a
computer may also be considered a tort in some
jurisdictions.
 Tort of Negligence

Negligence torts are not deliberate action,

but instead present when an individual or
entity fails to act as a reasonable person to
someone whom he or she owes a duty to. The
negligent action found in this particular tort
leads to a personal injury or monetary
damages.
It includes car accidents, slip and fall accident
and most medical malpractice cases etc.
 Elements of the tort of negligence

Dutythe defendant or tort feasor had a legal

duty to the injured party under the
circumstances;
Breachthe tortfeasor breached that legal
duty by acting or failing to act in a certain way;
Causation---it was the tortfeasors action(or
inaction) that actually caused the plaintiffs
injury.
 Some examples of torts

A company skirts state environmental regulations

to protect citizens from being harmed by water
pollution. The company did so to cut costs to save
the business from ruin. The negligence causes a
class action lawsuit against the company by a city.
A small bakery failed to warn consumers that
cakes were prepared in kitchen where nuts were
present. A warning was not placed on cake box or
in store. A consumer allergic to nuts went into a
coma induced by nuts consumed I the cake.