何家弘法律英语 十课

1、Lesson Ten Tort Law8/28/20221法律英语Punishment is justice for the unjust.Augustine British writer惩罚是对正义 的伸张。英国作家 奥古斯丁8/28/20222法律英语Background Tort The breach of a duty that results in an injury for which there is a remedy at law./Torts include all negligence cases as well as intentional wrongs which re

2、sult in harm. 8/28/20223法律英语Tort law州法律判例法联邦侵权索赔法8/28/20224法律英语Federal Tort claims ActA statute which removed the power of the federal government to claim immunity from a lawsuit for damages due to negligent or intentional injury by a federal employee in the scope of his/her work for the government.

3、 /8/28/20225法律英语Tort Intentional tortNegligence or negligent tortStrict liability tortPersonal tortProperty tortRemedy -damages8/28/20226法律英语Part 1: Introduction damages claims要求赔偿most civil suits大多数民事诉讼tort law侵权法1. Automobile accidents 8/28/20227法律英语Many circumstancesThe plaintiff in a civil suit

4、is ordinarily entitled to try his claim before a jury which will often rely more on human than on legal considerations民事诉讼的原告通常会向陪审团提出索赔主张，这主要是出于人道的考虑而不是法律的考虑。儿童受伤8/28/20228法律英语A permanent disability of loss of a limbCompensation and damages补偿费和损害赔偿金Actual loss 实际损害Intangible damage 无形损害A plaintiff

5、can play on the human reaction of the jury原告利用陪审团的人性反应8/28/20229法律英语American law permitsthe participation of the attorney in the plaintiffs recovery (contingent fee)美国允许律师分享原告所获得的赔偿金（胜诉酬金）Amount to 25 to 33% of the verdict酬金达到法院判付金额的25-33%。8/28/202210法律英语A tort action 侵权诉讼A lengthy proceeding诉讼程序时间长

6、 Large expenses honoraria for experts 代价大（专家证人的酬金）A very large verdict （ in excess of $100000）判决金额非常大（10万美元以上）8/28/202211法律英语2.Tort law and the law of contracts overlapAn injury party has the choice between a tort claim and a suit in contracts. Conversion非法占有财产 Personal injury人身伤害Implied contract默示合

7、同Personal injury人身伤害Breach of warranty违背保证诺言Recovery of intangible damage8/28/202212法律英语3.Everyone is liable for his tort act ,每个人都要对其侵权行为负责，in limited form also children （however, parents only when they acted as the childs agent or did not comply with their duty to supervise）,在有限的情况下儿童亦然（但是，父母仅当其作为

8、该儿童的代理人或未能按照其监护义务行事时才负此责）， but not the state unless express statutory provision has abolished state immunity .但国家不在此列，除非法律明文规定取消了国家的豁免权。8/28/202213法律英语The FTCA permits recovery of money damages because of a negligent or wrongful act or omission by the Federal Government or an employee of the Federal

9、 Government while the employee was acting within his/her scope of employment or office.Federal Tort claims Act（ FTCA ）8/28/202214法律英语4. Everyone is protected against tortious act, including the embryo. 每个人包括胎儿都受保护，免遭侵权行为的伤害。The heirs or next of kin may have a damage claim for the intentional or negl

10、igent death of their relative or testator (wrongful death action )继承人或近亲属可以对他们亲属或立遗嘱人因故意或疏忽侵权造成的死亡（非正常死亡之诉）提出损害赔偿要求。8/28/202215法律英语“dram- shop acts” 小酒店法令A party injured as a result of the intoxication of the tortfeasor has a claim against him who contributed to the tortfeasors intoxication.作为侵权行为人醉

11、酒之结果而受到伤害的当事人有权向造成该侵权行为人醉酒的人提出索赔请求。8/28/202216法律英语“dram- shop acts”Dram Shop acts, enacted in the 19th century, usually impose liability for negligence on the sellers of alcoholic beverages for sales to:persons under the legal drinking age, or those who are obviously intoxicated. People who serve al

12、coholic beverages may be liable under state laws for damages resulting from the consumption of those beverages. drunken driving8/28/202217法律英语Part 2: Intentional Torts故意侵权行为Battery 殴打Assault 侵犯他人身体Conversion of property 非法侵占财产False imprisonment 非法拘禁Trespass to personal and real property 侵占动产、不动产Defa

13、mation 诽谤Invasion of privacy 侵犯隐私权Products liability 产品质量责任8/28/202218法律英语Part 3: Liability for Negligence 过失侵权的责任Negligent actInjury Causality 8/28/202219法律英语A person is negligentif he has not complied with his “duty of care” and ,has not acted as “a reasonable and prudent man”.如果一个人没有尽到“照看义务”，没有象“

14、一个理性且谨慎的人”那样行事。过失8/28/202220法律英语要考虑到The special professional qualification for the tortfeasor侵权者的特别专业资质Architect Different criteriaConstruction worker8/28/202221法律英语Duty of careRestrictive interpretation : The duty must be owed toward the particular plaintiff .必须对特定的原告负有照看义务There is no duty of care

15、to the public at large.不是对广大公众负有照看义务（某人）对侵犯财产者的照看义务比对被邀请客人的照看义务小8/28/202222法律英语Guest statutes 宾客法规Some states exclude a duty of care by the driver of a motor vehicle toward passengers whom he transports gratuitously. 汽车司机对于他免费搭载的乘客不负照看责任。8/28/202223法律英语In some states, legislation requiring that a gu

16、est passenger must prove something higher than ordinary negligence in order to recover from the host driver.8/28/202224法律英语No claim for compensation不能要求赔偿The injured partyhas been guilty of contributory negligence共同过失has assumed the risk 预计到有危险8/28/202225法律英语Contributory negligence 共同过失a doctrine of

17、 common law that if a person was injured in part due to his/her own negligence (his/her negligence contributed to the accident), the injured party would not be entitled to collect any damages (money) from another party who supposedly caused the accident. http:/ negligence 比较过失共同过失辩护的严格性已经因为一些州采用了“比较

18、过失”原则而得到减弱。It requires that the respective degree of negligence of both parties be determined and compensation assessed accordingly. 要求确定当事各方的各自疏忽程度，并由此确定补偿金。8/28/202227法律英语Comparative negligenceA rule of law applied in accident cases to determine responsibility and damages based on the negligence o

19、f every party directly involved in the accident. http:/ negligenceThe rule under which negligence is measured by percentage, and damages are diminished in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to the person seeking recovery.http:/ doctrine of last clear chanceEven the contributorily ne

20、gligent plaintiff will be compensated if he can prove that the defendant had the “last clear chance” to prevent the damage.有共同过失的原告如果能证明被告“有最后明显机会”避免伤害，那么该原告就可以获得赔偿。8/28/202230法律英语Last clear chance 最后明显机会The last reasonable opportunity to avoid an accident or injury. One who has the last clear chanc

21、e to avoid an injury and fails to do so is usually held solely responsible, notwithstanding the injured persons own contributory negligence. 8/28/202231法律英语The extraordinarily complex law of negligenceToday leads to two efforts of reformStrict Liability严格责任No fault无过错责任Inconsistent 8/28/202232法律英语Pa

22、rt 4: Tort law reform A. Strict Liability 严格赔偿责任Strict liability is a legal doctrine that makes some persons responsible for damages their actions or products cause, regardless of any fault on their part. 8/28/202233法律英语For instanceThe maintenance of dangerous animals饲养危险的动物Defamation诽谤A rebuttable

23、presumption可反驳的推定The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur不言自明原则8/28/202234法律英语Strict liabilityDeduced fault or negligence from the nature of the thing or act itself.从事情或行为本身的特性可以推断出存在过错或过失Defective construction有缺陷的设计Negligent use过失使用8/28/202235法律英语product liabilityDangerous products 危险的产品The production its

24、elf 产品本身、Its package 包装In a defective conditionUnreasonable dangerous to the user or consumer or to his property.对使用者或消费者及其财产造成过度危险8/28/202236法律英语“defective”The product does not meet the reasonable expectations of the ordinary consumer concerning the safety of the product. “缺陷”是指产品未达到一般消费者关于该产品安全性能的

25、合理期望标准。8/28/202237法律英语b. “No-fault”Another reform endeavor which seeks to find more just solutions for ordinary claims based on negligence.另一个改革努力试图寻求对过失侵权普通索赔要求的更公正的解决方案。automobile accidents8/28/202238法律英语Professors Robert Keeton and Jeffrey OConnellSeek to abolish the fault principle in tort law试图

26、消除侵权法中的过错原则；To award compensation without proof of fault according to insurance principles.按照保险原则，在不要过错证明的情况下给予赔偿。8/28/202239法律英语No-faultTraffic accidentProduct liabilityMedical malpractice Grant compensation for certain injuries without proof of fault For actual loss,not for intangible damage8/28/2

27、02240法律英语Liability will be limited for the manufacturer,制造商的责任有限Require a relatively lesser insurance premium to cover the risk 只要就风险承担比较少的保险费No-fault 的优点8/28/202241法律英语The injured person will be in a better position 受伤害的人处于比较有利的位置，He will be entitled to receive immediate compensation for his actual loss without lengthy litigation or difficult proof of fault.他无须进行漫长的诉讼或艰难的过失举证就有权立即获得实际损失的补偿。No-fa