The law of torts

The law of “tort” is essentially the law of injuries and remedies for those injuries. Torts can this include assault, battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, invasion of privacy, defamation, fraud or mispresentation, wrongful conversion, trespass, and other wrong, such as product liability. Some of these wrongs can be both civil and criminal in nature. A battery, for example, may be prosecuted by the state as a violation of the criminal statutes. The offender may be sentenced to prison and be ordered to pay a fine to the state. In some cases, he may also be ordered to pay restitution to the victim. However, the battery may also be a civil tort as well. The victim (the plaintiff) may sue in civil court for the tort of battery (and any other torts that may be alleged, such as intentional infliction of emotional distress). If the plaintiff is successful, the defendant will be ordered to pay compensatory damages (to “compensate” for the injury) and punitive damages (to “punish” the defendant for having caused the act). In the United States, it is commonly believed that courts will enter punitive damages in an amount that is roughly three times the size of the compensatory damages (which are sometimes called the “special damages” by plaintiffs lawyers).

In his book, An Introduction to the Legal System of the United States, Professor Allan Famsworth described the field of torts distinguished from criminal law and contract law. He wrote:

The field of torts embraces a group of civil wrongs, other than breach of contract, that interfere with person, property, reputation, or commercial or social advantage. While such an cat, such as an assault, may sometimes be both a crime punishable by the state in a criminal prosecution and also a tort actionable by the victim in a suit for damages, the criminal prosecution and the damage action are quite separate and unrelated proceedings. The essential purpose of the law of torts is compensatory and, thought punitive damages may occasionally be awarded, its function is distinct from that of criminal law. Criminal law is essentially punitive and an injured party is not awarded compensation in the criminal proceeding.

New vocabulary:

assault – нападение, словесное оскорбление и угроза физической расправы

battery – побои, избиение

false imprisonment – незаконное лишение свободы, тюремное заключение

intentional infliction of emotional distress – намеренное нанесение моральной травмы

negligence – небрежность, халатность

invasion of privacy – посягательство на частную жизнь, вторжение в частную жизнь

defamation – диффамация, клевета

fraud – обман, подлог

misrepresentation – введение в заблуждение

wrongful conversion – незаконное обращение верного имущества в свою пользу, присвоение имущества, противоправный перевод денег

trespass – нарушение чужого право владения

wrong – правонарушение, деликт, вред

product liability – обязательство производителя компенсировать ущерб нанесенный покупателю или пользователю дефективными товарами

be prosecuted by the state – преследовать в судебном порядке

violation of the criminal status – нарушение уголовных статутов

be sentenced to prison – приговорить к тюремному заключению

pay a fine to smb – выплачивать штраф кому-л

be ordered to do smth – приказывать, предписать, требовать, давать распоряжение выполнить

pay restitution – выплатить возмещение

restitution – восстановление первоначального правового положения, возмещение, реституция

victim – потерпевший, жертва

plaintiff – истец

sue in civil court – предъявлять гражданский иск, выступать в качестве истца по гражданскому делу

damages – возмещение убытки, ущерб

compensatory damages – компенсаторные (фактические) убытки

punitive damages – штрафные, карательные убытки

enter damages – начинать процесс о возмещении убытков