______________________________________________________________________________ THE LAW OF TORTS ______________________________________________________________________________ NCA Syllabus by: Nicholas Fernandes (Updated 2021) - 2 - TERMS OF USE Copyright © 2020 Law of Torts by Nicholas Fernandes. All rights reserved. No part of these notes may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in any retrieval system of any nature, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. By signing up for the Law of Torts classes hosted by Nicholas Fernandes, you agree to abide by the terms contained herein, failing which, the copyright holder would be entitled pursue enforcement of his rights, which can include the launching of a formal complaint with the relevant Provincial administrative body. These materials are produced for the sole purpose of self-study in preparation for the NCA Law of Torts Examination and should not be used for any other purpose. The copyright holder does not accept liability for, and makes no warranties in regards to, any use made of these materials beyond their stated purpose. NCA candidates are only permitted to reproduce these materials for their personal use in examination preparation. The copyright holder makes his best efforts to ensure that these materials are accurate and current as of January, 2020. These materials are based on and include text from Robert M Solomon, Mitchell McInnes, Erika Chamberlain and Stephen GA Pitel, Cases and Materials on the Law of Torts, 10th ed (Toronto, ON: Carswell, 2019); and, GHL Fridman, Introduction to the Canadian Law of Torts, 3rd ed (Lexis-Nexis, 2012). The majority of case law and legislative resources needed by NCA candidates are available on CanLII, the free legal information resource funded by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada (www.canlii.org). That includes all decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada, and all federal, provincial, territorial and appellate courts. Copyright © 2020 The Law of Contract by Nicholas Fernandes. All rights reserved. These notes are not to be copied, replicated or distributed without express permission. - 3 - TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................... - 6 - WHAT IS A TORT? ................................................................................................................................................... - 6 - WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF TORT LAW? ........................................................................................................... - 6 - IMPORTANT CONCEPTS: ......................................................................................................................................... - 6 - TYPES OF REMEDIES: ............................................................................................................................................. - 7 - STRICT AND ABSOLUTE LIABILITY TORTS ............................................................................................... - 9 - GENERAL RULE: ..................................................................................................................................................... - 9 - VICARIOUS LIABILITY: ........................................................................................................................................... - 9 - ESCAPE OF A DANGEROUS SUBSTANCE: ............................................................................................................... - 12 - STRICT LIABILITY FOR ANIMALS: ......................................................................................................................... - 13 - INTENTIONAL LIABILITY TORTS ................................................................................................................ - 15 - TRESPASS TO PERSONS ....................................................................................................................................... - 15 - BASIC PRINCIPLES: ............................................................................................................................................... - 15 - BATTERY: ............................................................................................................................................................. - 15 - ASSAULT: ............................................................................................................................................................. - 16 - FALSE IMPRISONMENT: ......................................................................................................................................... - 17 - MALICIOUS PROSECUTION: .................................................................................................................................. - 19 - ABUSE OF PROCESS: ............................................................................................................................................. - 20 - NERVOUS SHOCK: ................................................................................................................................................ - 20 - INVASION OF PRIVACY: ........................................................................................................................................ - 22 - BREACH OF CONFIDENCE: .................................................................................................................................... - 23 - TRESPASS TO PROPERTY .................................................................................................................................... - 24 - TRESPASS TO PERSONAL PROPERTY / CHATTELS: ................................................................................................ - 24 - TRESPASS TO CHATTELS: ..................................................................................................................................... - 24 - Trover and Conversion: ................................................................................................................................. - 25 - Detinue: ......................................................................................................................................................... - 25 - TRESPASS TO REAL PROPERTY ............................................................................................................................. - 26 - TRESPASS TO LAND: ............................................................................................................................................. - 26 - TRESPASS UNDER STATUTE: ................................................................................................................................. - 28 - NUISANCE: ........................................................................................................................................................... - 29 - Trespass –vs- Nuisance .................................................................................................................................. - 29 - Definition: ...................................................................................................................................................... - 29 - General rules: ................................................................................................................................................ - 29 - Defences: ....................................................................................................................................................... - 31 - Public nuisance: ............................................................................................................................................ - 32 - Remedies: ....................................................................................................................................................... - 33 - TRESPASS TO AIRSPACE AND SUBSOIL: ................................................................................................................ - 34 - Copyright © 2020 The Law of Contract by Nicholas Fernandes. All rights reserved. These notes are not to be copied, replicated or distributed without express permission. - 4 - NEGLIGENT LIABILITY TORTS .................................................................................................................... - 35 - GENERAL RULE: ................................................................................................................................................... - 35 - DUTY OF CARE: .................................................................................................................................................... - 37 - STANDARD OF CARE: ........................................................................................................................................... - 41 - CAUSATION: ......................................................................................................................................................... - 46 - REMOTENESS: ...................................................................................................................................................... - 52 - ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES: ................................................................................................................................