The Law Dictionary for Everyone
Special damages are awarded in a civil lawsuit in order to compensate a plaintiff for significant financial losses. For example, special damages would be awarded to a victim who is forced to be out of work as the result of a personal injury, and loses wages as a result. Special damages are calculated based on the fair market values at […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Shaffer v. Heitner, Supreme Court of the United States, (1977) Case Summary for Shaffer v. Heitner: Heitner brought a derivative suit against Greyhound Corp. in Delaware, over an alleged violation which took place in Oregon. A Delaware statute defined the property(stock) as being located in Delaware. Defendants filed a motion to quash the sequestration […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Pierson v. Post, New York Court of Appeals, (1805) Case summary for Pierson v. Post: Post was a fox hunter in pursuit of a specific fox. Before Post was able to mortally injure or physically catch the fox, Pierson began to pursue and eventually catch the same fox. Post brought an action against Pierson […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Katko v. Briney, 183 N.W.2d 657 (1971) Case Summary of Katko v. Briney: Defendants set up a spring gun to guard against people trespassing into their unoccupied farmhouse. Plaintiff broke into the house and was seriously injured by the spring gun. At trial, Plaintiff won a verdict of $20,000 actual, and $10,000 punitive, damages. Defendant […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Garratt v. Dailey, Supreme Court of Washington, (1955) Case summary for Garratt v. Dailey: Five year old Dailey moved a chair out from underneath Garratt, and as a result, Garratt fell breaking her hip. Garratt sued Dailey alleging a tortious battery. The trial court dismissed Garratt’s claim and Garratt appealed. The Washington Supreme Court […]
Read moreProperty damage is defined as some harm that is inflicted upon someone’s property as the result of another person’s negligence, willful destruction of that person’s property, or by an act of nature. Flooding caused by a hurricane is an example of property damage caused by an act of nature. Unlike damages that are incurred from acts of nature, damages that […]
Read moreThe term reasonable reliance refers to, in the law, a person’s belief in a fact, which any reasonable person would believe as well. Reasonable reliance has its place primarily in contract law, though it applies in other situations in which one person took another’s word as true. To explore this concept, consider the following reasonable reliance definition. Definition of Reasonable […]
Read moreA nonsuit is a motion filed by a defendant to be released from a civil lawsuit, usually because the plaintiff has failed to pursue the lawsuit in a timely manner. In some jurisdictions, a nonsuit may be filed by a plaintiff to dismiss one or more defendants from a lawsuit while keeping others. The reason for doing this is to […]
Read moreThe term “ostensible agency” refers to the relationship that exists between two parties and that leads a person to believe that the first is an agent of the second, or vice versa. For example, ostensible agency would apply to a hospital worker who is employed by an outside contractor. For all intents and purposes, patients may believe that worker to […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Ashcroft v. Iqbal, United States Supreme Court, (2006) Case summary for Ashcroft v. Iqbal: Pakistani Iqbal was taken into custody and detained throughout a September 11th investigation. Iqbal filed a complaint against officials, including Ashcroft claiming the conditions of detainment were discriminatory based on race, religion and national origin. Ashcroft filed a motion to […]
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