Legal Definitions: What is a Tort?

At its best, the purpose of the American legal system is justice. Unfortunately, there are far too many cases in which justice, as the ideal, is not only not reached, but not even sought-- corrupted, instead, by factors such as which party has the most connections, the most money, that which is dishonest, that which is frivolous, and the "scales of justice" quite unfavorably weighed against those who are not aware of their rights. It is called "the American Justice System" for a reason; and it is meant to ensure fairness toward and equality for all, to protect each and every citizen's rights to a life of liberty-- "liberty" being the individual's right to move about freely in his or her own life, free of intrusion, and to make and follow one's own autonomous decisions, free of interference; in other words, to go about one's life in a lawful manner, without violation of one's personal rights.

While most people are, to some degree, familiar with unlawful actions of a criminal nature, there is also a separate classification for actions which are essentially a matter of violating another individual's personal rights. Such actions are called civil torts. Civil torts include negligence, which is referred to as an unintentional tort; and intentional torts, which include alienation of affections, assault, battery, conversion, defamation (or defamation of character), false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, interference, invasion of privacy, intentional misrepresentation, nuisance, and trespass to land. While some of these subjects are well-known and self-explanatory, some are lesser-known as being in the category of civil torts. In order to gain a deeper appreciation for the justice system, we can begin by examining some of the civil torts which we are meant to be protected from in the interest of our safety and liberty.

The key criterion as to whether or not any specific action would be deemed a tort is whether the action would be considered harmful and/or offensive by "any reasonable person." The tort known as defamation-- or defamation of character-- is concluded when one makes a false statement or statements about a person which results in and is for the purpose of damaging the person's reputation and/or relations with others. When such defamatory, untrue statements are written and circulated, it is called "libel;" when defamatory statements are circulated verbally, it is called "slander."

Intentional infliction of emotional distress is another tort. The elements which comprise this tort are 1) outrageous or extreme act(s) which are 2) intended to cause severe emotional distress; and 3) that the individual suffers such distress 4) caused by the other person's act. Again, the criterion is whether "any reasonable person" would consider the act and the consequences to be harmful and/or offensive.

The category invasion of privacy contains a number of different torts. One is called false light-- it is considered false light when someone publicly gives a false impression of another person which "any reasonable person" would consider grossly offensive. Intrusion is comprised of the elements of intruding into a person's private and/or personal life. Public disclosure of a private fact is, as it sounds-- for someone to disclose highly-personal facts of another person's personal life. This tort differs from defamation, for the element is not whether the information is true or not; it constitutes a civil tort because it violates the person's right to privacy.

While most people are aware that they have the right to be free of bodily harm, damage to property, and countless other such factors, fewer realize that their rights include being protected from such things as undue damage to their reputations and intrusions into their personal lives; and that the justice system is in place to safeguard these rights.