Tort Law: Cases and Commentaries

• Main Author: Beswick, Samuel
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Allard Research Commons 2022
• Subjects: casebook; torts; trespass; negligence; novel duty of care; strict liability; nuisance; vicarious liability; remedies; private law theory; civil recourse; corrective justice; indigenous dispute resolution; comparative; Canada; common law; Commonwealth; pedagogy; law school; open access; Law; First Nations
• Online Access: https://commons.allard.ubc.ca/fac_pubs/705; https://commons.allard.ubc.ca/context/fac_pubs/article/1713/viewcontent/2021CanLIIDocs1859___Aug_2023.pdf

The law of obligations concerns the legal rights and duties owed between people. Three primary categories make up the common law of obligations: tort, contract, and unjust enrichment. This coursebook provides an introduction to tort law: the law that recognises and responds to civil wrongdoing. The material is arranged in two parts. Part I comprises §§1-11 and addresses intentional and dignitary torts and the overarching theories and goals of tort law. Part II comprises §§12-25 and addresses no-fault compensation schemes, negligence, nuisance, strict liability, and tort law’s place within our broader legal systems.Themes explored within this coursebook include:• Tort law is grounded in community standards and values.• Rights of action in private law afford plaintiffs the right to sue.• Our common law constitution assumes equality of all (including public officials) under law.• The common law develops incrementally: precedent upon precedent.• The common law is a dialogue taking place over time within and between jurisdictions.Notable illustrations of these themes include the High Court of Australia’s judgment in Binsaris v. Northern Territory (§2.2.4) recognising incarcerated indigenous youths’ claims of unlawful battery by prison officers; the Supreme Court of Canada’s judgment in R v. Le (§2.4.4) addressing police racial profiling, trespass, and false imprisonment; the opinion dissenting from the Supreme Court of the United States’ denial of certiorari in Baxter v. Bracey (§6.6.9.2) concerning the US doctrine of qualified immunity from constitutional tort liability for government officers; and the Ontario Court of Appeal’s judgment in Cloud v. Canada (§19.7.2) certifying a class action of First Nations residential school survivors’ claims in negligence, battery, and assault.While primarily focussing on case law from Canadian courts, this coursebook incorporates judgments from comparative common law jurisdictions such as Hong Kong, India, and New Zealand, as well as extracts of ...