CASE LAW ANALYSIS – TORT LAW

Overview

Tort law is based on the notion that if one party harms another intentionally or by being careless or reckless (“negligent”), then the aggrieved party may be entitled to restitution and be made “whole.” In some cases, there is strict liability, as in cases of defective products. If a product is found to be inherently unsafe or defective, strict liability is imposed; “strict” means that neither intent nor negligence needs to be proven.

Sometimes, a tort may also be a crime, as in the case of assault. Such a case can be brought both civilly and criminally. Here, we are only concerned with civil court cases. The court (using a judge or jury as fact-finder) will attempt to determine what damages are appropriate where a tort has been committed. 

A court will attempt to determine exactly what needs to be done when an aggrieved party can demonstrate damages, and what those damages should be, in order to return a party to its state prior to the alleged action. This remedy is almost always money because, in reality, no one can go back and undo the wrongful action.

The purpose of this assignment is to:

Give you the opportunity to research and investigate a real court decision.

Challenge you to think about the business implications of the case and particularly how the case will impact a specific organization.

1. Challenge you to distinguish the role of torts and how torts differ from contracts in commercial transactions as a basis for liability on the part of businesses.
2. Give you the opportunity to learn key judicial concepts that influence business decisions.
3. Preparation
4. The first step in preparing your case law analysis is to locate a published court decision and select an organization you believe would be impacted by the decision. 

Choose a decision about tort law. To help you get started, use the Capella University Library Legal Research Library Guide and these well-known searchable databases of court cases. Try to imagine yourself as either the plaintiff or the defendant in the cases you review to make these cases meaningful to your life. 

United States Supreme Court Cases.

LII: Supreme Court: Most Recent Decisions.

• Legal Topics.

Oyez, Inc.

Select an organization not a party to the case that you believe would be impacted by the court decision. It can be an organization you work for or have worked for, an organization you would like to work for, or some other organization.

• Use these resources to help you with this assignment:

Analyzing a Case.

• This multimedia? walks you through a written court decision and explains each part’s purpose.

Business Law Foundational Concepts.

• This multimedia? will help you to understand your reading materials and articles you find.

Click Transcript (after you open the multimedia, Transcript is found at the lower right corner of the screen).

• Use the transcript as another resource to quickly look up some of the more common terms. This terminology will be useful in personal, scholarly, and professional settings.

Four Ethical Theories.

• This multimedia? sets forth several approaches to ethical thinking that can be applied to business.
• This Case Analysis Report: Executive Briefing Exemplar [DOCX] shows a sample case law analysis. You may wish to refer to it as you work on your assignment.

Instructions

• Once you have ?selected a business-related case involving tort law and an organization impacted by the decision, assume you’re a senior manager in the organization you selected and that you were asked to prepare an analysis of the court decision and brief the executive team of the organization about the impact the case might have on the company. Your briefing should include a summary of the case, as well as an evaluation of how the court’s decision impacts the organization from a business, legal, and ethical perspective.

Be sure to list your case citation in the References page at the end of your assignment.

Step 1: Exhibit information literacy skills as applied to business law.

• Identify the court, the parties who are before the court, and the date of the decision.
• Ensure that your briefing provides an accurate context in terms of who brought the lawsuit and the outcome of the case.

Report research from a recognized authority that adds insight into the meaning, history, or impact of the case with relevant legal research from credible databases or online sources.   

Step 2: Summarize the facts and ruling of a legal case and its impact on businesses.

• Provide a brief background and context associated with the case. Summarize the facts in no more than 1–2 paragraphs.
• Identify the specific disagreement between the parties. Was there a dissenting opinion? If so, explain it.
• Summarize the court’s ruling, including its rationale.
• Analyze the impact of the case on businesses, including both negative and positive impacts.

Step 3: Explain how the court decision impacts legal and ethical compliance in a business environment.

Identify the ethical and legal implications for a business that were suggested by the court’s decision.

• Discuss whether or not the conduct of a party in the case was ethical or unethical.

Propose and explain an ethical theory that describes why a party’s conduct was ethical or unethical.

Step 4: Explain how a legal case could impact a specific organization not a party to the case.

Explain the impact of the court’s decision on your selected organization. In light of the court’s ruling, how might the executive team of the organization make future decisions or policy?