Canadian Law I Unit 3 Civil Law

Unit 3: Civil Law 3.1 Civil Law Overview ● Civil law: the area of law that deals with relationships between individuals ● These individuals include… ○ Business vs government ○ Business vs business ○ Business vs person ○ Person vs government (**governments rarely ever sue individuals) ○ Person vs person ● The key players in a civil law case are ○ Litigants: the official name for the parties (plaintiffs, defendants) ○ Plaintiff: the party that is taking legal action ○ Defendant: party which legal action is taken against ○ Next friend: an adult who represents a minor in court that wants to sue ○ Guardian ad litem: the adult who represents a minor being sued Balance of Probabilities ● A balance of probabilities is when evidence is weighed to see whether the plaintiff or the defendant’s story is more probable ● By determining who the balance of probabilities is more in favor for, the courts can decide who is likely guilty Stages of Civil Action ● Before a judge can make a final decision in a case, there are many long tedious stages that the parties must go through. Many people decide to settle their disputes outside of court because of how long and expensive the process is. ○ Stage 1-writ of summons: the first step is for the courts to issue a document called the writ of summons. This document informs the defendant that they have been summoned to court because the plaintiff is taking legal action against them. ○ Stage 2-statement of claim: after the defendant has been made aware of the claim, the courts issue a statement of claim which explains exactly what the plaintiff’s claim is and what remedy they are seeking from the defendant. ○ Stage 3-statement of defence: this document comes from the defendant, which basically explains their side of the story. ○ Stage 4-counterclaim: this is an optional step that can be taken by the defendant. This counterclaim says that the defendant denies any responsibility for the plaintiff’s loss or damages and the defendant believes the plaintiff is actually either partially or fully responsible. ○ Stage 5-examination for discovery: before the actual trial, both parties have the chance to take part in an examination for discovery. The purpose of this is so that they can ask each other questions and lawyers can question witnesses. This step is the last before the actual trial and it is necessary because it takes away the element of surprise before the real trial. ■ Almost all civil law claims end at this stage because they either find that there is no case or the parties decide to settle out of court. 3.2 Tort Law ● Tort: french word that means harm or wrong. In the legal system, a tort case is when a plaintiff has been injured or has experienced losses at the hands of the defendant and wants to seek a civil remedy. Types of Torts ● Unintentional torts: a defendant’s careless actions cause the plaintiff injuries/damages, but the defendant had no general intent to cause harm. ○ Negligence is a common type of unintentional tort. Someone accused of negligence did not mean to harm the plaintiff but knew their actions could cause harm. Negligence could also be the omission of an act that causes harm, when you should have known not doing this act would cause harm (e.g a mother lets her child go to the playground with no winter coat or gloves and the child freezes to death. That would be a case of negligence because she indirectly caused the child’s death by not doing something. ● Intentional torts: a defendant’s careless actions cause the plaintiff injuries/damages, and the defendant had the intent to cause harm. Types of Damages/Compensation ● Pecuniary damages: damages that can be calculated in a dollar amount based on how much the plaintiff claims they lost ○ Examples: lost wages, the cost of car damages, etc. ○ No limit on the amount a plaintiff can receive ● Non-pecuniary damages: loss that does not involve money and is difficult to quantify in a dollar amount ○ Examples: pain, trauma, distress, emotional suffering, mental health, etc. ○ The dollar amount compensated to the plaintiff is decided by the judge based on precedent (past similar cases) ○ The maximum amount a plaintiff can get in non pecuniary damages is $350,000, although that number slightly increases throughout the years. ● Special damages: compensation for damages that come directly out of the plaintiff’s pocket. ○ Examples: medical bills, prescriptions, therapy, etc. ● Punitive damages: specific monetary compensation for malicious conduct on the defendant's part. ○ Examples: defamation, false imprisonment, assault, etc. ● Nominals: minimal to no monetary compensation ○ A nominal is when the plaintiff receives little or no monetary compensation for their loss, they simply took the defendant to court to prove they were right. Types of Liability ● Product liability: manufacturers owe a certain standard of care to their customers and they have to make sure their products meet that standard. If they don’t, consumers can sue the manufacturer for products that were faulty and caused them injuries (e.g chemicals, breaking apart and causing injury, etc.) ● Occupier’s liability: people who own or occupy property must maintain that property. If they don’t and someone hurts themselves because of that property being under maintained, the injured party can sue and the occupier will be held responsible. ○ Allurement: anything on someone's property that attracts children and can become a hazard. The most common example is swimming pools in backyards. A homeowner with a swimming pool in their backyard must make sure it is either covered or gated when not in use so people do not accidentally drown. ○ Hosts: people who host guests and serve them alcohol. Once you serve alcohol to people in your home, you owe them a responsibility to make sure they don’t get into accidents/injure themselves because of their intoxication because you, as the host, will be held responsible. ○ Commercial hosts: businesses that serve alcohol to customers. To do this, a business must have a license or they could be in serious legal trouble. ● Vicarious liability: employers can be held responsible for the actions of their employees. ● Strict liability: in a case of strict liability, an act or activity is so dangerous, that there is no defence possible for it in court and the defendant will always be held 100% responsible, and their only chance to avoid jail time is to try and mitigate the damages. ○ An example of a strict liability offence is statutory rape. It does not matter if the accused had the intent or not, they cannot defend themselves with common defenses like intoxication or duress. Defenses to Tort Cases Even if a defendant is found to be liable, they can still use a defence in court to try and lower the amount of money they have to pay. There are four common defenses in tort cases... ● Contributory negligence: the defendant can either prove they fulfilled their responsibility or they had no responsibility in the first place. In some cases, the defendant can try to prove that the plaintiff caused their own injuries and there is no case. ● Voluntary assumption of risk: the defendant can prove the plaintiff voluntarily participated in the activity causing their injuries, knowing full well they could possibly get hurt. ○ Example: signing up for high contact sports is a voluntary assumption of risk. ● Inevitable accident/act of God: the defendant can prove the accident was not their fault and they could not have prevented it or it was an act of God meaning they could not do anything about it (e.g bad weather causing a car crash). ● Valid explanation: the defendant can try and argue that there is a valid explanation for the accident. 3.3 Contract Law Types of Contracts A contract is a legally binding agreement made between two or more parties. Here are some specific types of contracts: ● Bilateral contract: an exchange contract where the two parties agree to give or do something for each other. ○ Most contracts are bilateral. ● Oral contract: a spoken contract where the parties agree verbally. ○ Must be a witness present to validate this kind of contract. ● Written contract: a contract where the terms are written down and the two parties sign their agreement. ● Implied contracts: a contract between two parties where the agreement is indicated through both parties conduct. ○ Example: a shake of the hand indicates the agreement has been made. ● Express contracts: a contract where the terms have not been fully agreed upon by both parties. Elements of a Contract ● The offer: ○ The offeror in the contract is giving and the offeree is receiving ○ The offer must be made with intention, both parties must be aware of the agreement. ○ Offer must be communicated in some way. ○ Statute of limitations: the offer expired when a certain amount of time lapses, and a counteroffer can then be made. ● Acceptance: ○ For an offeree to accept the contract, the offer must still be active. ○ Acceptance has to be communicated to the offeror. ○ Acceptance must be made with intention. ● Consideration: ○ Consideration is the value exchanged between the two parties. ○ Past consideration: value exchanged after one party has held up their side of the contract. ○ Present consideration: value exchanged at the time the contract is made. ○ Future consideration: value exchanged after the contract is formed. Invalidating Factors There are many factors that can make a contract invalid and therefore useless. ● Capacity: ○ In order to agree to a contract, all parties must have the capacity to understand the terms of the agreement and the ability to perform the contract. Minors and people with a mental disability cannot sign into contractual agreements. ● Legal purpose: ○ A contract must have legal purpose and cannot contradict any public policies (e.g. you cannot make a contract with someone promising to pay them a thousand dollars if they commit murder). ● Mistake: ○ If a mistake is made in the wording of the agreement, the contract is invalid. There are a few kinds of mistakes parties could make… ■ Common mistake: both parties made the same mistake. ■ Mutual mistake: both parties are mistaken but made different mistakes. ■ Unilateral mistake: one party is mistaken and the other does not know. ● Misrepresentation: ○ When one party makes an untrue statement that causes the other party to want to enter into the agreement in the first place. ● Duress: ○ Unlawful pressure to enter into the contract. ● Undue influence: ○ If there is a special relationship between the parties where one party has more power over the other, a contract cannot happen between them. ● Unconscionability: ○ A contract between a weaker party and a stronger one where the contract agreements are weighted in favor of the stronger party is an invalid contract. 3.4 Family Law ● Family law: the area of law that deals with all domestic relations. ● Family law is mostly dealing with marriage, children, and issues that come between a family. Custody of Children and Child Support ● When a couple decide they do not want to be in a relationship anymore, a number of important issues arise, such as child custody (if they have children). ● When they cannot decide who gets responsibility over their children, they take it to court for a judge to decide. ● Custodial parent: the parent given custody of the child(ren) ● When one parent has custody of a child, the other parent is usually still allowed to spend time with their child. ● Sole custody: a judge decides that only one parent should have custody of the child the whole time. ● Shared custody: both parents essentially take turns ● All parents legally have to provide for their children until they reach a certain age. ● When two parents separate, they decide themselves or with a judge how much money the non custodial parent pays to support the child (child support). Family Assets ● Family assets: property and items that a couple acquire during their marriage. When the relationship is over, these assets must be divided. ● Homes are usually the largest asset. A house cannot be divided between two people so one spouse keeps the home while the other pays an equivalent to make the payments equal. Marriage ● In order to marry the legal way, both parties must have the mental capacity to understand what they are doing. ● People getting married must also do it of their own free will or else it is not legal. ● Mistake of identity: if there's a mistake of identity about who the person is marrying, the marriage is not valid. ● Age is also a big factor in marriage because people under the age of 18 cannot get married. The age of marriage with parental consent goes down to 16. ● Consanguinity: you cannot get married to certain people who are related to you such as your sibling, cousins, parents, or close extended family. ● Bigamy and polygamy is when the one person is married to two or more people at the same time, which is illegal in Canada. ● Consummation: a marriage is completed as soon as the couple have sexual intercourse after the marriage. ● Annulment: when a court declares a marriage was invalid and never existed. ● When a marriage is coming to an end, one spouse can file a petition for divorce, meaning they want to divorce the other. ● The Divorce Act of Canada encourages mediation between divorced couples so they can reduce the amount of time and money they spend in court.