Category: Legal Resources

  • Defence

    Defence in United States Defence  Evidence offered by the accused to refute a charge. French défense: Latin defensa: defendere, to strike down or away, ward off, repel. Mid. Eng. defence. That which is proposed by the defendant to defeat their opponents claim by denial of the injury, by […]

  • Defamation and Opinion

    Defamation and Opinion in United States Defamation and Opinion  To determine whether a statement implies a factual assertion, courts examine the totality of the circumstances in which it was made. They look at the context and contents which the work present – the subject of the work and the […]

  • Defamation and Public Figures

    Defamation and Public Figures in United States Defamation and Public Figures  Public figures, including officeholders and candidates, have to show that the defamation was made with malicious intent and was not just fair comment. Defamation and the Constitution In the U.S. the First […]

  • Damages, Treble costs

    Damages, Treble costs in United States Damages, Treble costs,  Treble costs are sometimes awarded by statutes. When an act awards treble costs, the party is allowed three times the usual costs, excepting the fees and costs of their attorney which are not trebled. Damnum sine injuria […]

  • Damages, Treble

    Damages, Treble in United States Treble damages is the measure for an award of punitive damages. The actual calculation of punitive damages is not fixed according to a formula and must in all cases be proven by the plaintiff, first as to existence, second as to extent. However those damages […]

  • Damages, Special

    Damages, Special in United States Damages, Special,  Those damages which do not arise ordinarily out of the injury but which arise extraordinarily and thus must be specifically plead and proven. Such damages are nonetheless concrete and material as opposed to abstract. That is they are […]

  • Damages, presumed

    Damages, presumed in United States Damages, presumed,  Damages which do not require proof as they are presumed as a matter of law to result naturally and necessarily from a tortious act.

  • Damage per se

    Damage per se in United States Damage per se  A damage per se is one wherein damages are presumed upon occurrence of the tort, e.g. in cases of libel where the libel concerns imputation of crime, a loathsome disease, the unchastity of a woman, or words affecting the plaintiffs trade, […]

  • Damages for pain and suffering

    Damages for pain and suffering in United States Damages for pain and suffering  Injuries to the plaintiff’s sense of well being; The non material damages to a victim of a tort which are remedied with money under a theory of compensation Pure motional damages, where allowed, are generally […]

  • Damages, Non-Economic

    Damages, Non-Economic in United States Damages, Non-Economic,  Damages for pain, suffering, loss of companionship, and loss of consortium (love of spouse). Unlike concrete material economic losses, such as lost wages, medical bills, and damage to property such damages are abstract. […]

  • Damages, Mitigation of

    Damages, Mitigation of in United States Damages, Mitigation of,  The victim of a tort-feasor, though a victim, nonethless has an affirmative duty to do their best to reduce the damages consequent to the tortious misconduct. That duty is known as the duty to mitigate damages. The victim must […]

  • Damages, Measure of

    Damages, Measure of in United States Damages, Measure of,  The method used to calculate the damages sustained by the injured party.

  • Damages, Monetary

    Damages, Monetary in United States Damages, Monetary,  Monetary or pecuniary damages are those damages to the fortune of the victim. As such damages are concrete and material they are more easily measured than abstract rights (e.g. future contingent streams of income such as from a patent) […]

  • Damages, Hedonic

    Damages, Hedonic in United States Damages intended to compensate plaintiffs for the lost pleasure resulting from the injury. As hedonic damages inflate compensation and compensate an abstraction they are not recognized in all jurisdictions.

  • Damages, General

    Damages, General in United States Those damages which ordinarily flow from the tortious conduct and thus need not be specifically pleaded as they are implicit in the plaintiffs complaint. Having proven the underlying act, the ordinary damages flowing therefrom are presumed, though such proof […]