A Theory of Tort Liability PDF
Preview A Theory of Tort Liability
A THEORY OF TORT LIABILITY This book provides a comprehensive theory of the rights upon which tort law is based and the liability that flows from violating those rights. Inspired by the account of private law contained in Immanuel Kant’s Metaphysics of Morals, the book shows that Kant’s theory elucidates a conception of interpersonal wrong- doing that illuminates the operation of tort law. The book then utilises this conception, applying it to the various areas of tort law, in order to develop an understanding of the particular areas in question and, just as importantly, their relationship to each other. It argues that there are three general kinds of liability found in the law of tort: liability for putting another or another’s property to one’s purposes directly, liability for doing something to a third party that puts another or another’s property to one’s purposes, and liability for pursuing purposes in a way that improperly interferes with the ability of another to pursue her legiti- mate purposes. It terms these forms liability for direct control, liability for indirect control and liability for injury respectively. The result is a coherent, philosophical understanding of the structure of tort liability as an entire system. In developing its position, the book considers the laws of Australia, Canada, England and Wales, New Zealand and the US. Volume 16 in the series Hart Studies in Private Law ii A Theory of Tort Liability Allan Beever OXFORD AND PORTLAND, OREGON 2016 Hart Publishing An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc Hart Publishing Ltd Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Kemp House 50 Bedford Square Chawley Park London Cumnor Hill WC1B 3DP Oxford OX2 9PH UK UK www.hartpub.co.uk www.bloomsbury.com Published in North America (US and Canada) by Hart Publishing c/o International Specialized Book Services 920 NE 58th Avenue, Suite 300 Portland, OR 97213-3786 USA www.isbs.com HART PUBLISHING, the Hart/Stag logo, BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published 2016 © Allan Beever Allan Beever has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as Author of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. While every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of this work, no responsibility for loss or damage occasioned to any person acting or refraining from action as a result of any statement in it can be accepted by the authors, editors or publishers. All UK Government legislation and other public sector information used in the work is Crown Copyright ©. All House of Lords and House of Commons information used in the work is Parliamentary Copyright ©. This information is reused under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ doc/open-government-licence/version/3) excepted where otherwise stated. All Eur-lex materials used in the work is © European Union, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/, 1998–2015. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: HB: 978-1-50990-318-4 ePDF: 978-1-50990-320-7 ePub: 978-1-50990-319-1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Beever, Allan, author. Title: A theory of tort liability / Allan Beever. Description: Oxford ; Portland, OR : Hart Publishing, 2016. | Series: Hart studies in private law ; volume 16 | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016015257 (print) | LCCN 2016015646 (ebook) | ISBN 9781509903184 (hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781509903191 (Epub) Subjects: LCSH: Torts. | Liability (Law) Classification: LCC K923 .B44 2016 (print) | LCC K923 (ebook) | DDC 346.0301—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016015257 Series: Hart Studies in Private Law, volume 16 Typeset by Compuscript Ltd, Shannon To Piri vi CONTENTS Introduction ...............................................................................................................1 Part I: Foundations 1. Moral Foundations .........................................................................................13 2. The General Theory of Liability.....................................................................24 3. The Form of Liability in Tort Law .................................................................28 Part II: Direct Control 4. Battery and Trespass to Property ...................................................................41 5. Trespass in General .........................................................................................68 6. Defences to Trespass .......................................................................................75 7. Deceit ...............................................................................................................94 Part III: Indirect Control 8. The Economic Torts in the Commonwealth: The Conventional View ......101 9. Reconceptualising the Economic Torts ........................................................123 10. Interference with Contract in the US ..........................................................155 11. Injurious Falsehood and Malicious Prosecution.........................................171 Part IV: Injury 12. The Law of Negligence..................................................................................179 Part V: Miscellaneous Issues Involving Control, Injury and Loss 13. The Law of Defamation ................................................................................195 14. The Mind .......................................................................................................219 15. Patient Consent and the Right to Self-determination ................................225 16. Conclusion ....................................................................................................251 Index .......................................................................................................................253 viii It is an ancient wish—who knows how long it will take until perhaps it is fulfilled—that in place of the endless manifold of civil laws, their principles may be sought out; for in this alone can consist the secret, as one says, of simplifying legislation. (Immanuel Kant, The Critique of Pure Reason, A301/B358)
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