Open main menu

Clicklaw Wikibooks β

Changes

Civil Claims and Family Violence

717 bytes removed, 21:38, 27 November 2023
→‎Introduction to the law of torts
Most tort claims come from the ''common law'', which means the vast majority of them developed over the course of decades, and even centuries, as courts have recognized the need for new kinds of legal claims to address different problems in society. As a result, tort claims are not governed by legislation the way family law claims are governed by the ''Family Law Act'', ''Divorce Act'' and the Child Support Guidelines, or the way criminal law is governed by the ''Criminal Code''. That said, some torts are "statutory torts" that are written into legislation. One example is claims for violation of privacy under the provincial ''Privacy Act'', which defines specifically what the tort of violation of privacy is.
STOPPED HERE===Damages=== When a tort claim is proven, the result will be an order for the payment of financial compensation, or ''damages'', to the victim. The precise dollar value of these damages is based on the concept that every injury or harm, and every consequence suffered by the victim, has a dollar value. Some damages are easier for a court to calculate if it has evidence of direct financial loss to the victim, like lost wages or the cost of medical expenses. These direct financial losses are called ''pecuniary damages''. Other damages, such as pain and suffering, are more difficult to measure because they are more subjective. Damages for pain and suffering are called ''general damages'', or ''non-pecuniary damages'', and the courts tend to look to past cases with similar facts in order to calculate a dollar value.
Tort claims are commonly brought in civil proceedings rather than family law proceedings, but they General damages can be brought in a family law case too. If a claim awarded for ''assault and battery'' is made in a family law claim, a judge will treat it as a ''tort law'' claim and apply common law principles and rules to the family case.:
===Damages===* pain and suffering from the family violence,* emotional trauma,* impairment to family or social relationships, and* loss of life enjoyment due to the lasting impacts of the violence.
Tort claims differ from criminal charges. A court Pecuniary damages can't punish someone with jail or a criminal record just because they committed a tort. A successful tort claim results in an order that financial compensation, or ''damages'', be paid to the victim. The precise dollar value of these damages is based on the concept that every injury or harm, and every consequence suffered by the victim, has a dollar value. Some damages are easier for a court to calculate based on the evidence of direct financial loss to the victim. Examples include damages calculated for lost wages or medical expenses. These direct financial losses are called ''pecuniary damages''. Other damages, such as pain and suffering, are more difficult to measure because they are more subjective or intangible. These are called ''general damages'', or ''non-pecuniary damages'', and the courts tend to look to past cases with similar facts in order to calculate a dollar value. :
General damages can be calculated for:* past wages lost due to the family violence,* pain and suffering future wages lost from an inability, illness, or other impairment from the violence(sometimes referred to as lost earning capacity),* emotional traumarehabilitation and job retraining costs, and* impairment past and future medical care expenses tied to family or social relationships* loss of life enjoyment due to the lasting impacts of injuries caused by the violence.
Pecuniary General and pecuniary damages can be calculated for:* past wages lost due to the violence* future wages lost from an inability, illness, or other impairment from the violence (sometimes referred to as lost earning capacity)* rehabilitation and job retraining costs* past and future medical care expenses tied are all forms of ''compensatory damages'' because awarding them is meant to injuries caused by compensate the violencevictim.
''General'' and ''pecuniaryAggravated damages'' are awarded by a judge where the circumstances of the harm are especially humiliating or undignified. The court may separately identify aggravated damage amounts, or award them as part of general damages, are all forms . The purpose of ''compensatory aggravated damages'' because awarding them is meant to compensate the victimwhen the circumstances of the harm are humiliating, oppressive, or malicious. In the context of family violence, the circumstances of the harm often qualify for aggravated damages. The unique power dynamics in many intimate relationships, the fact that there is often a significant size and strength difference between the parties, and the wide-ranging negative consequences that arise when family violence is part of someone's daily life, increase the likelihood that aggravated damages will be awarded.
''Aggravated Punitive damages'' are awarded by a judge in especially humiliating or undignified circumstances. The court may separately identify aggravated damage amounts, however aggravated damages are technically supposed to be assessed and then awarded as part another form of general damages as a single dollar amount). The purpose They are different from other kinds of aggravated damages is to compensate the victim for humiliating, oppressive, and malicious aspects of the case. In a spousal relationship and intimate partner abuse context, punitive damages often qualify as aggravated damages. The unique power dynamics in many intimate relationships, are not about compensating the fact that there is often a significant size and strength difference between spousesvictim, and the wide-ranging negative consequences that arise when violence is a constant threat in someonethey's daily life, increase the likelihood that ''aggravated damages'' will be awarded in tort claims where family violence is a factor. re about:
''Punitive damages'' are another form of damages* punishing the defendant, and quite different from the other forms. Punitive damages are not about compensating the victim. Courts consider awarding them when the wrongful act is so malicious, oppressive, or high-handed that it offends the court's sense of decency. The goal of punitive damages is to:# punish the defendant# * send a strong message to others the defendant and deter to other people, to discourage them from doing similar actsthings.
Punitive damages are only awarded if the combined award of effect awards for general and aggravated damages are is insufficient to achieve these the goals of punishment and deterrence.
===Specific tort claims===
 Canadian law students learn about ''tort law'' in their first year of study. Tort law is a big part of the Canadian legal system, and it's easiest to think about tort law as a collection of legal tools created by judges to provide compensation to individuals who have been hurt, or whose property has been negatively affected, by a wrongdoer. Tort claims are divided into distinct torts, each with its definition and requirements. The most frequent tort claim claims in family violence cases is are the tort torts of ''assault '' and ''battery''. In tort law, ''"assault'' " means wrongfully threatening someone (assault in criminal law has a different definition). ''Battery'' is , and "battery" means wrongfully attacking and harming hurting someone. Assault and battery can include sexual assault. A spouse (It's important to know that spouses can make a tort claim against their former spouse or partner sue each other for sexual assault.) STOPPED HERE
Other possible torts in family violence cases include ''intentional infliction of mental suffering'', ''public disclosure of private fact'', or ''false imprisonment''. Note that tort law uses specialized language, so your understanding of what "mental suffering" is might differ from how tort law defines it.
Retrieved from "https://stagewiki.clicklaw.bc.ca/index.php?title=Special:MobileDiff/50899"