Key Concepts
This is the standard of proof in civil trials.
What is the balance of probabilities?
This area of civil law deals with broken promises.
What is contract law?
To establish negligence, a ___ of care must be owed.
What is duty?
This is the most common civil remedy.
What are damages (money compensation)?
Deemed liable in a civil case.
What is being legally responsible for harm or loss?
The party being sued is known as this.
What is the defendant?
This area protects people from interference with land or property.
What is trespass?
This term describes when someone fails to take reasonable care.
What is a breach?
This non-financial remedy might stop someone from doing something.
What is an injunction?
These are two possible consequences of being found liable in a civil case.
What are paying damages, complying with an injunction, making a public apology, etc.?
One purpose of civil law is to do this.
What is to protect rights / resolve disputes / provide compensation?
A will dispute falls under this area of civil law.
What is wills and estates law?
The plaintiff must prove this link between breach and harm.
What is causation?
Damages that punish the defendant are called this.
What are exemplary/punitive damages?
These are common reasons a plaintiff might choose not to pursue civil litigation.
What are high legal costs, emotional stress, time commitment, or low chance of success?
The legal term for being legally responsible for harm.
What is liability?
Family law typically deals with these kinds of disputes.
What is divorce, parenting arrangements, property settlement, etc.?
Name one defence to a negligence claim.
What is contributory negligence / voluntary assumption of risk?
Two key purposes of civil remedies.
What are to restore the plaintiff to their original position prior to the wrongdoing, and to deter future wrongdoing?
These are the facts that would help prove a store was negligent after a shopper slipped on a wet floor.
What are evidence of duty of care, whether there were warning signs, how long the hazard was present, etc.?
Explain the key differences between civil and criminal law.
What is: Civil law deals with disputes between individuals and aims to compensate, while criminal law involves the state and aims to punish wrongdoing?
Name three types of civil law besides negligence.
What are contract law, defamation, trespass, family law, nuisance, wills and estates?
Explain how the court decides if a person breached their duty of care.
What is: by asking what a reasonable person would have done in the same situation?
Name two pre-trial procedures in civil disputes.
What are pleadings, discovery, exchange of evidence?
This is one way a civil case could be resolved without going to trial.
What is negotiation, mediation, conciliation, or arbitration?