How to Memorize Tort Law: 60 Flashcards on Negligence, Damages and Civil Liability
Master tort law with 60 real flashcards: the four elements of negligence, Donoghue v Stevenson, the Caparo test, strict liability and civil damages.
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Criminal Law Concepts & Terminology Study Guide: 113 Flashcards from Actus Reus to the Rome Statute
Master criminal law with 113 flashcards: actus reus, mens rea, causation, thin skull rule, strict liability, offences, landmark cases (Pittwood, Blaue, Cunningham) and the ICC.
Tort law punishes nobody. Compensation instead of punishment is the hinge every civil liability exam turns on, and it is where most students lose marks. The Civil Law: Torts and Contracts deck (code OC9194, 60 cards) drills civil wrongs the way they are actually tested: definition, element, leading case.
Study this deck: Civil Law: Torts & Contracts
1 / 10Tort
Tap the card for the answer · swipe right if you knew it, left if not
Start with the three families of tort
Lock in the taxonomy first. Torts split into negligent, intentional and strict liability torts, and every card hangs off one of those branches. Negligence itself has four elements you should recite without hesitation: duty of care, breach of duty, causation, damages.
Ten cards worth memorizing first
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| Tort | A civil wrong, other than breach of contract, causing loss or harm and resulting in legal liability |
| Burden of proof in civil proceedings | Balance of probabilities — more likely than not |
| Four elements of negligence | Duty of care, breach of duty, causation, damages |
| Donoghue v Stevenson (1932) | Established the modern tort of negligence — the snail in the ginger beer bottle |
| Caparo test | Foreseeability of harm, proximity of relationship, fair just and reasonable to impose a duty |
| Rylands v Fletcher (1868) | Strict liability for a dangerous escape from one's land, unless the cause was remote |
| Respondeat superior | "Let the master answer" — employers are liable for employee acts within the scope of employment |
| Volenti non fit injuria | "To a willing person, no injury is done" — consent to the risk bars recovery |
| But for test | Would the harm have occurred but for the defendant's conduct? |
| Pure economic loss | Financial loss with no physical injury or property damage — harder to recover in tort |
Everything the deck covers
You will master: assault, battery, false imprisonment, defamation, trespass to land, conversion, private and public nuisance, product liability, toxic torts, tortious interference, negligent misrepresentation and Hedley Byrne v Heller, IIED and NIED, invasion of privacy, malicious prosecution, abuse of process, transferred intent, proximate cause, the reasonable person standard, occupiers liability, joint and several liability, the economic loss rule, the collateral source rule, vicarious liability, sovereign and charitable immunity, Good Samaritan laws, contributory and comparative negligence, ex turpi causa, punitive damages, injunctions, specific performance, discovery, depositions, subpoenas, motions to compel, contingent fees, class actions, tort reform and the New Zealand no-fault ACC system.
Two study moves specific to this material
Group the Latin maxims and the defenses together. Volenti non fit injuria, ex turpi causa non oritur actio and respondeat superior are the cards students most often blank on, because they are memorized as isolated phrases. Instead learn each as a one-sentence scenario: a rugby player cannot sue for a legal tackle; a burglar cannot sue over an injury during the burglary; the delivery driver's employer pays.
Turn every case name into its facts. Donoghue v Stevenson is a snail. Rylands v Fletcher is a reservoir flooding a mine. Hedley Byrne is a bad credit reference. Examiners reward the fact pattern, not the citation, and the image is what makes the name stick.
Flip the direction. Civil law questions test contrasts — civil versus criminal standard, contributory versus comparative negligence — so drill the cards backwards too.
Study this deck in Flip It by searching for deck code OC9194 in your library at flip-it.app.
If you are covering the criminal side too, the companion deck article is Criminal Law Concepts and Terminology Study Guide.
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