Strong & Williams: Complete Tort Law: Text, Cases, and Materials 
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Test bankStrong & Williams: Complete Tort Law: Text, Cases, and Materials
Online glossary
[A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] [Z]
A
agent
someone who represents another person (the principal) in dealings with third parties
amenity
something pleasant or attractive
a priori
self-evident; can be deduced from first principles, without needing to refer to any factual evidence
B
breach
violate
C
comity
respect given by one court to another
common duty of care
duty imposed under and defined by section 2 of the Occupiers Liability Act 1957
common law
rules and principles contained in judicial decisions; often referred to as ‘judge-made law’ to distinguish it from statutory law, which is promulgated by Parliament
conveyance
document which passes legal title in a property from one person to another in a real estate transaction
covenant
legally binding promise
D
default judgment
a judgment made without the defendant filing a defence
dependent
someone financially dependent on another and typically linked by family ties
disclaimer
a notice that tries to exclude or limit liability or make it more difficult to claim
duty
a required method of behaviour or a code of conduct
E
economic loss
financial loss
enjoin
when a court enters an injunction or an injunctive order requiring or forbidding an act
equiparated
compared with
exclusion clause
a clause in a contract that excludes or limits liability or makes it more difficult to claim
extrinsic
outside of
ex turpi causa non oritur actio
no action will be heard which arises out of a disgraceful situation (the defence of illegality)
F
first party insurance
when insurance benefits the purchaser directly for losses suffered by the purchaser
floodgate arguments
relates to concerns about limited judicial resources, based on the notion that allowing such causes of action in one instance would open the floodgates of litigation, swamping the courts with numerous similar claims and diminishing the efficient administration of justice for all
H
horizontal effect
the application of human rights law to actions between individuals, in contrast to actions brought against public authorities.
I
independent contractor
a self-employed worker
injunction
an order of the court, directed at a particular party
L
lacuna
a gap or blank
latent
hidden, undetected
limitation period
a period of time set by statute indicating the maximum period a claimant has to issue the claim form that initiates a lawsuit
N
negative injunction
a court order to refrain from undertaking an act
negligence
a breach of a legal duty to take care that results in damage to the claimant
nervous shock
psychiatric damage
nominal
in name only
notice
exclusion or restriction of liability
O
obiter dictum
said in passing
objective standard
looks at the issue from a point of view other than that of the individual in question; in tort law, the objective standard is that of the hypothetical (meaning non-real) ‘reasonable person’ who acts prudently and rationally in all circumstances
P
patent
open, seen
pecuniary
monetary
positive injunction
a court order to undertake an act
precedent
a judicial opinion that is sufficiently similar to the dispute at hand in terms of the facts and/or the law that the judge thinks the decision should be followed and used to resolve the matters pending before the court
prima facie
at first sight
principal
someone who is represented in dealings with third parties by an agent
publication
communication by whatever means
putting up
packaging, getting ready for sale
Q
qua
as
R
res ipsa loquitur
the thing speaks for itself
S
sciens
knowing
settlement
when parties to a lawsuit privately agree between themselves to accept a certain disposition of the dispute
special damage
covers several types of harm in public nuisance for which courts have typically allowed recovery, including pecuniary loss, personal injury and property damage
special damages
covers specific damages that must be pleaded and proven in both negligence or defamation actions
standing
when a claimant has the proper relationship and has suffered the proper type of injury to assert a claim against the defendant
sting
the part of a statement that is allegedly defamatory
strict liability
liability without fault
subjective standard
looks at the issue from the individual point of view, typically that of the defendant
T
third party insurance
when insurance benefits are paid to a person other than the purchaser (i.e., a third party)
tortfeasor
a person who has committed a tort
trespass
an infringement on the rights of another, be it rights in land, goods or bodily autonomy
U
use
the purpose to which land is being put
V
vicarious
experienced through someone else
vicarious liability
liability for the actions of a third party
volens
willing
volenti non fit injuria
no harm is done to a person who consents
W
warning
alerts people entering premises to the existence of a particular danger
work-to-rule
industrial action in which employees do only what is strictly required by their contracts
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