Tort Law

Tort Law Case Assignment

Word Count: 1150

Tort Law Case Assignment

Overview of the Case

Davinder and Andrea intend to file a claim against Susan, owner of a Quebec Street nightclub. The basis of claim lies in the negligence in the duty of care ensured by the nightclub owner. The negligence resulted in Davinder being severely wounded from knife stabs of a drunken customer (Malcolm), and Andrea felling in the toilet in a drunken state and registering a brain damage. The facts of this case suggest a thorough review and reference to tort law. This paper identifies the key problems and facts of the case, followed by case's reference to common tort law, and advice to Susan regarding her potential liability, if any, for negligence of the club's employees.

Problems Identified in the Case

Malcolm had earlier been banned from the club following a violent clash the previous year. However, the club staffs were never aware of the fact in the recent incident.

Andrea committed injuries under intoxicated condition. She entered the club from the support of her group friends who ensured the gate staff about caring for her in the club.

Davinder was not hurt in the club; an unprovoked fight with Malcolm did occur in the club, but the stabbing took place outside the club.

Andrea was left unconscious in the club's toilet in the morning; if the club's CCTV personnel were alert, they could have located the problem with Andrea, and could help her avoid or minimize the impact of her injury.

Davinder was a teetotaller and should not have entered the bar area, if any, set exclusively for the nightclub.

Case Analysis under Tort Law

According to tort law, every commercial or institutional setting requires the premise of a reasonable duty of care for the staffs and customers. In the case under review, the presence of security staff, CCTV monitoring and post-incident reporting to ambulance, signifies the safety measures taken by the club's authorities. However, the problems in this case hint at breach of duty of care by the staff in some respects:

First, if Malcolm's name was under banned list, why did the doormen allow him to enter the club?

Secondly, why the staff failed to frisk Malcolm at the gate, if at all they never knew of his banned entry status?

Thirdly, is Susan (the club owner) still liable for torts committed outside his premises?

Fourthly, are Andrea's friends not guilty of leaving her to intoxicate excessively and hurt herself?

The law relating to torts is a comprehensive body of principles relating to civilian claims. In the United States, the FTCA requires plaintiffs to try to settle their claims with the responsible agency through administrative procedures before filing suit in federal court. Under the English tort law (as it prevails in the United Kingdom), an employer is responsible for the actions and negligence committed by employees under employment contract.

The position in relation to crime per se is that employers will not normally be prosecuted for the crimes of their employees, unless the employee was instructed to ...