Litigation Lawyers in Capitola

In Capitola, California, a "tort" is specified as any civil wrong, besides breach of contract, for which the law provides a remedy.

In Capitola, California, a tort is essentially any bad thing that one person can do to another, which the law says the victim can sue over. This is called a "cause of action."

In Capitola, California, there are laws and court rulings that recognize scores of various torts. Many of these torts are very obscure, and are almost never litigated. In the modern era, the torts that the ordinary person is most likely to face are fraud, negligence, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Types of Torts in Capitola, California

Negligence: Negligence is by far the most prevalent tort that results in litigation in Capitola, California. Negligence is a failure to exercise the amount of care appropriate for a certain situation, and causing harm to someone else as a result of this carelessness. For instance, running a red light is inherently careless. If you run a red light, and cause personal injury or property damage, you are liable for the harm you caused. Of course, this is just one instance, and negligence can occur in basically any context.

Fraud: Fraud is an intentional tort, unlike negligence. It is also dealt with fairly frequently by courts in Capitola, California. Fraud is a lie that one person tells to another, with the intent to harm the other person, typically by inducing them to give money or property to the person committing the fraud. Fraud can occur in a wide number of different contexts. For instance, suppose a jeweler tries to sell a fake diamond to a customer, by passing it off as the real thing. If the customer believes the jeweler's lie, and bases his buying decision on it, the jeweler has committed fraud. If the customer discovers this fraud, he will be able to sue the jeweler, and recover, at the very least, the difference between the value of the fake diamond, and what he paid for it.

Battery: Battery is defined by the law of Capitola, California as any contact by one person, with the body of another, which is offensive or harmful. Any conduct that causes physical injury, pain, or emotional distress is battery. Also, you do not need to directly touch a person with your own body to commit battery - simply directing harmful contact (say, by throwing a rock) toward another person is sufficient to create liability for battery. Battery can also arise from "offensive" contact, which is typically any physical contact that violates one's sense of personal dignity constitutes battery, and the victim could technically sue over it. Nonetheless, in most cases like that, the plaintiff hasn't sustained any real harm, and will only be able to recover nominal damages, which would be far, far less than the cost of filing a lawsuit.

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress: This is a tort in Capitola, California that involves emotional distress, and does not need physical harm or financial loss. It is also known by the acronym IIED. IIED is committed when a person engages in outrageous conduct towards another, with the intent of causing emotional distress, and directly causes the intended distress.

How Can A Capitola, California Tort Lawyer Help?

If you believe that you've been the victim of a tort in Capitola, California, you have a right to go to court and try to prove your case. On the other hand, if you find that you are being sued for a tort, and believe that you aren't responsible, you have every right to defend yourself in court.

In either of those situations, you will almost definitely benefit from the counsel of a competent tort lawyer in Capitola, California. In addition to improving your chances of winning your case, should it go to trial, a reliable lawyer will also make every effort to prevent the issue from going to trial in the first place, by attempting to negotiate a settlement with the other side that's acceptable to both parties.