Litigation Lawyers in Porterville

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

In Porterville, California, a tort is basically 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."

Porterville, California's laws recognize many different torts. However, the civil litigation system only deals with a few of these dozens of torts with any frequency. While the most obscure torts are occasionally litigated, there are only a small amount that the average person is likely to deal with (either as a plaintiff or defendant) at some point in their lives. They include fraud, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and battery.

Types of Torts in Porterville, California

Negligence: This is by far the tort that is most commonly dealt with in the courts of Porterville, California. Put simply, negligence is a failure to exercise a reasonable amount of care, and causing harm to someone as a result. For instance, driving 30 miles per hour over the speed limit is obviously very careless. So, if you are driving that fast, and your speed causes you to get into an accident that harms someone else (either their body or their property), you have committed negligence, and will be required to compensate the victim for the harm that you caused. You should know, however, that this is just an evident example, and there are a practically infinite number of situations in which a negligence lawsuit can arise.

Fraud: Fraud in Porterville, California is another fairly frequent tort. It is a deliberate misrepresentation made for personal gain, at the expense of another. It usually involves selling a product to a person, while lying about the product's nature. If the buyer relies on the false information in making their purchasing decision, they are a victim of fraud, and can sue the person who defrauded them to recover their losses.

Battery: Battery is defined by the law of Porterville, 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 really 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 basically any physical contact that violates one's sense of personal dignity constitutes battery, and the victim could technically sue over it. However, in most cases like that, the plaintiff hasn't suffered 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: Intentional infliction of emotional distress, also known as IIED, was not recognized in Porterville, California as a valid tort until the early to mid 20th Century. However, since it became available as a cause of action, it has become one of the most common sources of civil litigation in the tort context. IIED is committed when a person engages in "outrageous" conduct towards another person, with actual intent of causing mental trauma or distress, and then really causes the intended result. Physical injuries are not necessary to prove IIED, but if the emotional trauma is so severe that it causes physical symptoms (such as a heart attack, in the most extreme cases), the defendant will be liable for them, as well.

How Can A Porterville, California Tort Lawyer Help?

If someone has committed a tort against in you Porterville, California, you have a legal authority to seek compensation. Additionally, if someone has sued you, alleging that you committed a tort, you have a right to mount a legal defense.

In either of those cases, you will almost certainly benefit from the counsel of a competent tort lawyer in Porterville, California. In addition to improving your chances of winning your case, should it go to trial, a brilliant 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.