43
votes
Accepted
Can I viably sue for damages caused by bugs in freeware?
No, you can't
The last paragraph of the MIT License explicitly says the author is not responsible for damages (emphasis mine):
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,...
- 1,541
39
votes
Why does the U.S. have much higher litigation cost than other countries?
Litigation Costs v. Liability Insurance Cost
It is worth noting that what the Institute for Legal Reform, a tort reform lobbying group, is stating, is not that the U.S. has "higher litigation ...
- 140k
27
votes
Can I viably sue for damages caused by bugs in freeware?
In addition to the argument that that particular license contains a disclaimer of liability as a condition of the license grant, you have no privity with the author.
The license binds your use of the ...
26
votes
Someone has a video of me doing drugs. Is there legal protection against its release?
The tort for this kind of activity is called public disclosure of private facts, and almost every U.S. state recognizes that this tort is invalid under the First Amendment in the absence of a legal ...
- 140k
21
votes
Is lying on a survey illegal?
There are a very few government surveys which it is a crime to lie in responding to, most notably, census related surveys. Proving that a representation is false with respect to some questions (e.g. ...
- 140k
17
votes
Is lying on a survey illegal?
Is lying on a survey illegal?
An intentional misrepresentation is actionable to the extent that (1) it causes harm, and (2) the surveyor's reliance on those representations is justified. The latter ...
- 40.9k
11
votes
Sue a university for armed robbery
Probably not.
Overview
You haven't specified a jurisdiction. I will talk about Australia because that's what I'm familiar with.
In Australia the most relevant area of law would be tort, ...
- 4,136
11
votes
Accepted
How far does legal gymnastics go to remove liability?
england-and-wales
"A term in a consumer contract is unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good
faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations
under the ...
- 7,500
10
votes
Someone has a video of me doing drugs. Is there legal protection against its release?
I know nothing about the law.
What I have heard from others (that also know nothing) is that in some countries/states it might be illegal to record audio/video without the recording party being ...
- 219
10
votes
Is lying on a survey illegal?
It depends on the purpose for lying and the jurisdiction.
If there are any unfair or fraudulent advantages be gained by lying then it might be unlawful.
A hyperthetical example: those employees with ...
- 23.2k
10
votes
Can you sue someone for stealing a slice of pizza?
If it’s your pizza, yes
The civil equivalent of theft is the tort of conversion, “consisting of "taking with the intent of exercising over the chattel an ownership inconsistent with the real ...
- 158k
9
votes
Is unwanted touching ever legal?
To use Texas as an example:
Sec. 22.01. ASSAULT. (a) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes bodily injury to another, including the ...
- 20.9k
8
votes
Alternate recourse to assault
There's always civil action possible; "assault and battery" has a civil variant as an "intentional tort"
Civil assault and battery are torts. A tort is a wrong committed by one ...
- 2,819
8
votes
Are disabilities taken into consideration when establishing jurisdiction?
No
In general, there is no need for a plaintiff, defendant, or witness to attend court in person if there is a legitimate impediment to them doing so.
Parties can be represented by their lawyers, ...
- 158k
8
votes
Does a duty of care arise from advertised functionality?
Jurisdiction: england-and-wales.
You don't necessarily need to turn to tort law to find a duty of care. For example, assuming the customer is a consumer (i.e. not operating as part of their business) ...
- 4,704
8
votes
Accepted
Does a duty of care arise from advertised functionality?
Is the issuer liable?
Notwithstanding @JBently's detailed answer, it may depend on the terms and conditions the consumer agreed to when setting up the alert service - which may be additional or ...
- 23.2k
8
votes
Accepted
What is tort law and how does it differ from civil law?
First, civil law has, confusingly, two meanings. It can denote the legal systems used in most of Europe, as opposed to the common-law systems arising in England and spreading to most of the former ...
- 25.3k
7
votes
Is it illegal to throw water or soda on people?
Yes.
It is a crime almost everywhere to throw something at someone, even if it causes little or no injury. Usually it would be classified as "assault and battery" although if it damages clothing or ...
- 140k
7
votes
Why did Lord Devlin bring up "the doctor accepted half a guinea for his trouble"? Don't NHS doctors receive consideration, even if patients don't pay?
You missed a bit:
Unless, of course, the patient was a private patient and the doctor accepted half a guinea for his trouble:
As well as the state-run National Health Service (which is generally ...
- 23.2k
6
votes
Accepted
Is unwanted touching ever legal?
This has been a long-considered matter. Under common law, unwanted incidental touching - say, in the context of a public space - is not illegal per se.
In Cole v. Turner (1704) 87 ER 907, Holt CJ ...
- 11.7k
6
votes
Accepted
Is it illegal to spray weeds on another person's land without permission, and thus to harm animals?
You would need to be able to prove that he encroached on your land (or your tenancy to land) with his pesticide/herbicide. You should speak to him and let him know that you feel his herbicide made its ...
- 10.9k
6
votes
Accepted
Is "canceling" people tortious interference?
"Cancellation" is generally a result of some statement or action a person made becoming public or having been made in public. Tortious interference requires that the defendant's actions are ...
- 4,215
6
votes
Can a rental car company require you to forfeit your right to fight a fine?
I happen to have a recent American major rental brand folio with terms and conditions on the floor next to me. The key sentences for this brand are
You agree we may, in our sole discretion, pay all ...
- 1,748
5
votes
Is there liability for pure accidents?
To win a negligence claim, the plaintiff needs to prove that the defendant:
had a duty to the plaintiff,
breached that duty by failing to conform to the required standard of conduct (generally the ...
- 158k
5
votes
What would be the fastest way to sue someone in a traffic accident? Post Accident Legal Strategies
Short answer
The general approach and attitude that you propose is a horrible one that would bring an unfavorable result. It would add many months or years to the time when the case would mostly ...
- 140k
5
votes
Accepted
Why can some states choose to reject the Attractive Nuisance Doctrine?
The US Supreme Court only has jurisdiction in federal matters. So if someone is suing under federal law, or there is a constitutional question, the Supreme Court is the place to go for a definitive ...
- 6,199
5
votes
Accepted
Could non-smokers successfully sue smokers?
One of the biggest problems here is in proof of injury attributable to an individual...
With asbestos, you can prove that direct exposure in a certain instance caused a long-term harm. Just because ...
- 9,105
5
votes
Alternate recourse to assault
Generally speaking, under US law, the victim or alleged victim of a crime cannot force a prosecution. Police and prosecutors have wide discretion on which crimes to prosecute. Even if it is clear that ...
- 98.1k
5
votes
Can a rental car company require you to forfeit your right to fight a fine?
What do you mean “slip in”?
Are you saying that the term wasn’t there when you signed the contract and the added it later? If so, no they can’t.
However, what I think you’re saying is that it was ...
- 158k
5
votes
Are there digital copies of the Restatements of Torts or the Concise Restatement of Torts you can purchase or read online?
There are no free legal copies online. They are accessible online through LexisAdvance, HeinOnline and Westlaw: this provides access, but not a downloadable copy.
- 165k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible