During Pre-internship I taught lessons and received feedback on them.
The feedback I followed in these lessons was given orally, however, official feedback to these lessons is on the feedback page
One of the suggestions I got was in law was to find cases students could relate to. For the rest of the lessons I experimented with different studies to see what they could relate to. I then tried to make sure they could relate to the studies. I was often surprised by what was relevant and what was not relevant to them. They related easily to the Snowmobilers vrs Farmers example I gave them, and to Problems University students, or parents where having. They did not relate well with people their own age that had made mistakes. They defiantly felt that people their age should be able to take responsibility for their own safety and actions. It surprised me that they related better with older people, and less with their own age group.
First Lesson
Lesson Plan 1
Date of lesson: Thursday March 27
Course: Law 30
Unit: Civil Law
Topic: Tort law- Negligence
Purpose: To educate students on tort law, and the types of tort law.
Learning Outcomes
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Indicators
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Prerequisite Learning: What is Civil law
Set:
Romans 13.8-9
8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
“The rule that you are to love your neighbour becomes in law you must not injure your neighbour, and the lawyers question, Who is my neighbour? Receives a restricted reply. You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour. Who then, in law, is my neighbour? The answer seems to be- persons who are so closely and directly affected by my act that I ought reasonably to have them in contemplation as being so affected when I am directing my mind to the acts or omissions which are called in question.” Lord Akin in Donoghue v. Stevenson 1932
Development: (time)
What is Tort
The Dictionary of Canadian Law defines Tort, as a wrong.
Torts “[provide] a means by which compensation, usually in the form of damages, is paid for injuries suffered by a party as a result of wrongful conduct by another”
-In the case of a Tort there is no underlying agreement that establishes the rights between parties
-Torts fall under three categories
-Negligence
-Intentional torts
-Strict liability
-The word tort simply means a wrong
–It is an injury, physical emotional, economic or otherwise suffered by a person for which another may be held legally responsible
-A Tort occurs when someone deliberately or through carelessness causes harm or loss to another person
-A Tort is a civil law matter
-The main purpose for tort law is for the wrongdoer to compensate the person who suffered a loss or harm
-Much of the purpose of tort law is to determine who is at fault and what the extent of the damage was
-There are many instances where a crime has taken place but no crime has been committed
-Tort law mainly comes from common law (judge made law)
-Courts should only be used after other options to settle the issue have been unsuccessful
-Sometimes someone’s actions are both a tort and criminal
-Law treats crime and torts as two separate issues
Liability
-The legal responsibility for a wrongful action
Plaintiff
-A civil action, the party initiating the action is called a plaintiff
Defendant
-The person alleged to have undertaken the tortious act
What is Negligence (first type of tort)
Negligence occurs when someone acts carelessly or fails to act at all, resulting in injury or loss to another person
Depending on their relationship, people have a legal duty of care to others to act in a certain way or to not act carelessly.
-Ex – motorists owe other motorists and pedestrians a certain level of care
-This general duty to be careful, and to behave in a way that society considers appropriate, is a responsibility under the law
-People don’t have to be perfect
-they must use their skills and abilities that a reasonable person in their particular situation would use.
-To receive compensation with damages the court must find that the harm done through negligence was foreseeable.
Important points
In order to prove Negligence there must be
-Duty of Care
-Reasonable steps
-Causation
-Damages
Duty of care
– Duty of care is the obligation that is required to ensure that others are not harmed by one’s actions.
Foreseeability
– As a precondition to imposing duty of care, a court will determine whether a reasonable person could expect that a certain result might follow from an action. If the result is foreseeable for a reasonable person, then liability may be imposed for the action. If foreseeability is not reasonable, courts may not award damages.
Standard of Care
– the expected standard of care is that which a reasonable person would meet
Causation
–Causation involves whether an act of omission of the defendant resulted directly in the injury to the plaintiff
Damages
Know that damages are the award by a court to a plaintiff who successfully proves that injury suffered is the direct responsibility of the defendant
Read and discuss
McErlean v. Sarel case study
Robertson v. Butler case study.
Closure:
Questions to ask the class
-Wrongful conduct can be both a tort and a crime. Should a person who is convicted of a crime face civil liability as well?
-Should a participant in a sporting event be able to sue another participant in the case that one player inflicts injury to another?
(This turned into somewhat of a debate, students related well with this topic and had many opinions)
For my last lesson I put students into groups (I selected the groups) I assigned different case studies to each group (one of the many useful recommendations by the supervising teacher). I gave students case studies that I knew they would relate to. The students who seemed to relate to sport related issues got one on a football injury, students who hunted got one on hunting, social issues got one on drinking and driving etc. The cases didn’t necessarily reflect their personal interests, but rather what they responded to other studies.
Law 30
April 2nd 2014
Hook: 5 Minutes:
Remember how we were talking about self defense being a gray area?
-Share national post article.
Hopefully article will engage students in the refresh
Refresh (15 mins)
-What are the three categories of torts?
-Negligence
-Intentional torts
-Strict liability
-What does the word tort mean?
The word tort simply means a wrong
-It is an injury, physical emotional, economic or otherwise suffered by a person for which another may be held legally responsible
What is Liability?
-The legal responsibility for a wrongful action
What is Plaintiff?
-A civil action, the party initiating the action is called a plaintiff
What is Defendant?
-The person alleged to have undertaken the tortious act
What is Duty of care?
– Duty of care is the obligation that is required to ensure that others are not harmed by one’s actions
Define Intentional Torts?
-Intentional torts take place when someone deliberately comes into contact with another person or his/her property to the point where damage is done.
Name some Intentional torts
-Battery
-Assault
-False imprisonment
-Invasion of privacy
-Malicious prosecution
-Defamation
Intentional torts involving property include
-Harm to goods or land through trespass
-Nuisance
What is Vicarious Liability?
-The responsibility of one person for the actions of another.
Name some defences to Torts in the Area of Negligence
Voluntary Assumption of Risks
Participation in illegal activities
Inevitable accident
Contributory negligence
What are some defences to Intentional Torts?
Informed Consent
Self defence
Legal Authority
Discipline
Necessity
Recapture of goods
New Information (15 minutes)
Issues in Civil Law
-Civil law is based upon the common law and the case law of the nation, there have been statutes enacted by governments to address civil matters deemed to be of importance to the public good.
Class Action
A lawsuit, initiated by representative members of a group of persons, on behalf of all members of the group.
Criteria for a class action include:
-Numbers of persons included is so large that it is not practical to proceed individually
-The class of persons must be identifiable as allegedly having suffered the same wrong or harm
-The issue of law and facts of the claim must be shared in common by all members of the class.
Class action suits, where an individual or group of individuals begins civil action on behalf of a class of people affected by an alleged tort, are not common in Canada.
If Saskatchewan eased class action provisions, justice for individuals may be enhanced. Right now it can be hard for people to successfully go after large wealthy cooperation’s.
Insurance
Individuals may purchase insurance coverage to provide financial protection in the case of liability for an injury for which they may be found at fault.
No-Fault insurance
In Saskatchewan, the no fault insurance system is called the personal injury protection plan.
No fault insurance eliminates the opportunity for an individual to be compensated for pain and suffering due to an automobile accident.
Alternate Dispute Resolution Mechanisms
The system of civil law allows for remedies for harm done by one party to another. The process of litigation is expensive. Individuals may attempt to resolve disputes of a tortious nature through negotiation or mediation.
Alternated dispute Resolution
The process of resolving disputes through means other than litigation and civil trial.
Negotiation
Negotiation involves two parties who voluntarily and informally attempt to resolve a civil matter without involving a third party
Mediation
A voluntary process by which parties to a civil dispute attempt to resolve the matter with the assistance of neutral third parties.
Activity
Part one (15 minutes)
-Place students in groups of five.
-Have them push their desks together, facing each other.
Give each group a case study.
-Summarize the case
-Which tort is described in the study?
-What defense could the defendant use?
– could the parties involved use negotiation to resolve the problem? How?
– could the parties use mediation to resolve the problem? How?
Part two (15 minutes)
-Share your summary and answers with the class.
-pg 369 answers in page 270
-Thomas v. Hamilton
-pg 374
Young v. Bella
-Page 375
Wolf, Ward, and Luck v. Advanced Fur Dressers Ltd.
Page 376-377