An abnormally dangerous activity is related to tort law. The Restatement of Torts defines it as an activity that (1) is not of common usage, and (2) creates a foreseeable and highly significant risk of physical harm even when reasonable care...
tort damages
act of God
An act of God refers to a severe, unanticipated natural event for which no human is responsible. Despite its facial religious connections, the usefulness of the term means “act of God” is frequently used in otherwise secular statutory and...
actual cause
Actual cause is a necessary element for both liability in civil cases and a guilty verdict under much of criminal law. In both civil and criminal cases, actual cause is determined by the but-for cause test; however, some jurisdictions also...
actual damages
In tort law, actual damages, also known as compensatory damages, are damages awarded by a court equivalent to the loss a party suffered. If a party’s right was technically violated but they suffered no harm or losses, a court may instead...
actuarial tables
Actuarial tables (also called life expectancy tables, mortality tables,and life tables) are statistical tools used by companies, scientists, courts, and government agencies to predict the life expectancy of a person by their age, gender, and...
adequate remedy
An adequate remedy is one that affords complete relief with reference to the particular matter in controversy, and which is appropriate given the circumstances of the case. An adequate remedy has also been described as a remedy that is...
adhesion contract
An adhesion contract, also known as a contract of adhesion, is a contract where the parties are of such disproportionate bargaining power that the party of weaker bargaining power could not have negotiated for variations in the terms of the...
aggregation of jurisdictional amount
A party with multiple claims may wish to aggregate them to meet the jurisdictional amount (also known as amount in controversy) requirement for their desired court. The current amount in controversy requirement is $75,000. While this practice...
Alien Tort Statute
The Alien Tort Statute ("ATS"; also known as the Alien Tort Claims Act) is a common name for 28 U.S.C. § 1350. The ATS grants federal district courts original jurisdiction over any civil action where an alien sues for a tort “committed in...
amount in controversy
Amount in controversy refers to the amount of money a plaintiff seeks in a lawsuit. The monetary value of a non-monetary remedy such as an injunction can also be included in the amount in controversy. For a case to be heard in district court...