Specific Torts — Overview

This is the overview of the specific torts in Law of Torts, Units III and IV. Unit I and Unit II set out the general rules of liability and the defences. The specific torts apply those rules to particular wrongs, grouped by what is harmed: the person, land, goods, reputation, business relations and family relations. This post is the map of that whole part of the syllabus.

The Problem This Topic Solves

The general law of torts says when a person is liable. It does not tell a student which tort fits a given set of facts. A specific tort is a named wrong with its own essentials, defences and remedies. The syllabus lists about twenty of them, and they can look like an unrelated list.

They fall into a small number of groups, and each group protects one kind of interest. If a student first asks "what was harmed?", the right group, and then the right tort, becomes clear. This overview gives that first step. The Notes named below give the detail.

The Group at a Glance

The table below groups the specific torts by the interest they protect.

Interest protected	Torts	Core idea	Where to read
The person	Assault, battery, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, nervous shock, digital torts	Body, liberty, mind, and reputation and privacy online	Torts Affecting the Person — Overview
Immovable property	Trespass to land, nuisance	Possession and use of land	Torts Affecting Immovable Property — Overview
Movable property	Trespass to goods, conversion, detinue	Possession and title to goods	Torts Relating to Movable Property
Reputation	Defamation	Good name in the eyes of others	Defamation
Safety against carelessness	Negligence; motor vehicle accidents	Breach of a duty of care; accident compensation	Negligence, Liability for Motor Vehicle Accidents
Business relations	Injurious falsehood, negligent misstatement, passing off, conspiracy	Trade, goodwill and economic interests	Torts Against Business Relations — Overview
Family relations	Loss of consortium, enticement, harbouring, criminal conversation, seduction	Historic interests of the head of the household	Torts Affecting Family Relations

Torts Affecting the Person

These torts protect a person's body, liberty and mind. Assault and battery, false imprisonment and trespass-type wrongs to the person are actionable per se. Malicious prosecution and nervous shock need proof of damage. Digital torts are ordinary torts committed online, so they take their rules from the underlying tort. The group overview compares them and the Notes explain each one. Read: Torts Affecting the Person — Overview.

Torts Affecting Immovable and Movable Property

Land is protected by two torts. Trespass to land is a direct interference with possession and is actionable per se. Nuisance is an indirect interference with use or enjoyment and generally needs damage. Read: Torts Affecting Immovable Property — Overview.

Goods are protected by three torts. Trespass to goods is direct interference with possession. Conversion is a serious act denying the owner's title, and the damages equal the full value of the goods. Detinue is wrongful detention after a proper demand, and its distinctive remedy is an order for return of the goods themselves. Possession, not ownership, is usually enough to sue. Armory v. Delamirie (1722) holds that a finder's title is good against everyone except the true owner. Read: Torts Relating to Movable Property.

Reputation and Carelessness

Defamation protects reputation. It is the publication of a false statement that lowers the plaintiff in the estimation of right-thinking members of society. Libel, in permanent form, is actionable per se. Slander, in transient form, generally needs proof of special damage. The defences are justification, fair comment and the two kinds of privilege. Criminal defamation is under Section 356 BNS. Read: Defamation.

Negligence is a breach of a legal duty of care that causes damage. Donoghue v. Stevenson gave the neighbour principle, and the Caparo test adds foreseeability, proximity and a fair, just and reasonable duty. Professionals are judged by the Bolam test. Liability for motor vehicle accidents combines negligence with a statutory scheme under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988: no-fault compensation under Section 164, Claims Tribunals under Section 165 and full compensation under Section 166. Read: Negligence and Liability for Motor Vehicle Accidents.

Business Relations and Family Relations

Four torts protect a person's trade: injurious falsehood, negligent misstatement, passing off and conspiracy. Each protects against pure economic harm and each has its own core. Read: Torts Against Business Relations — Overview.

The family-relations torts are loss of consortium, enticement, harbouring, criminal conversation and seduction. They historically protected the interest of the head of the household. They are abolished or obsolete in England, and in India Section 497 IPC, the adultery offence, was struck down in Joseph Shine v. Union of India (2018) because it treated a wife as the husband's property. Read: Torts Affecting Family Relations.

How to Tell Them Apart

The method for any problem question is to ask three things in order. What interest was harmed: the person, land, goods, reputation, business or family? Was the interference direct or indirect? Does the claim need fault and proof of damage, or is it actionable per se?

The table below applies those questions to the most common pairs of facts.

Facts	Tort	Reason
Someone raises a fist and lunges, but is stopped	Assault	Fear of imminent force; no contact needed
A neighbour walks across your field	Trespass to land	Direct entry; actionable per se
A factory's fumes drift onto your land and kill the trees	Nuisance	Indirect interference with damage
A buyer refuses to return a camera on demand	Detinue or conversion	Wrongful detention of goods
A newspaper falsely prints that you sell adulterated food	Defamation	Publication lowering reputation
A rival tells wholesalers that you have shut down	Injurious falsehood	False statement, malice, special damage

Must Know

Specific torts are grouped by the interest protected: person, land, goods, reputation, business and family.
Trespass to land, assault, battery and false imprisonment are actionable per se. Nuisance, malicious prosecution and nervous shock need damage.
Trespass is direct; nuisance is indirect.
Defamation: libel is actionable per se; slander generally needs special damage.
Negligence needs duty, breach and damage; motor accident claims use Sections 164 to 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
Joseph Shine (2018) struck down Section 497 IPC.

Should Know

One incident can support several torts, for example a battery that is also a malicious prosecution later.
Business torts protect against pure economic loss, which ordinary negligence historically did not.
A criminal case can run alongside a civil claim for the same act.

A Practical Example

A shopkeeper is dragged out of his shop by a rival's men and locked in a van for an hour. This is battery and false imprisonment against the person. While he is away, the men enter his shop and take away his stock, which is trespass to land and conversion of goods. The rival then tells the shopkeeper's customers, falsely, that he has been arrested for fraud, which is defamation and, if it harms his trade, injurious falsehood.

Each of these is a separate tort with its own essentials. A student answering this question would deal with each in turn, naming the interest harmed and the Note that explains it.

Quick Revision Points

Specific torts by interest: person, land, goods, reputation, business, family.
Person: assault, battery, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, nervous shock, digital torts.
Land: trespass (direct, per se), nuisance (indirect, damage). Goods: trespass to goods, conversion, detinue.
Reputation: defamation, libel and slander. Carelessness: negligence; motor accidents under Sections 164 to 166.
Business: injurious falsehood, negligent misstatement, passing off, conspiracy.
Family relations: consortium, enticement, harbouring, criminal conversation, seduction; Joseph Shine (2018).