Opinion ID: 2712648
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the nature of torts

Text: William Prosser once observed that “a really satisfactory definition of a tort is yet to be found. The numerous attempts which have been made to define the term have succeeded only in achieving language so broad that it includes other matters than torts, or else so narrow that it leaves out some torts themselves.”13 Fundamentally, a tort action 11 See MCL 600.8701 et seq. 12 But consider the Internal Revenue Code’s treatment of deductions for business expenses. 26 USC 162. The Code recognizes that “ordinary and necessary expenses” are, generally, deductible. 26 USC 162(a). These expenses include tort liabilities, if incurred in the ordinary course. See 26 USC 461(h)(2)(C) (discussing the timing these deductions). However, a “fine or similar penalty paid to a government for the violation of any law” is not deductible. 26 USC 162(f). The code treats tort liability distinctly from other civil penalties, recognizing the different policy rationales driving both. See Tank Truck Rentals, Inc. v Comm’r of Internal Revenue, 356 US 30; 78 S Ct 507; 2 L Ed 2d 562 (1958). This example underscores the important difference between civil wrongs against persons and those against the sovereign. 13 Prosser & Keeton, Torts (5th ed), § 1, pp 1-2. The majority’s definition of a tort— anything that cannot be classified as either breach of contract or a crime—falls within the first class of error Prosser describes. 5 protects a person’s interest in a range of personal interests: physical security and autonomy;14 emotional security and other intangible interests, such as privacy and reputation;15 and personal economic security and opportunity.16 While tort liability may lead to relief in the form of compensatory money damages, this is not the only remedy available for tortious conduct. A tortfeasor may be restrained by an injunction, and may be liable for restitution, punitive, or nominal damages. Moreover, compensatory damages are not unique to tort law. Compensatory damages are a common remedy in actions based in contract, for example, as expectation or consequential damages. Or for an example closer to contempt, our Legislature has even provided for compensatory damages for victims of crime in the Crime Victim’s Rights Act.17 In short, tort liability does not hinge on an award of compensatory damages, and the availability of compensatory damages is not unique to tort law. 14 See Tinkler v Richter, 295 Mich 396, 401; 295 NW 201 (1940) (civil assault and battery); Giddings v Rogalewski, 192 Mich 319, 326; 158 NW 951 (1916) (civil trespass). 15 See Roberts v Auto-Owners Ins Co, 422 Mich 594, 597-598; 374 NW2d 905 (1985) (discussing, without deciding, whether intentional infliction of emotional distress is a viable claim in Michigan); Pallas v Crowley, Milner & Co, 322 Mich 411, 416; 33 NW2d 911 (1948) (right of privacy); Mitan v Campbell, 474 Mich 21, 24; 706 NW2d 420 (2005) (defamantion). 16 See Cedroni Assoc, Inc v Tomblinson, Harburn Assoc, Architects & Planners, Inc, 492 Mich 40, 45; 821 NW2d 1 (2012) (tortious interference with a business expectancy); Good Housekeeping Shop v Smitter, 254 Mich 592, 596-597; 236 NW 872 (1931) (unfair competition and common-law trademark). 17 MCL 780.751 et seq. 6 Rather, the sine qua non of a tort is the breach of a duty owed to a fellow citizen. And, although tort liability has been extended to some extent in recent decades with increased reliance on doctrines like public nuisance, classic tort liability is rooted in the common-law duties all citizens owe to one another.18