Liability Law

Liability= one of the most significant words in the field of law, liability means legal responsibility for
one's acts or omissions. Failure of a person or entity to meet that responsibility leaves him/her/it
open to a lawsuit for any resulting damages or a court order to perform (as in a breach of contract or
violation of statute). In order to win a lawsuit the suing party (plaintiff) must prove the legal liability
of the defendant if the plaintiff's allegations are shown to be true. This requires evidence of the duty
to act, the failure to fulfill that duty, and the connection (proximate cause) of that failure to some
injury or harm to the plaintiff. Liability also applies to alleged criminal acts in which the defendant
may be responsible for his/her acts which constitute a crime, thus making him/her subject to
conviction and punishment. Example: Jack runs a stop sign in his car and hits Sarah as she is crossing
in the cross-walk. Jack has a duty of care to Sarah (and the public) which he breaches by his
negligence, and therefore has liability for Sarah's injuries, and gives her the right to bring a lawsuit
against him. However, Jack's father owns the automobile and he, too, may have liability to Sarah
based on a statute which makes a car owner liable for any damages caused by the vehicle he owns.
The father's responsibility is based on "statutory liability" even though he personally breached no
duty. A signer of promissory note has liability for money due if it is not paid, and so would a co-
signer who guarantees it. A contractor who has agreed to complete a building has liability to the
owner if he fails to complete on time. (See: negligence, contract, joint liability)
According to Sir John Salmond, "liability or responsibility is the bond of necessity that exists
between the wrongdoer and the remedy of the wrong."
According to Markby, the word 'liability' is used to describe the condition of a person who has a
duty to perform whether that duty is primary one or secondary or sanctioning one.
Austin prefers to use the term 'imputability' to 'liability'. According to him, Those certain
forbearances, Commissions or acts, together with such of their consequences, as it was the purpose
of the duties to avert, are imputable to the persons who have forborne omitted or acted.
There are three forms of liability:
1. Criminal liability
Criminal liability is the liability to be punished in a criminal proceeding. in criminal liability,

punishment is awarded to a wrongdoer. If the person is guilty of committing the offense with
criminal intension then he is liable for punishment. Criminal liability is based on the Maxim "actus
non facit reum nisi mens sit rea" it means the offender is guilty only when it is done with the guilty
mind.
Criminal liability refers to responsibility for a crime and the penalty society imposes for the crime.
Because crimes cause harm to society as a whole (in addition to the victim(s)), a government lawyer
(prosecutor) brings charges against the offender on behalf of its citizens.
A person can be found liable for a crime if the prosecution proves that the person committed the
criminal act (such as stealing) and had the required intent to hold the person accountable (such as
intent to deprive the owner of the property).
2. Civil liability
Civil liability is the enforcement of the right of the plaintiff against the dependent in civil
proceedings. Civil liability gives rise to Civil Procedure whose purpose is to the enforcement of
certain rights claimed by the plaintiff against the defendant. Examples of civil proceedings are an
action for recovery of the Debt, Restoration of property, the specific performance of a contract,
recovery of damages, the issuing of an injunction against the threatened injury etc.
Civil liability is a legal obligation that requires a party to pay for damages or to follow other court-
enforcements in a lawsuit. Different from criminal liability, which is often brought by the state to
redress a public wrong, civil liability is usually brought by a private party to sue for damages or
injunctions. For example, in a car crash case, the injured party can sue the driver and ask for
monetary damages.
A civil liability is usually a contractual liability or a tort liability. A defendant of a civil liability is either
“liable” or “not liable”. If a defendant is liable, he or she only needs to make remedies to the
plaintiff, and not to face the risk of prison. The standard of burden of proof in a civil liability case is
lower than in a criminal liability case. While in criminal case, the standard is “beyond a reasonable
doubt”, in a civil case, “preponderance of the evidence” is usually enough.
3) Penal liability -
The theory of penal liability is concerned with the punishment of wrong. There are different kinds
of punishment, Deterrent, preventive, retributive, reformative etc.A penal liability can arise either
from a criminal or a civil wrong. There are three aspects of penal liability those are the conditions,
incidence, and measure of a liability. As regards the conditions of penal liability, it is expressed in the
maxim "actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea" This means that the Act does not constitute guilt
unless it is done with guilty intention. Two things are required to be considered in this connection
and those are the act and the mens rea requires the consideration of imitation and negligence. The
act is called the material condition of penal liability and the mens rea is called the formal condition
of penal liability.
Strict Liability
Strict liability, sometimes referred to as absolute liability, is primarily found in cases of defective
products or services. Examples of strict liability include the manufacture of vehicles that contain an
accidental structural flaw that causes crashes; the manufacturing of food products that have become
tainted, resulting in illness; or components in certain medications that later are shown to pose
health hazards and lead to illness or death. In most cases of strict liability, it is not necessary to show
that the provider of the product or service acted with disregard or even negligence. It must only be
shown that the product caused the harm at issue.
Strict liability also applies in criminal law. Serving alcohol to minors, for example, is a strict liability
crime in many states. That means that a person who serves a minor is liable even if the minor lied
about his age or presented a fake ID.
Vicarious Liability
Vicarious liability is when one party is held accountable for the actions of another. Generally, this
relates to an employer's responsibility for actions by an employee when someone is injured or
property is damaged as a result of an act that occurred during the employee's working hours. A
parent may be held vicariously liable for actions committed by his child if another person is injured
as a result of the child's actions, but this typically occurs only if the child is under age. For an
employer or parent to be held vicariously liable, the victim of the act must have suffered injury or
property damage that would not have resulted without the action of the employee or child,
regardless of intent.
Joint and Several Liability
Joint and several liability refers to a scenario in which two or more parties are jointly responsible for
an event or act that results in damage to another party. In this case, each individual is found to be
just as responsible as the other, and they are held accountable for their actions both together and
individually. Examples of joint and several liability include a married couple that defaults on a mutual
debt, and doctors who practice in the same group, each of which treats a specific patient, but
negligently fail to diagnose a serious health issue. For instance, if you and your business partner are
sued on a loan and a judgment is entered against both of you for $100,000, jointly and severally, it
means that both of you owe $100,000 and the judgment creditor doesn't have to collect from one
before collecting from the other.

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Liability Law

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Liability= one of the most significant words in the field of law, liability means legal responsibility for

There are three forms of liability:

Criminal liability is the liability to be punished in a criminal proceeding. in criminal liability,

Joint and Several Liability

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