What is a tort?

• A. A breach of contract with damages.
• B. A criminal offense against the state.
• C. A civil wrong or injury to a person or property that is not a breach of contract.
• D. A procedural rule governing lawsuits.

Answer: (C)

In tort law, the focus is on civil wrongs where one person’s conduct harms another, and the usual remedy is compensation or an injunction, not punishment by the state. A tort is a civil wrong or injury to a person or property that is not a breach of contract. This matters because a contract creates duties by agreement; when those duties are violated, the remedy comes from contract law rather than tort law. Criminal offenses are offenses against the state, prosecuted by government with penalties like jail time, not private compensation. A procedural rule governing lawsuits is about how the case moves through the courts, not about the wrongs themselves. Common examples include negligence causing a car accident, intentional harm, defamation, or nuisance. The goal in torts is to restore the injured party to the position they would have been in if the wrong had not occurred, typically through monetary damages, and sometimes with injunctions or other remedies.