civil law

Lesson Overview

• Students Will Be Able To:

o Identify types of civil law
o Evaluate whether the plaintiff in a civil case meets the burden of proof

o Create a fictional civil case

• Vocabulary:

o Class-Action Lawsuit, Intellectual Property, Lawsuit,
Out-of-Court Settlement, Tort

Review of Criminal and Civil Law Cases

Why do you
think that
we have
two
separate
law
systems in
this
country?

Essential Question- What kinds of cases occur in civil law, and how are the cases settled?

Types of Civil Law

• These cases involve non-criminal disputes between two parties

• A Lawsuit- is a legal claim that a party brings to court to solve a legal dispute

• Some of the most common types of civil lawsuits are:

oContracts

 Legally binding agreements. If either party believes that the contract has been violated, they can file a lawsuit

o Property Law

 Involves disputes over who legally owns something

 Intellectual Property- ownership of an idea or creative work that an individual holds a patent or copyright for

o Family Law

 Legal disputes within a family

 End of marriages, arrangements for custody, which family member owns certain property

o Tort

 A Tort- is non-criminal behavior that causes harm to another person

 It may be intentional or maybe the result of negligence or recklessness

 Examples- suing for reckless driving, someone being bitten by a dog, injured worker suing employer, etc..

Plaintiff, Defendant, and Attorneys

• There are plaintiffs in both civil and criminal cases, they are
the ones making a claim in court as well as attorneys
(Lawyers)

• In a civil case the plaintiff is the party accusing the other side of causing harm or injustice

• They are looking for the courts to bring justice to the case

o Looking for compensation money or to make changes to end the
injustice

o Most often these are individual cases and people

• Class-Action Lawsuits- where one plaintiff or a group of
plaintiffs file a lawsuit due to harm against a larger group or
class.

o Example- The Brown v. Board of Education Case was a class-action
lawsuit

Burden of Proof in a Civil Case

• The burden of proof is higher in a criminal case as
opposed to a civil case (Beyond a shadow of a doubt)

• In a Civil Case it is "A Preponderance of Evidence," meaning that something is more likely than unlikely

Out of Court Settlements

• Over 90% of Civil cases end with an Out of Court Settlement- an arrangement the two parties agree to without having a trial

• The parties' attorneys may help them reach an agreement or they can hire a mediator (a neutral third party) to help settle the matter

• These are more popular options as opposed to a long (time wise), Costly (money) trial

• The case will go to court if the parties cannot reach an agreement

*** Example: Who would win in court- DJ Earworm mashup?

In a well-known copyright case,
musical artists David Bowie
(pictured above) and Queen
sued artist Vanilla Ice for
copying a bassline from their
song. The parties settled out of
court: Vanilla Ice paid Bowie and
Queen compensation and gave
them credit for the bassline
he used in his song.

Essential Question- What kinds of cases occur in civil law, and how are the cases settled?

• Civil law may involve contracts, property, family, or tort.

• Plaintiffs, defendants, and attorneys act in civil cases.

• The burden of proof in a civil case is "a preponderance of evidence."

• Most cases are settled out of court.