Prerequisites: Contracts and Torts

“Business Torts” traditionally refers to a collection of discrete, loosely related actions for economic harm, mostly arising out of business competition. Although this course retains the traditional name, it deals more broadly with the doctrine, jurisprudence, and practice of liability arising out of economic relationships. The course surveys a variety of causes of action for nonphysical harm that ordinarily are not covered in the basic contracts and torts courses but form the core of many lawyers' non-personal, injury civil litigation practice; develops ways of understanding the causes of action, the connections among them, and their relation to the general law of tort and contract; and considers how the issues are presented to lawyers in practice. Topics covered may include breach of contract as a tort, misrepresentation, interference with contract and economic advantage, economic negligence, good faith, trade secrets, employment torts, unfair competition, and liability for consequential economic harm.