misfeasance
mis·fea·sance
M0335200 (mĭs-fē′zəns)misfeasance
(mɪsˈfiːzəns)mis•fea•sance
(mɪsˈfi zəns)n.
misfeasance
Noun | 1. | ![]() |
单词 | misfeasance | |||
释义 | misfeasancemis·fea·sanceM0335200 (mĭs-fē′zəns)misfeasance(mɪsˈfiːzəns)mis•fea•sance(mɪsˈfi zəns)n. misfeasance
misfeasancemisfeasancemisfeasanceMisfeasanceA term used in Tort Law to describe an act that is legal but performed improperly. Generally, a civil defendant will be liable for misfeasance if the defendant owed a duty of care toward the plaintiff, the defendant breached that duty of care by improperly performing a legal act, and the improper performance resulted in harm to the plaintiff. For example, assume that a janitor is cleaning a restroom in a restaurant. If he leaves the floor wet, he or his employer could be liable for any injuries resulting from the wet floor. This is because the janitor owed a duty of care toward users of the restroom, and he breached that duty by leaving the floor wet. In theory, misfeasance is distinct from Nonfeasance. Nonfeasance is a term that describes a failure to act that results in harm to another party. Misfeasance, by contrast, describes some affirmative act that, though legal, causes harm. In practice, the distinction is confusing and uninstructive. Courts often have difficulty determining whether harm resulted from a failure to act or from an act that was improperly performed. To illustrate, consider the example of the wet bathroom floor. One court could call a resulting injury the product of misfeasance by focusing on the wetness of the floor. The washing of the floor was legal, but the act of leaving the floor wet was improper. Another court could call a resulting injury the product of nonfeasance by focusing on the janitor's failure to post a warning sign. Further readingsKionka, Edward J. 1988. Torts. St. Paul, Minn.: West. Cross-referencesMalfeasance. misfeasancen. management of a business, public office or other responsibility in which there are errors and an unfortunate result through mistake or carelessness, but without evil intent and/or violation of law. Misfeasance is distinguished from "malfeasance" which is conduct in violation of the law. (See: malfeasance) misfeasancedoing something, essentially legal, wrongly, as opposed to not doing something at all that should have been done (which is called non-feasance).A species of the tort is misfeasance in public office. Traditionally this was the case of directed malice intended to injure a person - the exercise of public power for an ulterior motive. The House of Lords has recently given new life to the tort by holding that a public officer would be liable for the tort if he acted in the knowledge of or with reckless indifference to the illegality of his acts or with reckless indifference to the probability of causing injury to the particular plaintiff or a class of which the plaintiff was a member. This form of the tort depends upon the absence of an honest belief by the officer that his act was lawful. MISFEASANCE, torts, contracts. The performance of an act which might lawfully be done, in an improper manner, by which another person receives an injury. It differs from malfeasance, (q.v.) or, nonfeasance (q.v.) Vide, generally, 2 Vin. Ab. 35; 2 Kent, Com. 443; Doct. Pl. 62; Story, Bail. Sec. 9. misfeasancemisfeasanceAn action that was legal and proper, but which was performed in an improper manner. A real estate agent who innocently deposits an earnest money check in the real estate company's business account instead of the escrow account, but who does not spend the money or use it in any manner, is probably guilty of a misfeasance. If the agent spent the money, that would be malfeasance, or doing something improper and illegal. If the agent put the check in a desk drawer and did not deposit it in any account, that would be nonfeasance, or the failure to take an action when the law required that some act be done. misfeasance
Words related to misfeasance
|
|||
随便看 |
|
英语词典包含2567994条英英释义在线翻译词条,基本涵盖了全部常用单词的英英翻译及用法,是英语学习的有利工具。