Question

Bob is a sales clerk at a retail clothes store. When he locks the store for the evening at closing time, he is unaware that a customer is in the change room. The customer is unable to call anyone and is stuck in the store overnight. Compare the element of intent under tort law and under criminal law. Determine whether Bob has committed a tort, a crime, neither, or both.

Answer 1

A tort is a wrongful act that results in paying any damages it caused to the affected. Most of the time it's not mentioned in the law explicitely but it's only understood from a general point of view and it comes under the civil proceedings. The words defendent and plaintiff are used in tort cases. A criminal case is mentioned in the law explicitely and conducted in criminal courts. The words defendent and victim are used in criminal cases. It's the intention to hurt and cause damage that differentiate both. In this case, Bob didn't notice that the customer was inside the store and it was not intentional. So, he didn't commit intentional crime, so it is a tort.