portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordscontracts" and "
torts
A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishabl ...
" originated by Grant Gilmore in his book '' The Death of Contract''. The generally informal termLegal disputes are not formally or officially referred to as "founded in" or "actions" in contorts or contorts law. refers to the continual or persistent "tortification" of
contract law
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...
. In other words, in recent years, principles from
tort law
A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishabl ...
increasingly have been applied to contract disputes and incorporated into the general body of contract law.
The basis for "contorts" includes the widespread application of
promissory estoppel
A promise is a commitment by someone to do or not do something. As a noun ''promise'' means a declaration assuring that one will or will not do something. As a verb it means to commit oneself by a promise to do or give. It can also mean a capacity ...
(as a substitute for consideration) and the awarding of
punitive damages
Punitive damages, or exemplary damages, are damages assessed in order to punish the defendant for outrageous conduct and/or to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit. ...
in breach of contract claims. At least in certain aspects, strict and rigid conceptions of contract law and contractual relationships have thus been eroded or deemphasized in
common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...
and
popular culture
Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
.
Alternatively, "contorts" may simply refer to a fusion of contracts and torts law, rather than a process in which one area of the law erodes or overtakes another.
See also
*
Collegatary In civil law, a collegatary is a person to whom is left a legacy, as imparted by a will, in common with one or more other individuals; so called as being a joint legatary, or co-legatee.
See also
* Barratry
*Condonation
*Allonge
An allonge (fro ...
*
Allonge
An allonge (from French ''allonger'', "to draw out") is a slip of paper affixed to a negotiable instrument, as a bill of exchange, for the purpose of receiving additional endorsements for which there may not be sufficient space on the bill itself ...
*
Condonation
Within the legal profession, condonation (or a condonance) is a defence argument sometimes made when an accuser has previously forgiven or chosen to ignore an act about which they are now legally complaining. In some legal jurisdictions, and for c ...