Extinguishment of Liability in Tort

Suppose a neighbour slanders you in March, and in May he dies. Can you sue his son? Suppose instead that your neighbour slandered you three years ago and you never did anything about it. Or that he paid you Rs 5,000, you accepted, and said you were satisfied. Or that you sued, lost, and now want to sue again on the same facts. In each case the wrong happened. In each case the law may say that the liability is gone. This topic is about how a liability in tort comes to an end.

In two minutes

Liability in tort can be extinguished by the death of a party (for personal wrongs, actio personalis moritur cum persona), by waiver or release, by accord and satisfaction, by judgment in a former suit, and by the expiry of the limitation period; the Indian Succession Act 1925, s.306 and the Limitation Act 1963 supply the statutory rules.

The rest of this chapter

The full explanation, the cheat sheet, every previous-year question at every mark weight, the quiz and the answer skeletons are part of Law of Torts, Motor Accident Claims and Consumer Protection on LexBlox Semester. Sign in to unlock the subject, or read Module 1 of Legal Language and Writing free.