Telephone 831 35936
Email maeghan.toews@adelaide.edu.au

Please note that the lectures for this subject commence in Week 3.

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Analyse the foundational principles of tort law.
2. Undertake legal research at a foundational level and evaluate legal information.
3. Apply tort law to complex problems using appropriate legal problem-solving techniques.
4. Structure and sustain concise and cohesive written arguments for a legal audience. 
5. Exercise judgement in the application of tort law to simulated client situations in an academic environment.
6. Analyse the impact of tort law from a policy perspective.

Legal Practitioners' Education and Admissions Council (LPEAC) sets rules for the academic requirements for admission to legal practice in South Australia. Students must demonstrate a satisfactory level of understanding and application of 11 core areas of legal knowledge. This course teaches the following topics within these core areas:

• Negligence, including defences;
• A representative range of torts (other than negligence) and their defences (e.g. intentional torts to the person and to goods, nuisance, defamation, and negligent statements leading to pure economic loss); and
• Damages.

1. Course materials available on MyUni;
2. Bernadette Richards and Melissa de Zwart, Tort Law Principles (Thomson Lawbook, 2nd ed, 2017); and
3. Carolyn Sappideen, Prue Vines and Penelope Watson, Torts: Commentary and Materials (Thomson Reuters, 12th ed, 2016).

1. Harold Luntz et al, Torts: Cases and Commentary (LexisNexis Butterworths, 8th ed, 2017);
2. Carolyn Sappideen and Prue Vines (eds), Fleming's The Law of Torts (Lawbook Co, 12th ed, 2016);
3. Martin Davies and Ian Malkin, Torts (LexisNexis Butterworths, 8th ed, 2017);
4. Kit Barker et al, The Law of Torts in Australia (Oxford, 5th ed, 2012);
5. RP Balkin and JLR Davis, Law of Torts (LexisNexis Butterworths, 5th ed, 2013);
6. Amanda Stickley, Australian Torts Law (LexisNexis Butterworths, 4th ed, 2016); and
7. Pam Stewart and Anita Stuhmcke, Australian Principles of Tort Law (The Federation Press, 4th ed, 2017).

MyUni will be used to post announcements, post additional lecture materials (including slides, and where available, audio recordings of lectures) and announce assignment tasks. It will also contain electronic copies of the Course Outline, Lecture and Seminar Guides, and Course Materials.

Students are expected to check MyUni regularly to keep up to date with these materials and additional learning resources throughout the course.

The course will be taught through lectures supported by interactive problem-solving seminars and practical exercises developing primary materials. Students must come to seminars prepared with written answers to problem questions, as all sessions will be conducted on the assumption that the relevant reading and preparation has been completed. 

Contact time: Attend 2-hour lectures plus 2-hour seminars each week. This amounts to 36 hours of formal class time across the semester. 

Preparation time: In addition to attending formal classes, it is anticipated that students will do substantial independent work to prepare for classes and to complete the course assignments. The University expects full-time students (those undertaking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. 

Students will have 10 weeks of intensive teaching in this subject. The first lecture will be held in Week 3, with seminars commencing in Week 4. The programme of all activities is as follows:

Week 3 Lecture	Week 3 Seminar
Topic 1: Introduction to Tort Law	No seminar
Week 4 Lecture	Week 4 Seminar
Topic 2: Intentional Torts to the Person	Topic 1: Introduction to Tort Law
Week 5 Lecture	Week 5 Seminar
Topic 3a: Negligence • Duty of Care • Mental Harm	Topic 2: Intentional Torts to the Person
Week 6 Lecture	Week 6 Seminar
Topic 3b: Negligence • Standard of Care • Omissions	Topic 3a: Negligence • Duty of Care • Mental Harm
Assignment #1 is due at the end of Week 6
MID-SEMESTER BREAK
Week 7 Lecture	Week 7 Seminar
Topic 3c: Negligence • Causation and Remoteness	Topic 3b: Negligence • Standard of Care • Omissions
Week 8 Lecture	Week 8 Seminar
Topic 3d: Negligence • Defences and Damages	Topic 3c: Negligence • Causation and Remoteness
Week 9 Lecture	Week 9 Seminar
Topic 4: Vicarious Liability and Non-delegable Duties	Topic 3d: Negligence • Defences and Damages
Week 10 Lecture	Week 10 Seminar
Topic 5: Defamation	Topic 4: Vicarious Liability and Non-delegable Duties
Assignment #2 is due at the end of Week 10
Week 11 Lecture	Week 11 Seminar
Topic 6: Nuisance	Topic 5: Defamation
Week 12 Lecture	Week 12 Seminar
Revision	Topic 6: Nuisance
Week 13 Lecture	Week 13 Seminar
No Lecture	No Seminar

There are no additional requirements for completion of this course other than described elsewhere in this document.

Assessment Task	Task Type	Due	Weighting %	Redeemable	Length	Course Learning Outcomes
Written Assignment #1	Individual	End of Week 6	20% or 0%	Yes (provided a bona fide effort is achieved, evidenced by a grade of at least 40%)	1500 words	1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Written Assignment #2	Individual	End of Week 10	20%	No	1500 words	1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Final Exam	Individual	Exam period	60% or 80%	No	120 minutes with 10 minutes reading time	1, 3, 4, 5, 6

All three components of assessment are compulsory. Assignment #2 and the Final Exam are not redeemable.

Assignment #1 can be redeemed by the final exam if the student achieves a grade of at least 40% on the assignment or demonstrates a bona fide effort as assessed by the course coordinator. If these requirements are met and the student earns a higher grade on the final exam than the assignment, then the assignment grade can be redeemed (i.e. it will not count toward the student's final mark in the course). If these requirements are not met (i.e. the student does not hand in the assignment or earns a grade lower than 40% without demonstrating a bona fide effort), the assignment cannot be redeemed and the grade awarded will count toward the student's final mark in the course.

ASSIGNMENT #1
20% (or 0% if requirements for redeemability are met)

This assignment will involve responding to a problem-based question. Students will have to identify legal issues and apply tort law principles to a complex fact pattern. This assignment will cover Topic 2: Intentional Torts to the Person.  

A strict limit of 1500 words will be enforced

DUE: The end of Week 6


ASSIGNMENT #2
20% (Not Redeemable) 

This assignment will involve responding to a problem-based question. Students will have to identify legal issues and apply tort law principles to a complex fact pattern. This assignment will cover Topic 3: Negligence. 

A strict limit of 1500 words will be enforced

DUE DATE: The end of Week 10


FINAL EXAM
60% (or 80% if Assignment #1 is redeemed)

The exam is 120 minutes in length with 10 minutes reading time. It will be held in the University Examination Period.

Students must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.

All assignments in this course are to be submitted electronically through Turnitin. Details for electronic submission through Turnitin will be provided with the assignment instructions.

All written work in the Law school is required to comply with the approved Law School style guide, The Australian Guide to Legal Citation.

Extensions: Requests for extensions must be made electronically according to law school policy. Extensions will be granted only for unexpected illness, hardship or on compassionate grounds in accordance with University Policy. Work commitments, travel, holidays or sporting engagements are not unexpected circumstances.

Turnaround time: The interim assignments for this course will be returned to students within 2 – 4 weeks of the submission date. Individual feedback will be provided, from which students can learn from in the final assignment.

Late Submission Penalties
When an assessment is submitted after the due date, without an extension, 5% of the total mark possible will be deducted for every 24 hours or part thereof that it is late, including each day on a weekend and public holidays. For example, an essay that is submitted after the due date and time but within the first 24 hour period, and that has been graded at 63%, will have 5% deducted, for a final grade of 58%. An essay that is more than 24 hours late will lose 10%, etc.

Word Length Penalties
5% of the total mark possible for a written assessment will be deducted for every 100 words (or part thereof) by which it exceeds a stipulated word limit. For example, a 3,000 word essay graded at 63% will have 5% deducted if it is between 3,001 and 3,100 words long for a final mark of 58%. If the essay is between 3,101 and 3,200 words long, 10% will be deducted for a final mark of 53%, etc. Word limits include all words in the text, in headings, in quotations, but exclude citations in footnotes. Any separate cover page, table of contents, bibliography or list of sources is excluded from the word limit. If the word limit is misstated, this may be regarded as academic dishonesty.

Courses for which a result of conceded pass has been obtained may not be presented towards the degree requirements for the Bachelor of Laws or the Honours Degree of Bachelor of Laws programs, or any postgraduate law program, nor to satisfy prerequisite requirements within any law course.

Finality of Assessment Grades

Students are advised that Course Coordinators will not enter into negotiations of any kind with any student regarding changes to their grades. It is irrelevant, in any given circumstance, that only a minimal number of additional marks are required to inflate a student’s grade for any individual assessment item or course as a whole. Pursuant to the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policyand the Adelaide Law School Assessment Policies and Procedures, grades may only be varied through the appropriate channels for academic review (such as an official re-mark).

Moderation

In accordance with the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, course coordinators ‘ensure that appropriate marking guidelines and cross-marking moderation processes across markers are in place’ in each course. Procedures adopted by Adelaide Law School to ensure consistency of marking in courses with multiple markers include:

• assurance of the qualifications of markers, and their knowledge of the content covered in each course;
• detailed marking guidelines and assessment rubrics to assist in the marking of items of assessment;
• sharing of example marked assessments at various grade bands across markers;
• reviewing of selected marked assessments from each marker by the course coordinator;
• comparison of the marks and their distribution across markers;
• automatic double-marking of all interim assessment receiving a fail grade, and of final assessments where a student’s overall result is a fail grade;
• the availability of re-marking of assessments in accordance with Adelaide Law School’s Assessment Policies and Procedures.

Approval of Results by Board of Examiners

Students are reminded that all assessment results are subject to approval (and possible moderation/change) by the Law School’s Board of Examiners. Assessment results at the University are not scaled. Under the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, students are assessed ‘by reference to their performance against pre-determined criteria and standards … and not by ranking against the performance of the student cohort in the course’. However, under that same policy, the Board of Examiners (as the relevant Assessment Review Committee for courses at Adelaide Law School) is required to ‘ensure comparability of standards and consistency’ in assessment. On occasions, the Board of Examiners will form the view that some moderation is required to ensure the comparability of standards and consistency across courses and years, and accordingly provide fairness to all law students. All assessment results are therefore subject to approval (and possible change) until confirmed by the Board of Examiners and posted on Access Adelaide at the end of each semester.

Students are expected to demonstrate:

1. ability to identify the ratio decidendi of relevant cases and apply this to the facts of novel tortious issues
2. ability to work with the relevant statutory schemes that relevant to the facts of novel tortious issues
3. ability to distinguish one case from another in the context of applying case law to the facts of novel tortious issues
4. ability to identify the relevant factual issues involved in novel tortious scenarios
5. legal problem solving skills

Courses for which a result of conceded pass has been obtained may not be presented towards the degree requirements for the Bachelor of Laws or the Honours Degree of Bachelor of Laws programs, or any postgraduate law program, nor to satisfy prerequisite requirements within any law course.

The University Writing Centre provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the University of Adelaide.

The centre offers practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations.

Lex Salus Program

Lex Salus (law and wellbeing) is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at destigmatising mental health issues; promoting physical, mental and emotional wellness; building a strong community of staff and students; and celebrating diversity within the school. It also seeks to promote wellness within the legal profession, through the involvement of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis, as the official Patron of the program.

Students can participate in the Lex Salus program by attending barbecue lunches, pancake breakfasts, knitting and crochet circles, seminars, guest speakers, conferences and other activities. Our Facebook page, website and regular all-student emails promote upcoming events, and have tips and information on wellness.

Our Lex Salus YouTube channel also includes videos on topics like managing stress, and interviews with LGBTQ lawyers and their supporters which celebrate diversity and individuality. Students who commit to 10 hours of volunteering with Lex Salus in one year can have their service recognised on their academic transcript and through a thank you morning tea with the Chief Justice and law school staff.

Student Life Counselling Support

The University’s Student Life Counselling Support service provides free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Student Life Counselling Support service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life.

Academic Honesty

Academic dishonesty is a serious act of academic misconduct. All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Honesty Policy.

Academic dishonesty is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic dishonesty (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia.

Academic honesty is an essential aspect of ethical and honest behaviour, which is central to the practice of the law and an understanding of what it is to be a lawyer.